It is time for us to introduce the exciting new company we have been working on, Absurdia, a new platform in the crypto-assets markets and based in the UK!

Absurdia is on a mission to make algorithmic trading accessible to the new generations of modellers, brilliant minds, and ecosystems worldwide. It is effectively about helping traders succeed with automated operations without hiring as many data scientists, engineers and lawyers as larger quantitative funds do. In other words: arming smaller players with the arms of the giant whales, and even more.

Today, many traders are operating or want to trade in crypto markets. To serve those traders, we are building products that dramatically reduce the costs of running algorithmic trading funds, the time-to-market of trading systems and the risks associated with those systems. The platform offers a high level of security, compliance and meets the KYC requirements of AMLD5 and the FCA Handbook.

We are soon rolling out access to the platform. You can already request early access through this form.

For now, here is what we are currently building as our first products on the platform:

Best Execution Engine (BEE)

The BEE is a product that is most relevant to the crypto-asset world. However, those working in finance may be familiar with the concept of best execution. For laypeople in this field, this concept refers to the obligation for a broker to execute a client’s order at the lowest rate available.

In the world of crypto-assets, there is no single bitcoin exchange. There are dozens of them. And most do not have enough liquidity to execute large orders, leading to substantial “slippage”. Slippage is the difference between the price obtained and the price expected. The more volatile the market is, the greater the slippage will be, and it is exceptionally high in the crypto markets. It can cost up to 1% (or 100 BIPS) on the nominal value in BTC in some crypto exchanges. For an order of $1M, that would represent $10k lost to slippage. It can be much higher (up to 30% in worst cases) for less traded crypto-assets.

The BEE remedies this problem and goes a few steps further. It reduces slippage and transaction fees and protects against micro-crashes in some crypto exchanges. Using the BEE, you will access the most liquid exchanges and DeFi pools and reduce those costs. Our AI will look for the best combination of orders to minimise transaction fees and slippage. And if a marketplace is experiencing a short crash, it will block orders sent to that marketplace. The BEE effectively creates a bridge between all exchanges, liquidity providers and DeFi pools for the benefit of its users by decreasing the liquidity risks significantly.

Quant SDK

It is not enough to help reduce costs. We need to create new tools and technologies to lower entry barriers to new algorithmic traders and funds and achieve our mission. Hence Absurdia’s other outstanding product: the Quant SDK. It offers a solid suite of tools and helpers, accessible through a fast and secure API, parts of it through a UI, and through language-specific SDKs, all built with the best and most performant technologies available today. With the Quant SDK, we are helping the algorithmic traders, funds and quants who are looking to ensure their algorithms and systems work, generate returns and run with low technology risks.

Furthermore, because there are infinite ways to build systems that work, we ensure our APIs and SDKs are composable and hackable whilst ensuring it remains user-friendly and straightforward. Well-designed SDKs are vital for this toolbox to provide as much value as possible. We will showcase our Python SDK in a forthcoming article to see how running a trading algorithm is streamlined thanks to Absurdia’s stack.

Funds management

For a platform to be a one-stop shop for crypto-assets, it must comply with all sorts of regulations and be a proper custodian. So we are now concocting a custodian and sub-custodian service in compliance with custody regulations. This service ensures all assets’ preservation and flow control with processes run by our stellar compliance team. Through the Quant SDK and leveraging our BEE, programmable fund management will be vital at making this offering available and attractive to the new generation of modellers and algorithm-makers.

All our customers are screened and go through a rigorous AML/KYC process, sharpened with years of experience in international financial institutions, to reduce regulatory risks involved in dealing with Absurdia.

Next steps

Ask for early access if any of this sounds interesting to you or you would like to see more of Absurdia. We are making our API ready for the first batch of test users and moving them through the first stages of our onboarding process.

Let’s stay connected, and follow us to stay updated on Absurdia’s progress.