The limited commercial usage of Cryptocurrency hampers a lot of us from investing heavily in cryptographic money forms. And every single Bitcoin is a heavy investment, considering 1 single unit amounts close to 7276 US Dollars. Good or bad investment? That is for time to tell.
The popularity and buzz, however, intrigues us. The on-going debate - Is cryptocurrency to be the future money- finds new platforms every day and doesn’t lose charm on the existing ones.
Promoters of the currency have their own novel ways. I read an article which enunciated ten different ways of using cryptocurrency. One of them included a café that accepts cryptocurrency. The café happens to be in the neighborhood of Bumblebee Exchange, promotionally- Toronto’s first Robocoin kiosk. Other examples cited were commercial avenues which were first of their kind to start accepting Bitcoin as currency, the first online travel agency, the first university to accept cryptocurrency and the first crowdfunding platform that uses Bitcoin.
The penetration of cryptocurrency trading platform for commercial purposes is limited to singular episodes in each category but the usage for trading has gained substantial popularity. Macro and micro variables that impact the price movement for cryptocurrency are highly volatile and so are price fluctuations. The fact makes cryptocurrency a very lucrative option for intra-day and high-frequency traders. The most popular aspect of cryptocurrency is the transparency of transaction also called the ‘blockchain effect’.
A universal currency with open book ledger for everyone to see, with an exceptionally high value and high volatility, why would cryptocurrency not be the most popular debate of the century?
Looking for some more guidance on how to start trading in cryptocurrency?
Garv Khurana, an EPATian, has been working on a model for an algorithmic trading platform specific to cryptocurrency. Let us take you through his journey of being an actuary to his most recent venture.
Our conversation with Garv Khurana
What is your educational and professional background?
I am an actuarial professional. I was working with a UK based insurer at the time when I started with the EPAT™ course. Now I am developing an end-to-end algorithmic trading platform to trade cryptocurrencies across different exchanges. I have an engineering degree, a background in working with economic models, using statistical methods, and an understanding of risk identification and mitigation.
How do you formulate your trading strategy?
I use Node.js to retrieve orderbooks from different bitcoin exchanges. On these orderbooks, I backtest my strategies, usually on 20 second time interval. Asynchronously, a signal generation and an order execution model connects with the aforementioned exchanges to place trades. This is created across Node.js, R, Java and AngularJS. This work has taken me about 4 months of learning the languages plus another two months to get me started with the development.
How did you get to know about QuantInsti® & why QuantInsti®? How has been your experience so far?
At the time of my introduction to algorithmic trading, a lecture on YouTube by Rajib Ranjan Borah, Director of Quantinsti® got me to enroll in the EPAT™ program. I was pressed for time and wanted a structured foundational course on algorithmic trading. What I was looking for was provided by Quantinsti®. It is a comprehensive and demanding program that required dedication, almost all of my time and headspace on the weekends. In hindsight, I tried my best to keep up with the course and tried to make the best use of the resources provided in the course. However, the quality of my learning would have been a lot better, if I had more flexibility on the pace of the course.
Would you recommend QuantInsti® to others who wish to pursue a career in Algo trading?
Yes, and I look forward to further guidance from Quantinsti®.
What do you think about EPAT™ and how can it add value to your career?
With EPAT™, I found a structured approach to execute my trading strategies with algorithms. Now, I am better poised to implement my own strategies or find employment in trading firms.
What do you have to say about the placement opportunities provided by QuantInsti®?
I was updated regularly about the placement opportunities and attended a couple of interviews. I have found a small network of other traders with whom I interact regularly for assistance or collaboration. To be able to network with industry experts was one of the reasons I joined EPAT™, where a pool of experienced and newbie traders had come to upgrade skills that complement their experience.
Next Step
Are you keen on learning more about algorithmic trading? Connect with us and get to know different worldviews on financial strategies. QuantInsti aids people in acquiring skill sets which can be applied across various trading instruments and platforms. The Executive Programme in Algorithmic Trading (EPAT) course covers training modules like Statistics & Econometrics, Financial Computing & Technology, and Algorithmic & Quantitative Trading. EPAT equips you with the required skill sets to be a successful trader.
