Running a crypto exchange is, effectively, a big job. Many factors, amongst which we can count supporting traders around the world 24/7, protecting sensitive data, and navigating a highly-volatile market, weigh on the shoulders of those that adventure on this mission. 

So, to learn more about this topic, we brought in the CEO of Zubr, an up-and-coming exchange focused on crypto derivatives. 

Enter Ilgar Alekperov, CEO of Zubr. 

Ilgar mentions starting Zubr while on a mission, along with his team, to ‘create the exchange of our dreams’. Coming from a traditional environment of trading and financial institutions, there have been a few areas that Zubr has focused on to produce a bigger impact:

• Compliance: Zubr was just recently green-lighted by the GFSC (Gibraltar Financial Services Commission) to receive a DLT provider license. In addition to this, they were extensively tested by ExactPro to guarantee the exchange’s robust trading and risk engine performance. 
• Speed: Zubr is designed to be insanely fast, taking a total round time of 60 microseconds per transaction, as opposed to the industry standard of 200 milliseconds. This makes Zubr 3000 times faster than its competition and is achieved through a powerful balance of software and hardware. To be able to sustain this level of speed in a reliable way, Zubr is fully centralised, having a physical location that allows them to keep the latency of their trading low and host a complex infrastructure of hardware devices with software specifically designed to empower high-level trading. As Ilgar says, ‘…it is impossible to achieve this with an infrastructure on the cloud, so we decided for a physical location. Enterprise-grade traders need high liquidity and speed of execution, as well as stability, and this is what we focus on providing’.
• Derivatives, done responsibly: Zubr offers derivatives and complex financial products, such as leverage trading. However, it caps its use of leverage at 20x and encourages that only knowledgeable traders use these features. Ilgar considers it ‘bad karma’ and, ‘sadly, a common industry practice’ to incentive users to take on instruments that they don’t fully understand or are able to use responsibly. Instead, Zubr aims to provide high-quality educational content through its blog, and point towards the need to create a strong user base that benefits from trading constantly.

From this interview, we also learned that:

• Ilgar sees the possibility of a slow-down of the DeFi hype, and a reversal to centralised trading as a likely reality. As he sees it, there is a need for technology to catch up before decentralised solutions are viable alternatives for professionals. 
• Zubr considers that other exchanges will likely intend to transition to a super-fast model such as theirs’, in order to avoid suffering outages and problems with delays due to the constant growth in the number of orders. 
• Some, including Ilgar, believe that Bitcoin has ceased to be a highly-volatile asset. The data on Zubr’s blog, as well as Ilgar’s opinions, point to this being due to an increase in professional traders in the ecosystem. 
• Ilgar also believes that, in the institutional panorama, more and more capital firms are becoming firm believers in Bitcoin and long-term “HODLers”. This could be explained by the fact that, with interest rates on the drop, the cost of opportunity of Bitcoin is lower than ever. 

Stay in the know, and trade safe!

We can say that our interview with Ilgar will certainly be helpful for anyone looking to understand what goes on behind the scenes of a crypto exchange. Make sure to check out the full interview to learn much more about this, as well as Ilgar’s thoughts on Bitcoin, other exchanges, and more!

We hope to see you soon, and, if you liked the interview, remember to follow us and the BBA on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Legal disclaimer by Zubr:

ZUBR has prepared/participated in this material solely for information purposes. No part thereof, nor the fact of its distribution, should form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or commitment or investment decision. ZUBR does not provide any financial, investment, tax or legal advice and does not make any offer in relation to, or advertise, any services or instruments by publishing and/or distributing these materials, nor does it disclose all the risks and other significant aspects in connection with ZUBR.

No representation, warranty or undertaking, express or implied, is made by ZUBR as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information or the opinions contained in this material. ZUBR bears no liability for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this material or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this presentation should conduct their own due diligence and other enquiries in relation to such information and in relation to ZUBR generally and consult with their own professional advisors as to the accuracy and application of the information contained herein.

All information (including, without limitation, any forward-looking statements) is provided as of the date thereof and is subject to change without notice. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. These forward looking statements speak only as at the date as of which they are made, and ZUBR does not intend or have any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements or to update or to keep current any other information.

This presentation is not a public offer or advertisement of any instruments or services, and is not an offer, or an invitation to make offers, to purchase, sell, exchange, or transfer any instruments or services. This presentation is not directed at, or intended for distribution to or use by, any person or entity that is a citizen or resident or located in any locality, state, country or other jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, availability or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would require any registration or licensing within such jurisdiction. The information contained herein does not constitute a public offer under any other applicable legislation, or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or other regulated instruments.