We Need to Reinvent the Markets

Markets are the lifeblood of the financial system and with time they have become more technologically inclined. However, the fundamentals of trading have remained the same as they were since the 17th century. It is true that we can now trade faster than ever before and settlements can be undertaken electronically but markets still face constraints of geography, time, expensive brokerage and counterparty risk.

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TradeConnect, a trading platform powered by ThinkCoin, is a multi-asset trading network that wants to reinvent the markets and change the way we have been trading for centuries. The project aims to create a truly global peer-to-peer  marketplace and provide the ability to trade any financial asset whether exchange or non-exchange. The technology they will use will be blockchain-powered and utilize smart contracts, which will allow them to automatically execute trades. In addition TradeConnect will also offer advanced AI matching and Digital Personas, a unique profiling technology they have developed. TradeConnect promises to settle trades in seconds.

Reinventing the Markets

Even though the markets have existed for hundreds of years now, the penetration of these markets has been low. It is estimated that only half of all Americans invest in the stock markets. In emerging markets like India, stock market participation is even more abysmal, with only 2 percent of Indians investing in stocks. At the moment the markets are dominated by big financial institutions like banks and large brokerage houses, which impose hefty charges and have a deep influence on how the markets function. The huge dominance of these institutions has led to stifling on innovation and new processes. Settlements take days, there is a lack of flexibility in transferring trades and transparency does not exist in price making and trade execution.

A new approach to markets

Bring down the costs of trading can lower barriers of entry and democratise the trading and investing process for millions. TradeConnect will do that as trades will be automatically settled on the blockchain. With the TradeConnect network investors would be able to trade CFD, Forex (Fx), Commodities, Equities and Crypto. As they are targeting multiple markets, TradeConnect’s model has the potential to target trillions of dollars’ worth of business. The total global derivatives market alone is estimated to be over US$ 1.2 quadrillion according to the project.

How users stand to benefit?

Blockchain technology is based on the principle of an immutable ledger, which will provide a great deal of trust, integrity and visibility to the users of TradeConnect. Privacy would be ensured through a consortium-based private ledger where only the participants would be able to see the transactions. One of the greatest feats of TradeConnect has been the introduction of Digital Personas, each persona would tage a unique subscriber on the platform with unique scores and over time users of the platform would be able to make informed decisions and find the right type of trader. This is quite unlike traditional exchanges where apart from price, time, size and product being traded, no other information is made available to the parties.

ThinkCoin the power behind the exchange

The power behind ThinkConnect is ThinkCoin (TCO), a cryptocurrency that would enable the functioning of the network. An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is being held to raise funds for the project where 300 mln TCO would be made available in both the ICO and Pre-ICO sales to buyers. The ThinkCoin token is an Ethereum ERC-20 token.

The base price of the token during the ICO is $0.30USD. During the first phase of the Pre-ICO, which ends on April 23rd, there will be a bonus of 45% on all purchases; during the second, which will end on May 14th, there will be 22% bonus.

A white paper is available and carries information about the project. Talking about ThinkCoin and the token economy that would be created around it the CEO of ThinkCoin Nauman Anees says in an interview to financemagnates.com, “The token economy we have created is scalable, has valid use cases and we expect the actual use of the token in context of the white paper that is published with a significant user base to support the token’s value and demand for it.” He may be right considering unlike many other ICOs, ThinkCoin actually have an edge in that they have the ability to use their own trading systems and a development team.