Usman Khan has launched APEX:E3, a cloud-based analytics platform for digital assets for retail and institutional investors, which will then expand into traditional financial assets.

Khan, chief executive of APEX:E3, was a co-founder and board advisor of Algomi, which provided data aggregation technology for finding fixed income liquidity.

He told Markets Media: “I had a seven-year journey at Algomi but I wanted to take my next step as an entrepreneur and founded APEX:E3 in the summer of last year.”

The  multi-asset analytics platform is backed by global blockchain company ConsenSys.

We're excited to announce our @ConsenSys @ConsenSysLabs investment in the great @APEXE3HQ team this week. Sign up for their beta for access to their "Bloomberg for crypto" institutional grade analytics & tools for retail traders. https://t.co/MSwpfAQKwC https://t.co/dDKFbcTMPu

— Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) February 26, 2020

Min Teo, partner at ConsenSys, said in a statement: “We are thrilled to support APEX:E3 as they launch their multi-asset platform to bring much needed institutional-grade technology to the retail trader community. We look forward to collaborating with the team in the future and supporting the further roll-out and development of this technology.”

Although APEX:E3 will initially provide aggregated market data on cryptocurrencies, it aims to enter traditional financial markets.

“We will be multi-asset before the end of this year with equities and foreign exchange,” Khan added. “Our aim is democratise access to institutional-grade financial markets analytics.”

Users are able to analyse data from a number of digital exchanges through a subscription fee.

There are a large number of digital exchanges but Khan said the firm can use A.L.I.C.E, its Automated Liquidity Identification and Classification Engine, to analyse them and ensure they execute genuine transactions.

“A.L.I.C.E can analyse order books using quantifiable metrics and ensure they are not just washing trades,” he added. “We can analyse more than 5,000 order books every sub-second in real-time.”

The technology enables traders to identify liquidity opportunities across exchanges globally and backtest so they can develop proprietary strategies.

“We have been testing our infrastructure with 200 traders since September last year ahead of the wider launch, “ Khan said. “We are like a submarine emerging from the depths of the ocean.”

He continued that the roadmap for APEX:E3 includes additional functionality such as the ability to execute on centralised and de-centralised exchanges; trading alerts functionality and event-based backtesting.

“Asset managers want to enter the digital asset market but need infrastructure such as an algo sandbox for testing their financial models,” he added. “In addition, we have had interest from data companies who want more on information on digital assets.”

Value of data

The value of data in financial markets is increasing as shown by a recent survey by data provider Refinitiv and consultancy Greenwich Associates. The Future of Trading report found that 85% of banks, investors and capital markets service providers plan to increase spending on data management.

The #TradingDesk of 2024: Our series on the future of trading examines the rising value of data. https://t.co/2cxr092YYT @Refinitiv #SmarterTrading pic.twitter.com/sG3hkSqa8E

— Refinitiv (@Refinitiv) February 4, 2020