Ask HN: Was there anything innovative about the FTX platform itself?

9 points by SnoJohn 3 years ago | 7 comments

Serious question: Was there anything innovative about the FTX platform itself?

ironyman 3 years ago |

The main feature that enticed large hedge fund traders to trade on there over the likes of Binance was because they offered unlimited size on altcoins; most altcoins on binance futures are limited to about $2 million notional, so if you want to build a large position, you'd have to apply for a subaccount for each position and manage them separately.

But no, they didn't offer any unique products their competitors don't have.

europeanguy 3 years ago | |

> most altcoins on binance futures are limited to about $2 million notional

Could you clarify? Do you mean that the accounts had a maximum amount of normal they could carry?

ironyman 3 years ago | | |

That's right. Binance has very low limits for your 'max position size' on most altcoins, often between $2 to 3 million unless it's one of the top 10 tokens, regardless of how much collateral you have in your account.

nprateem 3 years ago |

He said it was tailored for institutional investors. It had derivatives and let traders use a single wallet or something.

joshxyz 3 years ago |

on spot and futures, the UI is smooth on both web and mobile. they owned a separate wallet mobile app that is also smooth as well.

same great user experience can be seen on their developer api and otc user interface (otc.ftx.com).

the otc interface is somewhat comparable with b2c2 (another otc desk)

joshxyz 3 years ago | |

another innovative points

- execution speed: their small team can swiftly add new markets in their platform.

- customer support: their team can be directly contacted on social platforms. ryan salame was once assisting us on our inquiries about their developer api's back then.

- access to capital: sbf's links to alameda gave ftx a smooth runway on their launch. their team's synergy is handpicked by sbf too which let them operate autonomously and effectively.

- consistent branding: the brand is sbf is a trading nerd who did well at alameda and ftx is his new thing. that guy fucked up badly but his track record is commendable before that.

these 4 above are not technical but if you're familiar with startups, you know these 4 directly converts to sales.

anon223345 3 years ago | |

So basically no, but they had a good UX team who set clear product requirements