QFEX

What do they actually do

QFEX runs a trading venue that gives round‑the‑clock exposure to traditional assets (U.S. equities, commodities, and FX) via perpetual‑futures contracts. Traders can use a web app or a developer API with WebSocket access for real‑time market data and order entry; orders match directly on an exchange order book without a broker involved (site, API docs).

The product is in a limited public rollout. QFEX publicly advertises trading and publishes docs/status, but new users are funneled through an early‑access waitlist, indicating staged onboarding rather than a fully open retail exchange today (site, waitlist).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Active/quant traders running intraday or automated strategies: They want markets open outside U.S. hours with reliable, low‑latency data and programmatic order entry. Closures and brittle APIs limit their ability to run strategies continuously (QFEX offers 24/7 trading and a WebSocket API).
• Retail speculators seeking simple, high‑leverage exposure to stocks, commodities, or FX: They struggle with complex onboarding, limited after‑hours access, confusing funding/fee mechanics, and slow fiat on/off ramps.
• Market makers and liquidity providers: They need consistent order flow, predictable matching/funding, and robust risk controls. Early venues often have fragmented liquidity and immature tooling.
• Small prop shops and hedge funds: They want capital‑efficient, around‑the‑clock exposure with solid APIs and programmatic risk controls. Legacy venues’ settlement cycles and integrations slow them down.
• Developers and trading‑platform integrators: They need low‑latency market data, stable order APIs, and a clear sandbox. Many platforms have brittle docs, breaking API changes, or opaque fee/matching behavior.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Personally recruit a small cohort of market makers and active quant/prop traders via founder outreach and YC intros; offer waived fees, short‑term maker rebates, 1:1 engineering support, and a private sandbox to ensure usable liquidity and feedback.
• First 50: Run invite‑only early‑access weekends and short trading competitions with API credits; convert waitlist users and referrals, and onboard a few small prop partners with templated integrations and a streamlined KYC/funding portal.
• First 100: Open a broader beta with public API keys and a custody/payment partner integration; list on developer aggregators, run targeted ads in trading communities, formalize a market‑maker program with scaled rebates/predictable funding, and launch a public leaderboard/community forum.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Global FX turnover averages about US$9.6T per day and U.S. equity trading can be hundreds of billions per day; annualized, the combined notional is in the multi‑quadrillion range, implying a very large fee pool even at tiny shares (BIS 2025 FX survey, Nasdaq daily summary example).

Bottom-up calculation:

Illustratively: assume ~US$3,643.6T annual notional across FX and U.S. equities and an average perp fee of ~0.05% (in line with major venues’ schedules). At a 0.01% market share, fees would be ≈ US$182M/year; at 0.1%, ≈ US$1.82B/year (Binance fees, Bybit fees).

Assumptions:

• Perpetuals on stocks/FX can capture a small share of the combined notional over time (ignoring instrument mix and regulatory frictions).
• Average effective fee around 0.05% across taker/maker tiers and incentives.
• Early growth phases may use rebates that reduce net fees vs. headline schedules.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Binance: Large crypto derivatives venue with deep perpetual markets and advanced APIs, attracting the same execution‑hungry traders QFEX targets; competes on liquidity depth and fees (Binance Futures).
• Bybit: Crypto derivatives exchange expanding into TradFi‑style products (e.g., xStocks) and strong perp infrastructure, competing directly for 24/7 stock/ETF‑like exposure via tokenized contracts and APIs (xStocks).
• Kraken: Exchange offering tokenized U.S. equities (xStocks) via a partner, pulling in non‑U.S. retail/institutional flow seeking near‑continuous stock exposure with custody and API access (Kraken xStocks).
• Robinhood: Retail broker with EU tokenized stocks and perpetual‑style products; its scale and simplified onboarding make it a strong competitor for retail speculators seeking stock‑like exposure around the clock (announcement).
• Alpaca: API‑first brokerage for developers/props with extended‑hours trading and simple integrations; overlaps on developer experience and programmatic access, even though it focuses on cash equities rather than perps (extended hours, 24/5 docs).