Anatoly Knyazev is one of the founders and the current Managing Partner of EXANTE, a global investment company with offices in Malta, Cyprus, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom. EXANTE is currently one of the leading brokers in Europe, recently having crossed the $2 billion mark in total assets under management. The broker offers individual and corporate traders direct access to over 50 global financial markets, including the most well-known around the world, such as the NYSE, the NASDAQ, the LSE, the HKEX, and the ASX. It also offers wealth management services for professional investors and their clientele.
In this article, we will focus on Anatoly Knyazev the trader and entrepreneur.
Education and early career
Anatoly Knyazev has a master’s degree in mathematics and computer science, and it was during his time at university that he developed a keen interest in software development. He was also a trader in his personal time, and he had had tried – with success – to apply his mathematical knowledge and analytical skills in the financial markets.
Knyazev first began his career as a software developer at Netcracker Technology Corporation, an American company that had international branches. There, he developed his skills in a range of support systems and virtualisation solutions, which would later lead him to develop trading infrastructure and eventually to work on EXANTE’s trading platform.
Though Knyazev began his career in computer science, he remained interested in the financial markets, and he would participate in arbitrage trading. Later, he also explored algorithmic trading and trade automation, which allowed him to join a large community of traders and innovators, from where he met Alexey Kirienko, a friend and co-founder of EXANTE.
The duo experimented with creating their own trading software and programmes a few years prior to founding EXANTE, and they were met with positive attention from the trading community. The programmes they developed were sold for a profit, and it led them to consider launching their own brokerage firm with their own proprietary trading solutions.
Work at EXANTE
Knyazev and Kirienko joined forces with a Gatis Eglitis, a Latvian investor, to establish EXANTE in 2011. While Knyazev had a strong background in software development and knew a lot about trading infrastructure, Kirienko’s strength was in statistical analysis in the financial markets, and Eglitis’s in business development and international sales. Together, the trio had a strong combination of skills and expertise to create EXANTE.
The brokerage firm was founded on the vision of innovation, and the founders were keen to create a sophisticated investment platform that could allow traders of all backgrounds to access global markets. When EXANTE was first founded, in fact, it became the first Maltese broker to do this for local Maltese traders, which caught the attention of the European traders and investors.
The broker also launched their own proprietary trading solution, the EXANTE trading platform. The bespoke platform granted direct access to global financial instruments across asset classes from one multi-currency account, which was well-received by clients and industry professionals alike. Traders could access the platform on desktop, browser, and mobile, and they could switch between devices seamlessly, which was a testament to Knyazev and the development team’s commitment to customer satisfaction.
Today, the EXANTE trading platform offers traders access to over 600,000 financial instruments in 50+ markets worldwide, and its network of more than 1,100 servers allows traders to have smooth execution with minimal slippage. Traders can access live prices with direct quotes with live accounts, and they can create balanced portfolios easily.
Interests and participation in the industry
Knyazev is an avid participant in the trading and investment industry. As a co-founder of EXANTE, he is often invited to be keynote speakers and participate in discussions and forums at international events. In the past, Knyazev has attendedthe Malta Blockchain Summit in 2018, the Delta Summit in 2019, and the ANON Summit in 2020 – as a speaker. He is also occasionally featured in local (Maltese) news and abroadfor his contributions related to his cryptocurrency advocacy.
As a crypto advocate, Knyazev is passionate about the development of digital currencies as well as blockchain technology. He believes crypto will play a key role in the future of finance, and he seeks to educate the public and fellow investors on the topic when he can.One of his interests is in Bitcoin, the most famous cryptocurrency globally. He frequently comments on Bitcoin dynamics in well-known journals and newspapers, such as The Independent.
Knyazev also founded the world’s first cryptocurrency hedge fund – Bitcoin Fund – with its shares tied to Bitcoin’s market price, as well as an altcoin index fund called XAI Fund.
