As Russia Cracks Down on Telegram, Financial Teams Scramble for Alternatives
Although Russia’s Roskomnadzor has thus far failed to live up to its pledge to completely block Telegram in the country — despite having already blocked around 18 million IP addresses, including a bunch of unintended ones — online financial teams affected by the ban are already out there looking for alternatives. Sure, Telegram may still be around, but why risk a showdown with the law, especially when some of the alternatives available do indeed put Telegram to shame in every regard.
What exactly is behind Russia’s Telegram row and how did the issue degenerate to this point?
Anonymity and encryption. That’s what’s wrong with Telegram in the eyes of Russian authorities, in a nutshell. It turns out that Big Brother is indeed interested in what the rank-and-file have to say to each other, therefore it took exception to the fact that Telegram have made it quite impossible for third parties to “listen in” on the conversation between two users of the app. A Russian court has apparently requested that the Telegram encryption keys be handed over to authorities. After the company squarely refused to comply, Roskomnadzor proceeded to block (or rather to attempt to block) the service, causing quite a bit of collateral havoc.
Long story short: Russian financial teams are now on the hunt to replace Telegram as their main trading/communication environment. What options are they looking at and what sort of adjustments will they be required to make? We have compiled a top 3 list in this regard, so let’s take a closer look at the candidates.
In third place, we have a rather obvious choice: Whatsapp.
Recently purchased by Facebook, Whatsapp is indeed a market leader in simple and reliable messaging. Initially devised as a free SMS alternative, Whatsapp delivers an impressive array of features for the average IM user: it supports group chat, voice calls and synchronization over several devices.
Photos and videos can be shared through the app and the same goes for documents. Security-wise, Whatsapp have begun implementing encrypted messaging too.
That said, Whatsapp remains a general-purpose messaging app, which — while easy and fun to work for the average user — lacks integrations and does not particularly favor the complex needs of online trading teams. As a matter of fact, for any serious trading crew, it’s little more than an ad-hoc, short-term solution for keeping things going, until a better way is found.
Focused on gaming, Discord takes things a step further in the right direction, which is why we have ranked it second in this countdown.
Like Whatsapp, Discord is a free app too, covering a much wider range of specialized communication needs. With Discord, one can make use of browser support, in-game overlay and DDoS protection, while barely drawing upon the resources of the CPU.
Furthermore, low-latency, multiple channels, permissions, volume control, direct messaging and custom hotkeys are also included in the Discord package, not to mention friends lists.
For gaming, Discord is indeed the superior solution, but — while there may be some remote connections between the two verticals — it barely relates to online trading. Its UI may be great, but it features no financial integrations and pay-to-access chat-rooms would probably be quite redundant for it. Who among gamers would use them and for what?
The perfect Telegram-supplanting solution for traders is obvious: nothing can beat a dedicated platform, which has been built from the ground-up with traders’ specific needs (and probably more) in mind.
This is where Echofin comes into the picture.
The greatest thing about this online chat environment is that it delivers solutions to traders they may have never even considered, but which become indispensable very quickly following adoption. Echofin is so revolutionary that it effectively shapes the industry, creating and fulfilling needs and opening up interaction-channels in ways that completely change the way traders relate to the whole undertaking.
Echofin has been described as a “virtual trading floor” and that is indeed what it truly is.
Safe and secure communication is one of the core tenets of the Echofin suite. Chat rooms and direct messages are obviously supported as well, but none of this is what makes Echofin special.
The platform allows for webinars and screen casting, low-latency video sharing as well as multi-level user management roles for chat rooms. Pay-to-access rooms are an option as well, and the integrated billing solution, which is also part and parcel of the Echofin experience, turns this monetization avenue into a very attractive one for experienced traders.
Financial widgets and plugins are also supported, from live quotes, to talking, real-time Twitter feeds and FX calendars. Trading the fundamentals is a cinch with Echofin, and the same goes for the technical analysis-based aspect. By becoming a trading-team member, beginners will no longer have to rely on trial-and-error, and they won’t miss the ideal moments to act either.
Third-party integration is the true proof of Echofin’s flexibility though. MT4 web platform and TradingView charts can be used for instance, but users are welcome to create and eventually to integrate their very own trading tools too.
Trading signals can be sent and read instantaneously, as one’s computer/mobile screen becomes a virtual trading floor in the truest sense of the word.
The bottom line: Echofin is obviously the clear winner of this countdown. It is all Discord is for gamers and more. Its trailblazing impact is real, and it is safe to say that it is currently the biggest single force shaping the world of social online trading.
