🎤Telegram AMA Recap: New Trading System (transcript)

Hosted by Zhi Ling, Community Operations Manager

In early August, we launched our New Trading System to optimize the trading experience on Poloniex and deliver powerful tooling to all of our users, from retail traders to professional. Recently, we had the opportunity to talk with our Director of Product, Laura Chen, about what the NTS, what it looks like and Poloniex’s plans for the future.

Below you will find a transcript of the AMA, which took place on our Telegram channel:

Main AMA

Zhi Ling (Host): Hello everyone, welcome to Poloniex’s telegram channel!

We are delighted to have Laura, Director of Poloniex Product as our AMA guest.

On behalf of all the members and the management, we would like to extend our warmest welcome and good wishes. Thank you for coming today!

Laura: Hi everyone! I’m Laura, Director of Poloniex Product. My major is computer programming. I have 8 years of experience in internet products and 5 years of experience in blockchain.

My goal is to optimize Poloniex’s product competitiveness, including enriching the spot and derivatives products, optimizing the interactive experience of API + WEB + APP, and bringing the industry’s top trading experience to Poloniex users.

Thanks for having me at today’s AMA, I can’t wait to share with you the Poloniex New Trading System (NTS)!

Host: Please tell us about the New Trading System (NTS) that Poloniex has just launched. What are the differences of the Poloniex New Trading System (NTS) compared to the previous system?

Laura: The upgraded Poloniex features ultra-high performance. The new matching system has a TPS over ten times higher than the previous one, a huge improvement in the overall technology, software, and hardware.

TPS is the abbreviation for Transactions per Second, which refers to the number of transactions a system can process each second, depending on the collaboration of the database, middleware, network, CPU, storage, and other hardware.

We have also brought brand new API endpoints with more comprehensive functionalities that are more user-friendly to institutional traders and program trading. These endpoints will largely decrease latency, further boosting the trading volume and providing better market depth.

We’ve also modified the underlying architecture, which is now more stable and secure. The multi-layer structure with each layer independent from one another offers super high fault tolerance. Thanks to the clustered deployment and micro-service architecture, the system can scale horizontally and provide stable service even during traffic spikes.

Host: Laura These are very promising optimizations, how will the New Trading System (NTS) benefit Poloniex users?

Laura: Matching is the most critical part of trading. In addition to the newly-added market order and stop-market order, the system has also increased the matching speed by more than 30 times, allowing users’ orders to be executed faster.

Besides, the new trading system also reduces the latency by five times, allowing users to quickly switch between trading pairs and access the order book in real-time. Even with a surging volume of orders, users may still enjoy a smooth experience.

Like those on the first-tier crypto exchanges, our new API interfaces provide more functionalities, effectively meeting the needs of retail and institutional investors. This will help increase the trading volume and depth on Poloniex, providing traders with more trading opportunities.

In terms of user experience, the NTS adopts native candlestick charts, offering users a far better visual experience; the enhanced native candlestick chart has increased the number of cycles shown from 6 to 14 to meet the needs of both amateur and professional traders. The visual effect and readability are on par with professional market analysis software.

After the NTS is launched, users can trade even when the system needs to undergo upgrade and maintenance in the future.

This upgrade offers users many new functionalities and improved flows, all for a more user-friendly trading experience. However, this is only the start of many more improvements down the road.

Host: One of the most reputable features about Poloniex is security. Will this New Trading System (NTS) also take the platform’s security to the next level?

Laura: Poloniex has received wide acclaim for its robust security controls. We have always been strict and careful in managing users’ assets and always prioritized the security and stability of the platform. The upgrade this time is no exception.

We have also upgraded the underlying architecture of the exchange, making the platform more secure and stable. Adopting a multi-layered architecture, the new trading system is divided into multiple independent modules, including markets, orders, users’ assets, and candlestick charts. Each module processes different data independently, so the risks are also separated accordingly. Failure in one module does not affect the overall operation. Greater independence provides more reliable services, allowing the system to handle various incidents.

Host Many exchanges and institutions are choosing to simplify their operations in the current sluggish market. What is driving Poloniex to spend so much of manpower and resources to develop this much-anticipated New Trading System (NTS)?

Laura: The market is changing by the second; hot trends come and go. Simplifying operations surely is an option for many amid the gloomy market condition now. However, at Poloniex, we have been striving for a better user experience, faster trade, and building Poloniex into a more secure and stable platform.

The current market condition offers an excellent opportunity for us to adjust our strategies and goals. We understand how the crypto industry evolves, how our competitors are doing, and where our position is in the market. We must keep working and competing for a bigger market share instead of hesitating. We aim to become a leading crypto exchange.

We believe that cryptocurrencies are the future, and we are acting on that belief.In the long run, putting in manpower and resources to build the new trading system is the right thing to do. We aim for the future rather than short-term interest. We are gathering strength for the next boom.

Host: What would you regard as the most vital trait of a good crypto exchange?

Laura: A crypto exchange is basically a trading platform. It has to ensure the safety of itself and its users’ assets, offer sufficient market depth to allow users to trade with confidence, and provide a friendly UX. Meanwhile, it has to follow up with hotspots and trends in the industry.

I think the most vital trait of a good crypto change is its inclusiveness: it not only serves the project teams or the market makers but must serve all users. Whether you are a beginner, a retail investor, an institutional investor, or a market maker, we aim to offer the right services that meet your needs. As the saying goes, “All for one and one for all”, we provide reliable services for our users so that, in turn, we can be trusted and keep growing.

Host: How do the Poloniex team ensure they stay on top of advancements in Cryptocurrencies trading field?

Laura: The Poloniex team has witnessed the cryptocurrency’s rise, swift growth, peak, and downturn. After all these turbulent eight years, we are still standing firm in the market. The more important thing, I believe, is that we never forget why we started in the field of cryptocurrency trading. We keep exploring this field, stay focused, and never give up. Some exchanges chase hot spots and keep changing tracks; some want everything but have become neither fish nor fowl; some have ended up being a jack-of-all-trades but master of none.

Poloniex has been focusing on crypto trading for the last eight years. We do what we are supposed to do, not being distracted by external temptations: we strive to provide a smooth trading experience, protect our users’ assets, and provide more choices of tokens for our users. Launching the new trading system is to enhance our competitive edge as an exchange. We will never forget our mission as an exchange. We will consider business expansion into other fields only if we have made the trading business strong enough.

Host: We are all looking forward to the next development of Poloniex, can you give us some “preview” or share the platform’s future roadmap with us?

Laura: The newly launched trading system marks only the beginning of Poloniex’s progress. The trading engine is just the groundwork upon which the upgrades of visual UI, interactive experience, and operating process will bring our users a brand new trading experience.

The new trading system is mainly optimized for spot trading. We will soon roll out more diverse trading products like margin and other derivatives.

Apart from upgrades in trading, we also have plans for users’ asset management. In addition to the up to 40% APR on users’ USDD deposits, we are considering how to offer better investment choices for our users while ensuring the maximum safety of their assets. Let’s wait and see.

Host: Thank you all for being here today and taking time to join the AMA, I wish you all a blessed day.

That’s all of the questions for today’s AMA, many thanks to Laura. It was an amazing conversation with her, as we learned a handful of information about the Poloniex New Trading System and the detailed concept behind this upgrade.

Community questions

Question 1: Many projects have problems with UI / UX and this one turns off new users. How do you plan to improve the interaction with new users and with users outside the crypto space?

Laura: Poloniex not only aims to improve its interaction design to the level of top crypto exchanges. We are also learning from the UI/UX design of other industries to give our new and existing users immediate visual delight while ensuring a smooth, friendly trading experience.

We have received a lot of favorable comments and constructive feedback from our loyal customers on the design upgrades, which we will all take into consideration for future optimizations. And regarding the next design upgrade, we are trying to tailor the product to the needs of all Poloniex users and those new to crypto with a fresh UI design.

Question 2: Do you have any Bug Bounty to check for weakness? In what way do you plan to make Your project more complete?

Laura: Poloniex’s security has long been testified by its years of sound operation. This relies not only on the dedication of our professional security team but also on our bug reporting channel: we have a dedicated Bug Bounty program on HackerOne, where we reward security researchers for vulnerability reports that have passed review, and we enhance the security of the platform based on the reports. We are also looking forward to working with more white hat hackers. You may find more information at https://support.poloniex.com/hc/en-us/articles/360053130174-Poloniex-Bug-Bounty-Program if you are interested in helping make Poloniex more secure.

Question 3: What is your plan for global expansion? At present, Which regions are you focusing on or is it focused on building and growing to gain customers, users and partners?

Laura: As a time-honored legendary exchange, Poloniex has been conducting publicity and marketing activities across the world to establish itself as a globally leading trading platform. Our current plan is to focus more on user growth and retention in Latin America, and we have been trying to attract more traders to Poloniex with considerate services against the current market situation. Meanwhile, we are also recruiting more market makers worldwide to provide better liquidity and security for our users.

Question 4: Can you list 1–3 killer features of this project that makes it ahead of its competitors? What is the competitive advantage your project has that you feel most confident about?

Laura: This NTS launch has brought the performance of Poloniex’s matching system to the extreme. Meanwhile, security has been taken to the next level, where users can put more trust in our platform — and this is the most important, and it is also something we are very proud of.

Question 5: Revenue is an important aspect for all projects to survive and maintain the project/company. How have you been able to build a complete project and what is the way to generate profit/revenue of the token? What is the income model?

Laura: Revenue is key to all companies. Failing to generate revenue can be deadly. Poloniex has been marching forward steadily. We do not guarantee users unrealistic earnings like some exchanges, and neither do we embezzle users’ assets or use leverage excessively because these would pose risks to users and ourselves. For us, the best profit model is to stay grounded. We are open to all possibilities of profitability, but we always put security first.

Question 6: Currently a lot of people are looking at NFTs, metaverse, and games. Can you tell me what advantages will you have in this field in the future?

Laura: We do not follow trends blindly; we embrace the right ones. On the homepage of Poloniex, there is a button leading to an NFT marketplace: we have struck up a partnership with https://apenft.io/. Stay tuned for our upcoming collaborations! But like mentioned previously, Poloniex’s major focus will be its growth as an exchange.

Question 7: Do you feel satisfied by seeing your progress and achievements till now, when you look back to the day when Poloniex started?

Laura: The past eight years witnessed the challenges we have overcome and the triumphs we have gained. We value where we are and what we have achieved. We are satisfied with Poloniex, and we take pride in it. Poloniex’s past involves coincidences and anecdotes, and its future will be full of brilliance based on the blueprint we have drawn for it.

Question 8: What makes you feel confident about the survival & sustainable success of Poloniex in the near future?

Laura: Poloniex’s achievement is not made just because it is in a promising industry, nor is it built upon the decision-making of a single person. It is the team’s joint effort that has strengthened Poloniex’s foothold in the industry, and generates momentum for its future development. With the strong team behind it, I believe that Poloniex will accomplish even greater things.

Question 9: Is there a trading learning place for beginners like myself who are new to the world of crypto?

Laura: There is a beginners’ guide at the help center of the Poloniex official website (https://support.poloniex.com/hc/en-us/categories/360002700654), which helps our users to navigate our exchange; the Polopedia section on our blog (https://medium.com/poloniex) also offers a quickstart guide with the latest crypto news and token introductions.

Question 10: Your exchange operate globally? Can anyone use your exchange services anywhere, without any restrictions?

Laura: As a global exchange, Poloniex serves users across the globe and complies with the regulations of local markets; please visit our user agreement (https://poloniex.com/terms/) for more details. In the meantime, we offer a myriad of products so that more users can enjoy crypto trading and investment.