Asia Blockchain Review recently talked to Matt Kim, Founder & CEO of CHAOEX, a Hong Kong digital currency trading platform licensed in Europe with more than 70 members on its team. 

CHAOEX platform began development in early June 2017, ended testing in August, and launched its trial operation to global users in September of the same year. Regulated by the Estonian government, the self-developed platform has been continually improving with a widely recognized user experience and customer service.

CHAOEX completed the Pre-A round of financing in early 2018, receiving strong support from KIM’s Capital and the CHEX Foundation. Its team has been actively contributing to the development of the blockchain industry and supports industry innovations.

In the interview with ABR, the CHAOEX founder discussed topics including the platform’s development over the past several months, advanced features, intellectual property rights, and the challenges of running an exchange platform.

Asia Blockchain Review: You’ve been a pioneer for the better part of the last decade. What is the vision that eventually led you to found CHAOEX and continues to drive you to keep pushing the envelope?

Matt Kim: Back in 2013, I became attached to the idea of digital currency through the book “Blockchain”. The future of decentralized finance depicted in the book impressed me so much that I decided to enter the blockchain industry. It took me almost two years to turn myself from digital currency “enthusiast” to real “practitioner”. 

For two years, I participated in all sorts of high-quality projects and studied the ecological model of the blockchain industry, as well as the future development demand of the entire digital currency market under the guidance of industry experts. I set up CHAOEX with the aim of going deep through the blockchain industry, contributing to the development of digital finance and offer unique, technically advanced services for industry players.

ABR: What are some of the advanced features unique to the CHAOEX platform?

MK: The biggest advantage of CHAOEX is that the underlying architecture of the platform is fully self-developed, and CHAOEX owns the independent intellectual property rights. CHAOEX has invested significant funds and human resources to develop the trading system in order to build a secure and stable trading environment. Independent R&D can ensure the scalability of the platform, as well as quick upgrade and function development according to market trends. 

CHAOEX’s operating strategy has also been recognized by the industry. Activities such as discount purchases and AUCTION are constantly followed by other platforms. AUCTION became the first activity of its kind with crypto and has been well-received in our community. Now, we are upgrading it to AUCTION Plus to make the activity even more beneficial for users, projects, and the platform. Thus, creative operations workflow is also one of CHAOEX’s advantages. 

ABR: CHAOEX has been working for the past several months, releasing multiple versions of its platform. What can you tell us about the technical aspects of the development cycle?

MK: Among these upgrades, CHAOEX version 3.0 is particularly significant. In version 3.0, the platform’s underlying architecture and core system were redeveloped based on the first two versions. Moreover, the matching engine and clearing system applied the world’s leading in-memory matching engine at a rate of up to one million TPS (transactions per second); the only issue of scalability is adding new servers. This makes CHAOEX very competitive among those platforms with limited abilities. Currently, CHAOEX’s technical strength has caught up to the level of an international first-class exchange. 

Soon after, CHAOEX launched the 3.0 Plus version, which focused on optimizing the overall style and user experience of the platform to meet the diverse needs of users around the world. We have added several new pages for informational purposes, upgraded AUCTION, optimized trading strategy, and eliminated most of the bugs. Big thanks to the biggest local security provider company, Zhidao Chuanyu, and several independent IT teams for helping us to finish code review and ensure maximum safety.

ABR: Given your many years of experience with digital currency networks and blockchain technology, what are some of the biggest challenges in running an exchange business?

MK: I was recently asked the same question when interviewed by Chinese media. Many people think that all exchanges can make easy money. Actually, it is not as easy as you might think. In my opinion, operating an exchange requires the following five attributes: 

1. Strong financial base that can ensure the normal operation of the platform.
2. R&D and scalability of the trading system.
3. Professional marketing strategy that can continuously attract users.
4. Comprehensive risk control capabilities that can fully guarantee the security of the user’s assets.
5. Strong sense of responsibility — all decisions should be made based on long-term development.

Exchanges themselves represent a sort of very complex ecosystem with different services that require the assistance of third-party providers and really solid “think step forward” strategy in every aspect of its operational workflow. Besides that, we should always keep in mind the human factor that can exert both a good and bad influence on development. It is not easy to operate an exchange and every day, we are constantly fighting to maintain these five attributes. An exchange can go further only by having it all.

ABR: What does it mean to be a completely self-developed platform with full independent property rights?

MK: Here’s another question — what is any exchange made for? It is made to provide a space for traders to exchange their assets, smoothly, safely, and conveniently. I believe the trading system is the core value of digital currency exchanges. 

As previously mentioned, comprehensive R&D capabilities can guarantee the security and stability of the trading platform; do a quick scale-out to support the platform operation, and make business adjustments to meet the changing market demand. Only with independent R&D capabilities is it possible to realize further development. This is what CHAOEX brings.

ABR: How has being licensed in Europe and regulated by the Estonian government been conducive to your operations and business model?

MK: Digital currency is a major challenge to the traditional monetary system and financial regulation system. Governments are launching regulatory policies, one after another, regarding digital currency. Compliance is a prerequisite for the development of digital currency trading platforms. 

CHAOEX strictly adheres to the provisions of Estonian law and engages in digital currency trading services under the guidance of the law, which points the way for the development of CHAOEX. Additionally, we are working on the bank account opening issue and plan to resolve it soon to open a direct fiat gate for our customers. 

We also have a plan to apply for licensing in other countries, the next logical development step as the company matures. Currently, we are looking in the direction of Gibraltar, as it’s quite convenient and beneficial for OTC business.

ABR: What (if any) other language versions do you already plan to add to the company’s multi-voice support?

MK: CHAOEX currently supports traditional Chinese, English and Korean, and will add other languages according to user demand. On a daily basis, we are receiving support and feedback from community members from all parts of the world. 

As of now, the biggest interest is coming from the Russian community. While we can provide support in Russian, that version of the website hasn’t been added yet, and most probably, it will be the first new language version to be implemented. Users also express the desire for support in Arabic, French, and Spanish.  

ABR: With over 70 members now, the CHAOEX team has indeed become a force to be reckoned with. How has this team actively contributed to the development of the blockchain industry while supporting innovation?

MK: After two years of development, the professional competence of the CHAOEX team has greatly improved. We are growing in scale and growing professionally together with the market. I hope that our team can continue to adapt to the industry and constantly improve their professional knowledge and industry skills to promote the industry with a more rigorous attitude, backing CHAOEX to move higher and further on the international stage. 

As of our latest initiatives, CHAOEX took a leading role in organizing the powerful Exchange Alliance to support independent chain coins. With our reach and experience, we have provided assistance to partner exchanges in docking and listing POW independent chain coins and became one of the exchanges with the biggest choice of POW coins for trading, forming a separate trading market. Meanwhile, project developers constantly receive CHAOEX support in terms of promotion to customers and mining pools in Asian countries. 

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