Frequently Asked Questions
The FAQ covers questions specific to BlitzTrader platform and we hope this page answer most of your questions. If your question is not answered below, please feel free to send us an email, or click the Contact Us button in the page header above. QuantXpress intends to work with quant developer to further enhance and extends its BlitzTraderAPI for developing various trading plug-ins component and trading tools.
What is BlitzTrader and who is it for?
BlitzTrader is a new generation, high performance, scalable algorithmic trading platform with integrated OMS/EMS. It provides powerful framework and open APIs interface used to transform your proprietary ideas into trade much faster and with ease. The platform is specifically designed for quant developers, buy-side institutions, asset managers, hedge funds, professional trader and proprietary trading firms.
The software framework and components are designed to facilitate the development process of sophisticated trading strategies, market adapters, customization of user interface and allows developer to concentrate more time on business specific requirements than on the plumbing code behind it resulting, faster time to the market. It is also a powerful alternative for a hedge funds incurring heavy investment on development and maintenance of custom trading solutions and allows mechanism for rapid strategy development, testing and deployment.
What different asset class BlitzTrader supports?
The BlitzTrader is multi-asset algorithmic trading platform and supports many different asset class including Equity, Futures, Options, Commodities and FX. Our clients are successfully trading across these asset classes or combination of it on different markets.
Is BlitzTrader is broker neutral platform and can I use it for arbitrage across multiple
exchange venues?
Yes, BlitzTrader is broker neutral platform and strategy once developed and proven successful can scale to new markets without change in strategy code. The broker neutral architecture enables you to connect to global trading venues of your choice using a respective market adapter. The market adapter is a software component build using BlitzTrader API and provides Direct Market Access to liquidity venues.
QuantXpress provides ready to use market adapters for major market and can build new market adapter as per client requirements. The BlitzTrader flexible architecture helps you to connect to multiple markets across different asset class.
How do I write an automated strategy code? What programming language
does it support?
Please follow our detailed API documentation section for systematic steps guiding you on strategy development process. Instead of providing another custom scripting language for a strategy development and limit the scope and flexibility, we lets programmers to use a powerful BlitzTrader API designed for algorithmic trading and C# programming language to develop a strategy code. C# is a modern, general-purpose, object-oriented programming language and developers can leverage their existing programming skills to take advantage of developing algorithmic trading strategy in C# using advance language features and BlitzTrader API model.
What is a general feature of BlitzTrader API and trading framework?
Some of the general features provided by BlitzTrader API are:
- - C# based Multithreaded event driven API interface for rapid strategy deployment.
- - API help you to access the real-time prices (level-I, Level-II), news, historical time series data.
- - Create, modify and cancel order command
- - Provides smart order command useful for managing high frequency quoting.
- - Supports all native order types including multileg IOC.
- - Framework for instrument management
- - Access of trade statistics, P&L, positions and order state
- - Event notification for the execution state change of order
- - Framework for exchange adapter development and integration
- - Abstraction of market from strategy development process
- - Custom message command to invoke communication between with trading interface and strategy instance
- - Administration for connectivity, user accounts, trading roles, permission and risk assignment.
- - Framework for custom user interface and add-ins
- - Comprehensive trade blotter and report
- - Manual and click based trading
- - Deployment scenario – Collocation, Data-centre or office setup
- - FIX components and API
- - Options pricing library
- - Technical analysis library with important indicator collection and framework to develop new technical indicator
How can I record market data as a time dataseries and use it in evaluating my
technical indicators in sync with live data?
The QXMDS Market Data Server application listen live data through a multicast channel from BlitzTrader exchange feed adapter and store it in 1 minute time frame. The API interface extends flexibility to request the time series market data of any time frame. The QXMDS server allows to save custom time series data like implied volatility, bid, ask and last price data.
Does BlitzTrader support charting?
BlitzTrader strategy is hosted on server which is a console based application but some traders need a rich graphical interface to visualize real-time state of strategy, runtime time data series and trade-flow. BlitzTrader API supports synchronization of multiple time data series with client view that can be presented with any good look and feel. In typical charting application charts driven the strategy process which is not very scalable but in BlitzTrader, server hosted strategy drives the data and can be presented in any custom view at remote end without affecting system performance. This allows system to scale thousands of strategy instances across multiple markets.
What is the BlitzTrader architecture and its system requirements?
The BlitzTrader is based on client/server distributed multitier architecture to take advantage of the proximity infrastructure and provide enterprise trading environment. Server is used to host programmable strategies and market adapters. The client and admin trading interface provides rich user interface to control and monitor the system with comprehensive view. The client is fully configurable and customized with custom add-ins.
Following is general requirement guidelines for a BlitzTrader server installation. BlitzTrader client can also be installed on the same machine setup.
| Minimum Requirements |
Standard User
Recommendations |
Muti User Recommendations |
|
| Processor | 64 bit Single-core Intel® or AMD® processor at 1.5 GHz or faster | 64 bit Dual-core Intel® or AMD® processor at 2.5 GHz or faster | 64 bit Multi-core Intel® or AMD® processor at 3 GHz or faster |
| Memory (RAM) | 4GB | 4 GB to 8 GB | 8 GB or more |
| Hard Drive | 5400 RPM drive 2GB free space or more | Solid State Drive (SSD) or 7200 RPM drive 2GB free space or more | Solid State Drive (SSD) or 7200 RPM drive 5 GB free space or more |
| Video Card (s) Client (BlitzTrader Client) | 16-bit graphics support 64 MB for a single monitor | 32-bit graphics support 128 MB for dual monitors | 32-bit graphics support 256 MB or more for multiple monitors |
| Screen Resolution (BlitzTrader Client) | 1280x1024 pixels, or higher | 1280x1024 pixels, or higher | 1280x1024 pixels, or higher |
| Operating Systems | Windows® 8 64-bit Windows® 7 64-bit | Windows® 8 64-bit Windows® 2008 64-bit R2 Windows® 2012 64-bit R2 | Windows® 8 64-bit Windows® 2008 64-bit R2 Windows® 2012 64-bit R2 |
| Supported Architecture | X64 | X64 | X64 |
| .NET Framework & Other Softwares | Microsoft.NET framework 4.5.1 MongoDB | Microsoft.NET framework 4.5.1 MongoDB | Microsoft.NET framework 4.5.1 MongoDB |
How can I test strategies to check its robustness and scalability?
BlitzTrader provides a simulated trading environment to execute the strategies with live or recorded market data to paper trade your ideas and validate the robustness of system before actually going live.
How BlitzTrader control the trading risk?
BlitzTrader server includes a built-in risk management system to strictly enforce financial stability. Administrator assign various risk parameter value at trader, Instrument and portfolio level and limit breaches is logged, with order rejection. We also recommend strategy programmers adding extra level of checks in strategy code like max order size, maximum position extra. It is very important to test the strategy for its functional requirement in simulated setup before going live. There is always a potential risk of unintended order fires as there could be logical bug in your strategy code, so testing is very important. Try to use Smart Order command for order management then individual APIs function call like SendNewOrder, SendOrderModfication, SendOrderCancellation etc.
Which market connectors are available for a Direct Market Access through a
BlitzTrader?
BlitzTrader is providing a Direct Market Access adapter to following liquidity providers through our client direct membership.
- - Interactive Broker (TWS API)
- - FXCM (FIX API)
- - OANDA (FIX API)
- - National Stock Exchange of India (NSE TBT, NNF)
- - Multi Commodity Exchange of India (Non-FIX)
Our client themselves can add new programmable market connector or our professional service team provide connectivity adapter to new markets based on our client request.
We are small boutique hedge fund and have diversified multi-asset strategies
interest
from multi-market arbitrage model, pair trading, options hedging, gamma
scalping and quantitative directional model based on technical and much more.
Does BlitzTrader provide me enough flexibility to model all my strategies from single platform?
We pride to take more complex scenario and challenges. The platform is designed for both high frequency and directional traders. The given requirement is the fundamental feature of the product to manage complete algorithmic trading business of yours from single platform with complete independence and reliability. You need not required multiple platform and softwares tool from different technologies providers. BlitzTrader manages all your automated trading needs from single platform across different asset-class.
The BlitzTrader platform high performance and scalable architecture can host 1000s of strategies in muti-trader scenario across different market. In case of need, our experienced professional team offers to manage the entire technology stack from development, testing to deployment so you can focus on your own core strength.....Trading and Research.
Can I request to add features and suggestion to improve the system overall
experience?
We appreciate such request and your ideas to improve the platform and prioritize its implementation.
Can I code and add some good proven strategies to be distributed to your clients?
We appreciate such proven strategies and trading tools to be accessible and known across BlitzTrader users but we still need to draw some processes how it can be compensated to you, if it directly benefits to the end users. Still as a quant developer any one is very open to develop an trading tools and proven strategies to be distributed to BlitzTrader clients.
Is BlitzTrader is open source?
No, it is not an open source project but we are flexible to share the source code to some qualified institutions.
How can I evaluate BlitzTrader?
We provide 30 days free evaluation of BlitzTrader with Interactive Broker adapter.
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