QFEX, a global trading exchange start-up founded by University of Cambridge mathematics graduates and valued at $95m, has officially launched, offering high-leverage, 24/7 direct trading of traditional assets with no brokers, no expiry dates on futures, and no barriers.
The company recently closed a $9.5m seed funding round led by General Catalyst, with participation from Y Combinator and Paul Graham, the founder of Y Combinator. The round valued QFEX at $95m.
QFEX positions itself as the first traditional exchange in the world to offer 24/7 trading of traditional assets — a feature previously associated only with digital asset — alongside direct investor-to-investor trading and perpetual futures (“perps”) on traditional assets. These are contracts with no expiry dates, eliminating the rollovers that reportedly cost traders an estimated $5bn each year. The platform also offers leverage of up to 50x, built on infrastructure modelled after professional trading systems.
The platform was founded by Annanay Kapila, a former high-frequency trader at Tower Research Capital, and Joshua Wharton, who previously worked at hedge fund Citadel. The pair created QFEX out of firsthand experience with the inefficiencies they encountered in traditional finance, with the aim of building a platform where individual investors are not subject to opaque broker fee structures or legacy clearing infrastructure.
QFEX aims to replace what it describes as the $100bn global exchange, clearing, and brokerage industry by offering a faster, cheaper, and fairer alternative to legacy institutions. Every trade on the platform, including traditional assets and CFDs, is peer-to-peer, with all users trading on the same transparent terms.
By removing the broker, the company says it eliminates the middleman’s ability to distort spreads, raise costs, or trade against their own customers — a concern it highlights as particularly relevant in the CFD space.
QFEX launched in March 2026 following a live period for early users, and currently has a waitlist and referral programme in place.
QFEX CEO Annanay Kapila said, “QFEX was built to level the playing field. We’re giving individual investors the tools, leverage and access that only the professionals had before.”
Kapila added, “Private traders and investors are not a sideshow – they’re essential to a healthy market. But until now, they’ve only had access during standard weekday trading hours, precisely when many are at work or unable to engage. By giving them the freedom to trade on their own terms, and empowering them with better access and tools, we’re helping to build a more inclusive and efficient market.”
General Catalyst managing director Yuri Sagalov said, “QFEX is cracking the code on 24/7 traditional asset trading, while aiming to solve rollover problems that can plague futures traders. Not only that, but QFEX is democratizing traditional market participation. When Cambridge mathematicians who’ve built systems for Citadel and Tower Research decide to build the exchange layer from scratch, we pay attention. Some opportunities require you to rebuild the entire stack – this is one of them.”
Copyright © 2025 FinTech Global
