APEX:E3, a company involved in the analysis of various assets for retail and institutional investors, today announced an algorithmic trading competition that will see Oxford University students compete against Cambridge students.
Usman Khan, CEO of APEX:E3, said:
“We are excited by the opportunity to bring real-world learning opportunities, extra-curricular activities and financial market analysis to interested students under lockdown. We have been really energised by the response from Oxford and Cambridge students for this competition and look forward to expanding the scope and number of universities next year. A huge thank you to our partners who we are delighted to be working with, and our partners at both universities for all their help to get this competition off the ground.”
The Oxford algorithmic trading competition
The competition will last one month and will involve 15 teams of students from the mathematics and computer science departments of the two prestigious British universities.
For the competition, students will use the APEX:E3 API to design their own algorithms and will use Coinbase Pro, SIX Digital Exchange and FTX, which are partners in the competition.
Peter Stillwell, Head of European Operations at Coinbase, commented:
“Coinbase is thrilled to support this competition by making our data available to students interested in Algorithmic Trading and partnering with APEX:E3. Helping introduce and educate students on Digital Assets at a time when people all around the world are looking for new ways to learn and challenge themselves is something we are all very excited about here at Coinbase”.
Professor Mike Wooldridge, Head of Department of Computer Science, Oxford, explained:
“As a leading University, engaging with industry on real-world applications of Computer Science provides not only an excellent opportunity for our students, but also potential new avenues for collaborative research. APEX:E3, has devised a unique challenge to apply students’ knowledge to real-world applications, leveraging the understanding and application of AI in financial institutions. We are pleased to have APEX:E3 as an industry affiliate and are excited to see how the competition unfolds over the coming weeks.”
Dr. Quentin Stafford-Fraser, of the Cambridge Department of Computer Science, added:
“Algorithmic Trading is an important use of many areas of cutting-edge Computer Science in today’s world, and by turning it into a competition, APEX:E3 has created a fun and risk-free way for students to learn about the industry and bring their creativity and expertise to bear on the particular challenges of this domain. We look forward to seeing what the teams come up with and wish them all the best. Especially the ones wearing light blue, of course!”
Oxford and Cambridge in the crypto market
As early as 2017, the University of Cambridge began writing a paper on crypto assets, demonstrating that this trading initiative announced today is not the first to involve the University in the blockchain industry.
In January 2020, Cambridge also began working with the Bitcoin Association to award a scholarship named after Satoshi Nakamoto to a particularly deserving student.
Oxford didn’t stand by and watch, by 2018 two law school scholars had already begun to explore the regulatory challenges of the cryptocurrency world.
