Key Takeaways
- • Jean-Marc Bonnefous, former BNP Paribas global head of commodity derivatives and current head of digital asset fund Tellurian ExoAlpha, describes crypto as "quant heaven" but says the sector has a talent problem, according to eFinancialCareers.
- • Bonnefous spoke on a panel at Quant Strats 2023 and said top quants are drawn to fixed income and commodities but "you don't really have that in crypto."
- • Bonnefous cites slower crypto infrastructure and an underdeveloped options market as deterrents, and says speed advantages in high-frequency trading yield limited edge in crypto.
- • Bonnefous expects attitudes to change as options market expansion and the recent introduction of a crypto ETF create opportunities that could attract top quantitative talent.
Summary
Crypto trading has lost some of its appeal, particularly as the FTX trial of Sam Bankman-Fried continues, but quantitative traders may be overlooking an opportunity, according to eFinancialCareers. Jean-Marc Bonnefous, ex-BNP Paribas global head of commodity derivatives, who now runs digital asset fund Tellurian ExoAlpha, described the industry as "quant heaven" while acknowledging that it faces a talent shortage.
Speaking on a panel at Quant Strats 2023, Bonnefous said asset classes such as fixed income and commodities attract "very brilliant minds," a depth he said is absent in crypto. He attributed part of the reluctance to the sector's reputational damage, and also pointed to infrastructure. He said "the infrastructure is so much slower" and that the options market is not as developed as it needs to be.
Speed constraints are especially significant for high-frequency traders. Bonnefous said that in crypto "that extra edge is not going to get you that much of an edge," and noted that HFT strategies can be executed with no more than Python.
Bonnefous argued that crypto is a "dream data driven market" because, unlike other markets, "everything's in the open, so you can extract information," although that information is obscured by "a maze and chains of transactions."
He expects attitudes to shift as options market expansion "creates [those] third or fourth dimensions," which he said could prove lucrative for top quants. He pointed to the recent introduction of a crypto ETF as a major step toward that development.
Speaking on a panel at Quant Strats 2023, Bonnefous said asset classes such as fixed income and commodities attract "very brilliant minds," a depth he said is absent in crypto. He attributed part of the reluctance to the sector's reputational damage, and also pointed to infrastructure. He said "the infrastructure is so much slower" and that the options market is not as developed as it needs to be.
Speed constraints are especially significant for high-frequency traders. Bonnefous said that in crypto "that extra edge is not going to get you that much of an edge," and noted that HFT strategies can be executed with no more than Python.
Bonnefous argued that crypto is a "dream data driven market" because, unlike other markets, "everything's in the open, so you can extract information," although that information is obscured by "a maze and chains of transactions."
He expects attitudes to shift as options market expansion "creates [those] third or fourth dimensions," which he said could prove lucrative for top quants. He pointed to the recent introduction of a crypto ETF as a major step toward that development.
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