How to Build a Stock Trading Platform or App
Macro- and micro-investment by trading ETFs and stocks via KYC, PCI, DCC protocols attracts hundreds of millions traders due to the possibility of receiving stable active or passive income. In order to develop a trading platform, you have to know the rules and regulations that guide IT specialists and financiers, add features that attract investors with different deposit sizes, and unique functionality by inserting calculated forecasting. Details on how to create a Forex website, launch MVP and add analytics with visualization - in the material of Merehead.
Gold, energy and metals, fiat and cryptocurrencies - the more classes of investments on the platform, generally the better. Commitment to developing a mobile app based on the principle of “trading on your phone” is a key metric for owners looking to attract Generation Z, Millennials and Alpha investors into stock trading. To achieve FSC certification, a solid platform participates in execution quality programs, protecting traders from negative balances through multi-factor verification.
Multi-asset trading platform R StocksTrader is an example of functionality with 12 thousand options, including indices, CFDs and ETFs, dividend splits and mergers, in-depth multi-factor valuation, trend modeling and a built-in trader bot builder. An indicator of risk limitation is leverage with a limit of up to 1:20: if they offer terms between 1:100 and 1:1000, it is a confirmation of a possible “drain” of the trader. There is a possibility of copying the actions of successful traders, with filtering by profit growth in %, the ratio between profits and losses, the amount and minimum size of the deposit, the maximum drawdown on transactions, with the choice of asset type and duration of the trader's activity.
Special attention to frameworks: in the classic version, Node.js is used for the backend and servers. The UI/UX interface is developed on the basis of React.js or Angular. Both platforms work well together, without crashes and hangs, which is important in trading. Bootstrap framework is suitable for simple layout. The jQuery library with a convenient API is used in situations where JavaScript with HTML is the programming choice.
It is good to connect React Native to develop a mobile version for iOS or Android: the convenience of trading stocks and currencies “on the go” is no less valuable than multifunctionality. Electron.js is designed for developing desktop cross-platform applications due to the possibility of combining JavaScript options, HTML markup, style sheets, CSS formatting. In the personal cabinet a trader sees a portfolio with assets - stocks, metals and energy, fiat and cryptocurrencies. The movement of the rate up or down with numbers and in % indicates by what share and in money equivalent the capital increased or decreased. If the platform's tasks will include offering exotic assets such as memcoins or clicker game coins, it is necessary to indicate the capitalization, trend and rate for the selected period (month, year, from the date of listing).
Such solutions are based on market research and audience needs, with a look back at competitors. Looking at everything through the eyes of customers involves a clearly defined niche with many nuances. This includes the type of search engine: Apple owners prefer Safari rather than Google Chrome, in China it's Baidu or Bing, for security it's DuckDuckGo. These rules are relevant in situations when traders use macOS and Linux operating systems. Analytical reports, real-time rate charts, push notifications or dialogs, a news feed complete the interface of the platform with a price tag of $40 thousand. Protection of transactions and tax (personal) information is important in the backend, so it is better to integrate a payment gateway into the platform.
Operations of buying units (shares of cryptocurrencies, like BITS and SATS), forming lists of selected identified tickers in the personal cabinet with history recording for each asset and types of transactions should be clear and understandable. Embedding AI functionality helps to make forecasts on how the exchange rate will change depending on external and internal factors. For example, just a week ago, after the listing, the NOT exchange rate started to grow sharply and reached the level of $0.012 by 08/24/24. But immediately after the arrest of Telegram creator Pavel Durov the rate went down and fell to $0.009. The situation is similar with the TON rate, which fell to $5.5 from almost $7.
It is a bearish strategy: a deliberate depreciation of the exchange rate so that traders who set stop-losses at the level of a drop of up to 10% were forced to close their trades, thereby further depreciating the exchange rate. Equally dangerous are bull traps, when the candle reaches a maximum, increasing the number of longs and stimulating the purchase of cryptocurrency according to the FOMO principle. Shorts formed on a rising trend form an imbalance and cause a gap with a breakdown of the support level. If there are options on the platform in the cabinet that warn small traders about a possible bull trap or bearish mechanics - footprints, resistance breakout indicators, volatility growth and the number of green clusters in candlesticks, riskiness of shorts or unjustified longs - then novice traders will definitely choose the “tit” in the wallet.
Stock market requires substantial and thoughtful solutions, so without creating an MVP and testing before release, you can't get the project done. In the process of deployment, it is good to get feedback from users and add those features that are missing. A kind of encouragement will be the lack of commission for one or two withdrawals per month. It takes 3-6 months to develop a platform of medium complexity, based on the level of financial and economic mindset of the clients. All stages should go in a coordinated and easy way, as in the diagram.
In times when the instability of currencies and stocks, sudden jumps are clearly visible, it is advisable to suggest to traders that it is preferable to invest for a long period of time in metals (palladium and gold, platinum, californium, osmium, iridium and others). Positions on such assets are protected significantly higher, so leverage (leverage) can reach 1:500. Nevertheless, it is better to limit yourself to a maximum of 1:100 (when for $1 the platform provides support of $99) or lower. A built-in simulator with a demo account does not guarantee absolute subsequent profits in reality, even if a perfect selection of trading tactics is made. Therefore, it is valuable for a novice investor, given the emotionality and susceptibility to psychological and technical patterns, to get hints. This will show that the platform's profits depend on the trader's success, not his loss.
Israel's eToro, with 30 million investors in a hundred countries, combines elements of a social network and an exchange. For 17 years in 6000 positions of the platform developers have collected proven stocks, different types of fiat and cryptocurrencies, securities. Portfolio diversification in the cabinet with 5000 tools of work on the exchange, the ability to copy the actions of profitable traders (social copy-trading) with CopyTrader customization and Popular Investor add-ons, podcasts and unpaid courses in the Academy of the resource give “relatedness” and family. Apps in the App Store and Google Play - to improve mobility of work.
According to the time parameters of trading application development, the range of processes varies from 400 to 2400 hours provided 4-5 IT specialists (backend and frontend developers, UI/UX designer, DevOps engineer and manager with tester) work. The average development time is 850 hours. The more complex the design, more functions and analysis tools, SQL-based structures and REST APIs for Touch ID profile operations, transactions and interaction with payment terminals, the longer the timeframe. Customization of server interaction with functionality, trading by timeframes, charts with candlesticks and key markers of trend changes complete the development before deployment, testing for resistance to DDoS attacks and bug fixes.
If the idea has just matured, but has not yet been formalized, it is better to rent software that works according to the White Label principle and start a Forex trading business in your region. Usually the price of installation does not exceed $10 thousand, rent - in the range of $2-10 thousand monthly. Own resource on native code will cost $40-80 thousand. A mobile application with a screen that simultaneously displays 5-10 charts with stock prices and quotes for a week/month/quarter or more is a good option for design. When there are forecasting functions with regression equation development, it is a great solution. Let's take the example of TON & NOT by arranging cryptocurrency rates with a time interval of 30 days.
| Days | TON, rate in USD | NOT, rate in USD | |
| 1 | 2,3144 | 0,01026 | |
| 30 | 2,1286 | 0,01936 | |
| 60 | 2,5784 | 0,01493 | |
| 90 | 5,3169 | 0,01132 | |
| 120 | 5,2858 | 0,008494 *(Day 107th) | |
| 150 | 6,4795 | - | |
| 180 | 7,5834 | - | |
| 210 | 6,605 | - | |
| 240 | 5,3632 | - | |
| Regression equation:
TON rate = 2.389918435 + 0.020486526 × days |
Regression equation:
Rate NOT = 0.0152437938924421 - 0.0000393852806053509 × days |
||
| Forecast | Forecast | ||
| Days | Курс, USD | Days | Курс, USD |
| 300 | 8,535876091 | 120 | 0,01051756 |
| 400 | 10,58452864 | 150 | 0,009336002 |
| 500 | 12,63318119 | 200 | 0,007366738 |
| 600 | 14,68183375 | 250 | 0,005397474 |
| 700 | 16,7304863 | 300 | 0,00342821 |
| 800 | 18,77913885 | 350 | 0,001458946 |
| 900 | 20,8277914 | 400 | -0,000510318 |
| 1000 | 22,87644396 | 450 | -0,002479582 |
Working out the simplest regression equation with one independent indicator (days), we see that in one year the TON rate will be $14.68, in 2 years - $22. In terms of NOT, the financial picture looks as if the cryptocurrency will be worthless in a year. But there are other factors here: a quarter ago NOT rate reached $0.026, and the previous drops and collapse to $0.008 may have been provoked by the desire of large investors to start a panic and then buy up the cryptocurrency for nothing. The second reason is the arrest of Pavel Durov. It is clear that one time indicator is not enough, for a quality forecast you need at least 3 factors, maximum - 6-7. This list may include points with peaks, difference in % volatility (to the previous day, decade or quarter), capitalization by periods and trading volumes. Simple equations are for the free profile, complex equations are for the Premium profile.
Imagine that a probable trader looks at Tesla Motors stock over time and sees that although there is a noticeable downward trend, the rate has not usually fallen below $180 and there is a possibility that in the near future a price of $250 will be the norm and, therefore, there is an opportunity to make money. Next, the person compares the rate and price to Toyota stock and concludes that it makes sense to diversify the portfolio by adding shares of the Japanese automaker. The buying process begins, but the built-in assistant says: “MBGn shares have been quoted between €19 and €76 over the last 5 years, now priced at €61, with an 84% chance of rising to €75 in the next quarter”. This is followed by a calculation of how much profit the investor would get under three scenarios of rate changes.
Among the options may be a long-term investment in Volkswagen AG shares, the rate of which has fallen to €102, but may return to the previous ceiling of €250-300 in the perspective of 2-3 years. This is another convenient option for those who see the potential of a company that has been temporarily on the list of outsiders for a number of reasons. Ranking by value is a necessary criterion for a trading platform.
Forecasts and calculation of profit or loss is something that will interest the trader and simplify the work. If leverage is added to the functionality, the calculation is based on the ratio of leverage (the higher the leverage, the greater the risk of capital loss), the cost of services and potential profit or loss, the client sees the transparency of services and is ready to take risks. Multipliers ×1, ×5, ×20 and ×100 are among the most common ones. If it is higher than ×100 and reaches ×1000, the platform and brokers are likely to make money on traders' losses.
Functionality is the heart of an investment platform working on Forex principles. Individualization of queries and filters, fine-tuning of spread and regression relationships, AI-advisor and rate forecasting, selection of stock packages for portfolio diversification are impossible without deep development of the backend with computing functions. The unique ECN-type personal account with thousands of clear and secure options and FSC certificate, as well as visually easy interface are the result of a well-coordinated team of IT-specialists.
Merehead is a stock trading app development company. It offers to rent and try cross-platform solutions for Forex on White Label, then decide whether to develop your own resource or continue cooperation. Making a choice - to follow a proven track or to blaze a trail in the business world on your own - is eternal. “Red ocean” seems simpler, “blue” - more complicated, but more profitable. For every customer's idea, the team adds a dozen more to make CRM work like clockwork and provide annual liquidity of 10-20%.
