MetaQuotes Software

MetaQuotes Software Corp.
Private
Industry Software
Founded 2000 (2000)
Headquarters Limassol, Cyprus
Key people
 Renat Fatkhullin CEO
Products Trading systems;
MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader 5
MetaTrader 4 Mobile
MetaTrader 5 Mobile
TeamWox
Number of employees
 50+
Website www.metaquotes.net

MetaQuotes Software Corp. is a Russian software company that produces the MetaTrader family of online trading platforms: MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 (also known as MT4 and MT5). It specializes in the development of software for financial markets. The company is registered in Cyprus, however, it was founded and is primarily based in Russia. The company's main focus is on Forex market trading software with its trading platform MetaTrader which is being used in over 450 brokerage companies and banks around the world.

History

MetaQuotes Software Corporation was established in 2000 in Russia with the launch of FX Charts, an online charting package used for margin FX trading. It became popular with traders as it could be run on a Windows PC and did not require dedicated and expensive equipment.

In 2001, it released its second major version of the application and renamed it MetaQuotes, which expanded the range of instruments that could be traded. In addition to currencies, it also included support for the newly emerging CFDs (Contracts for difference). The application also allowed users to write their own trading programs and strategies using its own MetaQuotes Language (MQL). This substantially increased the flexibility and utility of the client trading platform.

A chart from the MT4 trading screen

In early 2002, it released its third version of MetaTrader. This again expanded the number of financial products with the addition of futures contracts, but more importantly it expanded programming language for trading strategies with MQL II. A number of users and third parties started to develop functions and libraries using the new version of the built in programming language and APIs.

On July 1, 2005, it released MetaTrader 4 or MT4. This was a major overhaul of the platform. This version allowed the client trading platform to connect via an optional 'Data Center', which dramatically increased the server side stability, reduced server load and made it more resilient to security threats such as Denial-of-service attacks. The client software was also upgraded with a new version of the C-like language for trading strategies programming called MetaQuotes Language 4 (MQL 4). Later that year MetaQuotes also released its first version of the trading platform for mobile devices. The MT4 communication protocol was not backward compatible with previous versions, and MetaQuotes Software refused to open the Client API, meaning all of the previous client developed code no longer worked. The client API did however significantly extend the functionality of the programming language for trading strategies with MQL4, including support for a DLL interface. This version of the software became popular with a large number of users and became the main product of MetaQuotes Software for the next 5 years.

In 2005 development of the TeamWox, a CRM system started for the company internal use. In 2009, the first public commercial version of TeamWox was released and went on to win various industry awards.[1][2][3]

On June 1, 2010 MetaQuotes Software officially released MetaTrader 5 or MT5 the next version of its trading platform.[4] It expanded the number of products that could be traded from just Forex to include stocks and commodities.[5] MT5 also includes a new version of the programming language called MQL5. The new MT5 client trading terminal differs in a number of ways from MT4 and was not backward compatible.[6][7] Uptake of the new version was slow and by April, 2011 MetaTrader had only 50 companies featuring the new version with over 400 companies remaining on MT4 mainly due to the lack of backward compatibility. Additionally, there has been an overall reluctance to adopt the new MQL5 programming language.[8]

On April, 2011 MetaQuotes launched a service called MQL5 Cloud Network which allowed users to sell their idle time for distributed computing tasks.[9]

In 2011 MetaQuotes Software Corp. entered into a partnership with International Business Times to deliver integrated trading platform and newswire service.[10]

In 2012 MetaTrader 5 Trading Platform has been Certified for the Singapore Mercantile Exchange.[11] Metaquotes Software has been granted ISV status by the stock exchange.[12]

Automated Trading Championship

Between 2006 and 2012, the company conducted annual Automated Trading Championship for software developers in MQL4 with the aim of demonstrating the possibilities of automated trading. During this event, specially written robotic computer programs face off against each other by analyzing the prices of various financial instruments and trading them in real time. Under the terms of the championship, all of the programs would run simultaneously for three months under identical conditions. The competition has been sponsored by MIG Bank, FXCM, Dow Jones & Company and other companies in previous years. There was no Championship in 2009 and the series has been cancelled after 2012 event.[13]

Operations

The company is registered in the offshore zone of Cyprus from where it makes sales and provides marketing and technical support. Software development is primarily done in Russia and the company has representative offices in Turkey, China, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Pakistan, and Thailand.[14][15]

References

  1. ↑ "Best Soft 2010" (in Russian). PC Magazine/RE. 2010-11-21. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  2. ↑ "Best Soft 2011" (in Russian). PC Magazine/RE. 2011-11-21. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  3. ↑ "2012 Best CRM Software". Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  4. ↑ "Retail e-FX Provider: MT5 - Evolution or Revolution?". e-Forex Magazine. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  5. ↑ "Exclusive interview with Alexander Saidullin, Director of Trading Platform Development at MetaQuotes". FX Trader Magazine. 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  6. ↑ "Retail e-FX Client: MT5 widening the horizon for all Forex traders". e-Forex Magazine. 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  7. ↑ "New trading platform MetaTrader 5". InstaForex. 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  8. ↑ "Interview with Metaquotes – Lenar Fatkhullin". Forex Magnates. 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  9. ↑ "Statistics of the Distributed Cloud Network". Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  10. ↑ "IBTimes and MetaQuotes Partner to Deliver Integrated Trading Platform and Newswire Service". Forex Magnates. 2011-02-01. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  11. ↑ "SMX certifies MetaQuotes trading platform". Automated Trader. 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  12. ↑ "Vendors with SMX". Singapore Mercantile Exchange. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  13. ↑ "Automated Trading Championship". MetaQuotes. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "MetaQuates Software Contact". MetaQuates Software Contact. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  15. ↑ Saks-McLeod, Andrew (3 June 2015). "MetaQuotes opens office in Thailand". LeapRate. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
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