New York–based crypto proprietary trading startup Vest Labs closed a $13 million seed round in July, led by Portal Ventures with participation from executives at Citadel Securities, BlackRock and KKR. The platform enables qualified traders to trade perpetual futures around the clock using company capital and receive up to 80% of the profits.
Vest Labs was co‑founded by University of Pennsylvania dropouts Justin Ma, Rikuya Takatsu and Maximilian Tsiang.
Vest Labs profit-sharing model
The company’s model differs from many traditional proprietary trading firms that charge users fees for simulated accounts: Vest routes traders to live perpetual futures positions funded by the firm and shares a majority of resulting profits with eligible traders.
Vest plans to use the funding to develop a mobile application, grow its 22-person team, and broaden the range of tradable assets. With trading volume on the rise, the startup says it aims to attract top talent in the altcoins space.
