Currensee
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services, Foreign exchange trading |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founder | Asaf Yigal, Avi Leventhal |
| Defunct | 2014-10-31 |
| Fate | Acquired by Oanda in 2013; service terminated in 2014 |
| Headquarters | Boston , United States |
Key people | Dave Lemont (CEO) |
| Products | Social Forex trading platform, Trade Leaders Investment Program |
| Parent | Oanda (from 2013) |
| Website | currensee |
Currensee (currensee.com) was a financial services firm based in Boston that operated a social platform tailored for foreign exchange (Forex) traders. The company provided mirror trading capabilities, allowing users to duplicate the trades of selected expert traders. After being acquired by Oanda in 2013, the service was ultimately terminated in October 2014.
The firm introduced the innovative "Trade Leaders Investment Program," which utilized proprietary algorithms to identify leading traders within its community. Investors could then follow these top performers and replicate their trades directly within their own brokerage accounts, functioning similarly to a mutual fund structure applied to Forex trading.
History
Established in 2008 by software engineer Asaf Yigal and Forex specialist Avi Leventhal amid the late-2000s economic downturn, Currensee sought to establish Forex trading as an alternative investment vehicle and promote collaborative trading methodologies.
Under the leadership of CEO Dave Lemont and headquartered in Boston’s North End district, Currensee attracted capital from investors including North Bridge Venture Partners, Egan-Managed Capital, and Vernon & Park Capital. The company maintained memberships with the National Futures Association and held registration with the Financial Services Authority.
In September 2013, Forex brokerage Oanda Corporation acquired Currensee. Subsequently, on October 9, 2014, Oanda announced the discontinuation of Currensee and its Trade Leaders Program effective October 31, 2014.
The Currensee Social Network
Founders Yigal and Leventhal merged elements of social networking with direct trade collaboration to increase transparency within retail Forex trading. Currensee connected retail Forex traders worldwide, allowing them to observe each other's live trades and exchange strategies in real time for improved investment outcomes.
Users linked their active brokerage accounts to Currensee’s platform, enabling peers to verify actual trading performance and collaborate on preferred currency pairs, strategies, and economic indicators. This social trading framework addressed discrepancies often found between demo account results and live market performance.
By 2010, Currensee’s community comprised members from over 80 nations who formed online teams to share market insights and tactics. This network of approximately 7,000 traders managed an estimated $50 billion in annual trade volume.
Currensee’s business model emphasized transparency under the slogan “Trade Together,” permitting only live brokerage accounts for profiles—excluding demo accounts—to guarantee genuine trading activity. This policy set Currensee apart from competitors like eToro, FX Copy, and ZuluTrade by focusing on “Real trades. Real traders. Real time.”
Trade Leaders Investment Program
In October 2010, Currensee introduced the Trade Leaders Investment Program (TLIP), which allowed investors to select Trade Leaders from its social network and automatically mirror their trades within personal brokerage accounts. Selection of Trade Leaders was based on a proprietary algorithm that evaluated past performance, risk controls, and returns. Investors could allocate capital across multiple Trade Leaders to construct diversified portfolios, with trades executed automatically—mirroring the concept of stock mutual funds.
Trader Authority Index and Leaderboard
Currensee’s Trader Leaderboard showcased the highest-ranking community traders by evaluating both current and past performance data. The rankings were based on the Trader Authority Index (TAI), a unique formula that integrates factors such as performance, risk management, and trading experience into a consolidated score. This score was visible on the leaderboard as well as on each Trade Leader’s profile page.
Tweet My Trades Feature
The platform included a feature called Tweet My Trades, which enabled users to automatically broadcast their open and closed trade positions on Twitter. Every executed trade triggered an automatic tweet, thereby extending Currensee’s reach by sharing trading activities beyond its core user community.
Currensee Social Indicators
Currensee’s Market Watch Social Indicators compiled live trading metrics across the network for various currency pairs, including data points like volume, ratios of short to long positions, and win/loss records. This in-house analytical tool allowed members to track peer trading behaviors and trends, enhancing their ability to make well-informed decisions. This capability was a fundamental component of Currensee’s approach to social trading.