Young Entrepreneur’s Journey in Crypto Trading
Dennis Dariotis, the 22-year-old CEO and founder of GoQuant, a trading software firm focused on cryptocurrencies, recalls the intense pressure he felt during his college years to maximize his trading portfolio. He shared how, back in school, he would often ask his teachers for temporary breaks to check on his investments during market openings and closings.
“I told my teachers that I needed to take 10 minutes off class,” Dariotis recounted. A memorable moment came when a teacher, curious about his trading, requested to see his screen. He politely declined, saying, “No, unfortunately it’s private,” before shutting his laptop. This incident foreshadowed his later development of a crypto-centric dark pool app.
Dariotis’s fascination with trading began in Montreal, where he would watch the vibrant green and red numbers flash on the CNBC screen while his parents had it on in the background. It didn’t take long for him to connect those ticker symbols to his childhood piggy bank.
At just 13, he realized the time-consuming nature of analyzing large datasets. He began to ponder whether he could leverage his programming skills to automate that task, freeing up more time for developing trading strategies.
It was during this exploratory phase that Dariotis started diving into quantitative trading, backtesting various strategies, exploring portfolio construction, risk management, and delving into the intricacies of quantitative markets.
His breakthrough happened quite early at 15, when he licensed his strategy to a major Canadian bank, quickly followed by consulting for other investment firms. An unexpected encounter at a New York conference saw a hedge fund attempting to recruit him—until they inquired about his age, and he casually mentioned he was only 15, leaving them baffled.
About this time, Dariotis began observing the crypto domain. He swiftly recognized the disparity between the retail-focused crypto market and the infrastructure typically found in traditional finance, which was sorely lacking in organization. Cryptocurrencies struggled with fragmented liquidity across multiple platforms, including centralized exchanges and decentralized offices.
Utilizing his knowledge gained in data markets, he noticed inefficiencies, particularly the delays associated with trading venues updating their order books. Dariotis concluded that creating an entire infrastructure stack was essential.
Fast forward to January 2025, GoQuant had raised $3 million in a pre-seed round and an additional $4 million in a seed round spearheaded by GSR, a crypto trading firm. Currently, the company handles over $1 billion in daily trading volume and boasts a workforce of around 80 employees scattered across several countries including the USA, Europe, India, the Philippines, and Morocco.
Recent developments at GoQuant include the launch of the GoDark dark pool designed for institutions and the GoCredit lending platform, which is aiming for around $500 million in cryptocurrency loans.
“We aim to be at the center of how value is transferred in the market,” Dariotis stated. “Rather than acting just as a financial intermediary, we want to be a technology provider at a time when everything is becoming tradable. We’re developing a core platform that can connect all these diverse assets effectively.”
So, what guidance does Dariotis offer to other young entrepreneurs striving to create substantial businesses from their bedrooms? “Be flexible and quick to adapt, maybe even pivot,” he advised. “We started just processing data, but sticking to that niche can limit growth. Even a $100 million venture can feel small if you neglect the chance to build a comprehensive ecosystem.”
