Retail self-operated trading startup Vest has completed a $13 million seed round financing, led by Portal Ventures

According to Fortune, retail proprietary trading startup Vest Labs announced the completion of a $13 million seed round of financing, led by Portal Ventures, with some executives from Citadel Securities, BlackRock, and KKR participating as individuals. The company did not disclose its post-financing valuation.

Vest allows eligible traders to use the company's funds to trade perpetual contracts in real markets around the clock, with traders able to retain up to 80% of the profits, while the remainder goes to the company. The company stated that compared to some retail proprietary trading firms that rely on charging fees for simulated trading accounts, this model allows Vest to benefit from the success of traders rather than betting on their failure.

The financing will be used to develop a mobile application, expand the current team of 22 people, and increase the variety of assets available for trading around the clock. According to Vest's own disclosure, as of late September, 26% of the approximately 27,000 traders on the platform had received cash payments, with monthly active traders and trading volume both increasing by over 300% month-over-month.