Hedge funds are replacing a programming language with Rust, but it's not C++
C# was once the best of both worlds for front-end and back-end development in finance. Javascript stole its thunder in the front-end, and now another language is starting to pick its bones clean in the back.
At London hedge fund Capula Investment Management, C# systems appear to be getting phased out in favor of Rust. A recent job opening from the fund said it has a "stand-alone backtesting system written in Rust" that it plans to integrate into its existing C# codebase. It's currently hiring a senior developer in London to lead this project, who will eventually relocate to Singapore for the role.
It's not just Capula phasing out C# with Rust. Earlier this year, Millennium was looking for a Rust developer in London to maintain C# applications while building new ones in Rust.
Other references to Rust from hedge funds are sparse, save for Qube Research, another London based fund. An internship listing for quantitative tooling developers at Qube said applicants will be "leveraging [their] skills in Python [and] Rust," and said the fund operates "in multiple languages."
Why is Rust coming for C#? It's thought to use significantly less memory and CPU power than C#, but is also able to run code much more safely than a language like C++. R/Rust users comparing Rust and C# said the tooling in the latter was much better, but that advantage may be short-lived as Rust continues to gain fans.
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