| 20 October 2009

Yesterday we covered the move by kaChing to allow users to invest real money its "geniuses." Today we learn that a similar social networking application has launched in the forex space. Currensee is the cutesy name given to the new Web application that allows you to track the trades made by your fellow traders.

The company, based in Boston, also announced it received $6 million in venture-backed funding from North Bridge Venture Partners.

Users who sign up to Currensee create a profile and then connect directly to their broker. The company currently provides real-time support for just under 40 forex brokers, including FXCM and Alpari. The real-time connection automatically downloads your trading activity to the currensee platform. Users then invite other traders to join their virtual trading network. Connected members can view each other's trading activity.

The connections enable a host of social networking-type applications including a feed of related trading activity, chatting and discussions. The effort puts "the wisdom of the crowds" to the test, but ultimately it's up to each individual trader to manage their account and place trades. In this sense Currensee veers off course from kaChing, which has begun encouraging users to actively follow their most highly-regarded investors automatically, with real money.

It will be interesting to see which platform performs better an whether there are unique characteristics of traditional equity investors that differ from those of the currency trader and which approach works best for each style of trader.

On a related note, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is about to release guidance for firms using social networking apps such as Twitter and Facebook. Currensee is a member of the NFA and will likely be unaffected but kaChing will certainly have to take notice of any new guidance. FINRA, however, has said it's more likely to issue a notice than a completely new set of rules governing social networking apps.