Ruslan Fakhrutdinov

Ruslan Fakhrutdinov is an entrepreneur and business leader with experience in cryptocurrency, financial technology, management consulting, and startup development. He is the Founder and CEO of Extended Exchange, following leadership roles at Revolut and McKinsey & Company and co-founding the travel technology company Roomp. ^[6]

Education

Fakhrutdinov graduated in 2014 with a Double Bachelor’s in Economics and Business Administration from The Berlin School of Economics and Law and Saint Petersburg State University of Finance and Economics. He later earned a double master’s in Corporate Finance and International Management from CEMS - The Global Alliance in Management Education and the Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University in 2016. ^[2]

Career

Fakhrutdinov began his career as Co-Founder of Roomp, a travel technology startup he helped establish in Russia in June 2016. During his time with the company, which continued until December 2018, he raised $350,000 from angel investors and a venture capital firm and helped grow the business to more than $1.2 million in gross merchandise value run rate. In June 2016, Fakhrutdinov also joined McKinsey & Company in Moscow, where he progressed from Business Analyst to Associate and eventually Engagement Manager. Over five years, until June 2021, he worked on large-scale projects across multiple industries and contributed to business process automation initiatives. From June 2021 to June 2023, Fakhrutdinov served as Head of Crypto Operations at Revolut in London. He defined the company's cryptocurrency strategy, built its crypto team, and drove new product launches. In July 2023, Fakhrutdinov founded Extended Exchange, where he serves as Founder and CEO. ^[1]

Interviews

Extended Vault Shares

In a January 2026 interview on the Gigabrain Podcast, Fakhrutdinov discussed his career at McKinsey and Revolut and the circumstances that led him to establish Extended following the collapse of FTX. He outlined the exchange's approach to perpetual trading through unified margin and a tokenized vault, whose shares can be used as collateral while generating yield from liquidation activity, market making, and exchange fees. He also discussed Extended's trading fees, collateral options, and how it differs from Hyperliquid, as well as its use of Starknet infrastructure. Other topics included plans for spot trading, lending, mobile access, and eventual decentralization, the potential for real-world asset markets, and his advice to aspiring founders on gaining experience at established companies and building strong teams. ^[5]

Building Extended

In a March 2025 interview on the Extended podcast, Fakhrutdinov discussed his time at Revolut, where he joined the crypto team in 2021 and contributed to its strategy, product roadmap, and planned utility token. He explained his decision to establish Extended as a self-custodial exchange designed to prevent operators from accessing users' funds, outlining its development, security priorities, and plans for vault, lending, borrowing, spot trading, and unified-margin features. He also discussed the team's market-making vault, its partnership with Starknet, and the longer-term goal of supporting external applications. Other topics included product design, team development, financial infrastructure, and potential exchange improvements. ^[4]