It might only be a few weeks into the year, but there’s already a lot that’s happened on the foreign exchange (forex) and cryptocurrency industries. So let’s take a moment to see what the most interesting stories of the past week were, in our latest best of the week analysis.
Invast Global Heads to Hong Kong
Sydney-based prime broker, Invast Global, announced this week that it is opening its doors in Hong Kong to continue its . The company opened its new subsidiary based in the Chinese Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong.
As , the firms’ Hong Kong operations consist of a core team of 6 people who possess strong knowledge of the local landscape. The management’s plans are to aggressively expand in the next 12 months and beyond.
HSBC Settles Over $250 Billion of FX Transactions Using DLT
Blockchain technology continues to show promise in the traditional financial markets, with HSBC revealing this week that it has managed to settle more than $250 billion worth of FX transactions using distributed ledger technology (DLT).
This achievement demonstrates the applicability of blockchain technology in the settlement of FX transactions. For more on this, click .
US Subsidiary of Monex Group to Launch Crypto Services
TradeStation Group, the US subsidiary of Monex Group, is planning on launching its own cryptocurrency services later this year, the company announced on Monday.
As , the services will be launched under the brand name TradeStation Crypto. The services will leverage the company’s experience in the brokerage industry to address, what it perceives to be “key concerns and certain weaknesses in the current cryptocurrency ecosystem.”
Scope Markets Partners with m-FINANCE
Scope Markets revealed to Finance Magnates this week that it had made a big change to start off 2019 by partnering with , starting with immediate effect.
Under the agreement, m-FINANCE gains access to Scope Markets liquidity, to give its offering a boost to clients in the region. For Scope Markets, the collaboration allows the company to cement its presence in the Asian market and further diversification. To find out more about the deal, you can read more .
Pepperstone Recruits Rob Bowen to Head London Office
This week, Pepperstone managed to secure Rob Bowen as its Chief Commercial Officer for Europe and South Africa, the company confirmed to Finance Magnates in a statement.
In this new position, Bowen will continue to be based out of London. He joins Pepperstone from IG Group, where he held a number of roles over his nine-year tenure with the firm, including several senior positions. You can learn more about this executive move .
Interview: Bitcoin is still the Libertarian Dream
Is Bitcoin still the libertarian dream? Finance Magnates sat down with the Canadian anarcho-capitalist Jeff Berwick during the Israeli Bitcoin Summit that was held at the Tel Aviv University, to determine exactly that.
“Bitcoin has changed quite a bit over the last few years and it’s been regulated. However, it still is a currency totally outside of the control of central banks or governments. That truly is a libertarian dream,” says Berwick, who also founded the well-known blog The Dollar Vigilante.
You can read the full interview .
Currency.com Shows Diversification Trend in FX Industry
Earlier this week, the parent company of Capital.com announced the launch of , a trading platform for tokenised securities.
As , this venture showcases the company’s pivot to adapt existing technology in order to attract more traders.
It also highlights the need for diversification in the forex industry as the new regulatory framework in Europe, which was well known to Capital.com as it was starting its business just when the industry began to change, is limiting the potential for brokers.
Is the Crypto Bear Market the Biggest Threat to Exchanges?
Over the past year, the cryptocurrency sector has changed a lot, thanks in large part to the bear market that has cast a long shadow over the industry for a lot of 2018.
Market caps are way down and the exchanges that founded themselves before or during the cryptocurrency boom are facing a challenging landscape ahead.
So, when taking a look at what lies ahead for crypto exchanges, what are the actual threats? And what’s irrelevant? To find out, click .
Brokers Brace for Brexit Vote
The highly-anticipated Brexit vote in the United Kingdom parliament finally took place this week. The waiting and uncertainty definitely built up anticipation and the vote didn’t disappoint, with May’s Brexit deal overwhelming defeated on Tuesday.
Although May did manage to hang on to her position as Prime Minister by the skin of her teeth, to say that the future is uncertain, is an understatement.
In the lead up to the vote, brokers were putting in plans to protect themselves from potential volatility in the British pound (GBP), no doubt having nervous flashbacks to the dramatic crash in the GBP in June 2016 when the big vote occurred.
So how did brokerages protect themselves? Well, there were a number of tactics – increasing margins, implementing leverage caps and more. To see a full breakdown on who did what, click on this .
Diving Deeper into CFD Traders’ Profitability Statistics
Thanks to ESMA, brokers are now required to reveal the profitability of their clients within the European Union. Before the first such report was released, nobody knew what to expect from others, and the first publications of profitability statistics received a mixed reception.
This week, Finance Magnates delved deeper into these numbers and conducted further research based on four studies. This was to better understand which characteristics and features of brokers may influence the final profitability of traders.
The results we received were quite interesting and may surprise many industry participants. So, what were the results? To find out, follow this .
Be First to Comment