Retail FX Volumes Rebound in May, Bitcoin Headed to $10,000?

During another eventful week in the Forex Nation, retail brokers continue to report recovering monthly trading volumes, while a series of key appointments signal a new era for some of the industry’s leading firms. Finally, the “Meet The Experts” site launched its newly designed interface, making it your go-to destination for all Executive content and news.

The Experts' platform welcomed its newest contributor, Peter Tatarnikov, Chairman of the Board of the Financial Commission, a third-party dispute resolution organization, formed to provide traders with an alternative to legal or regulatory proceedings for resolving Forex-related disputes. Mr. Tatarnikov will be serving as the site’s newest Compliance expert and is available for all questions on this topic.

With the inception of the new Executive Focus pieces, the Experts' site reached out to Drew Niv, CEO of FXCM, in an exclusive interview regarding the future prospects of the USD/CNH, as well as the firm’s offering of this pair. His interview can be read in full here.

Key Executive Moves

Patrick Bartle has been appointed as the Global Head of FX Strategy at LMAX Exchange, a newly designed role that aims to expand LMAX’s offering in North America, where roughly a quarter of all Forex trades occur.

In addition, OANDA has tapped Drew Izzo as its newest Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), having previously served in several senior marketing roles. According to Mr. Izzo in an exclusive interview with Forex Magnates, “Historically OANDA hasn’t been using introducing brokers, however that is about to change. We are in the process of evaluating partnerships, we will be incredibly selective in who we are partnering with and the costs will be fully transparent to our clients.”

Finally, the Financial Commission welcomed the newest member to its Dispute Resolution Committee, Juan Jutgla, CEO of Better Way FX Consulting and Smart Broker Solutions. According to the "Meet the Experts" newest contributor and current Financial Commission COB, Peter Tatarnikov, in a recent statement on the appointment, “The Financial Commission continues to add talented executives to its most professional Dispute Resolution Committee. Juan is one of the top professionals in the FX and Binary Options field. His experience with various binary platforms will be a vital addition to the Financial Commission and his experience will be a great help to resolving any disputes that come in. We look forward to his contribution.”

In Case You Missed It: US Brokers’ May FX Volume Rebound in May

The monthly contagion revealed in last week’s publication of weak Forex volumes from a number of leading Japanese brokers appears to have avoided two US mainstays – GAIN Capital and FXCM. In particular, GAIN Capital saw its retail Forex volume stabilize during the month of May, whilst also reporting surging institutional volumes of 11.7% MoM.

Alternatively, FXCM notched a healthy rebound in retail FX customer trading volumes during the month of May to the tune of a 5% growth MoM. Despite this optimism however, figures are still down nearly 33% YoY since May 2013 however.

Bitcoin Headed to $10,000 in 2014?

On the heels of a recent recovery in Bitcoin prices, Pantera Capital disclosed several research reports outlining bullish predictions based on myriad technical factors. Looking ahead, Pantera believes that the price of Bitcoin remains attractive on both a technical and fundamental basis, even in spite of the recent appreciation. Furthermore, the hedge fund laid out a comprehensive set of catalysts that could help catapult the digital currency into previously unchartered territory.