Last week, we saw in the online trading industry an increase in the popularity of Cryptocurrencies , as more brokerages added cryptocurrency pairs to their traded assets and Blockchain raised a significant amount in Series B funding. Binary options may soon be shut down completely in Israel, Saxo Capital Market Limited made a surprising announcement, and Z.com Trade experience a significant loss.
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Israeli government
Last Sunday, the Israeli government approved a new anti-binary options law, which intends to ban the soliciting of binary options trading to clients residing abroad. If the law passes the three mandatory readings in the Israeli parliament, Israel-based companies will be banned from offering their services to traders living in and outside of Israel.
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XTB and AvaTrade adopt cryptocurrency pairs
On Monday, X-Traders Brokers (XTB), a Poland-based brokerage, joined the ranks of online trading brokers offering cryptocurrency pairs. The firm will be offering its clients BTC/USD, ETH/USD, XRP/USD, LTC/USD, and DSH/USD, starting today. AvaTrade also added cryptocurrency pairs on Monday - ETH/USD and BTC/EUR.
Saxo Capital Market UK leaves UK CFD and FX Association
On Thursday, Saxo Capital Markets Limited UK made an official announcement regarding its decision to leave the UK CFD and FX Association. The decision follows the company’s disagreement with the association’s position of presenting a unified front, that does not reflect the goals and interests of Saxo Capital Markets.
Z.com Trade losses
On Friday, Z.com Trade, the United Kingdom trading branch of the Japanese giant GMO CLICK Group, published its yearly report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017. Though the turnover showed positive growth, the company also reported a $2.3 million loss that year.
Blockchain Series B funding
On Friday, Blockchain, a Bitcoin wallet and technology provider, announced its raising of $40 million dollars in Series B funding. This round was led by GV (formerly known as Google Ventures) and Lakestar, along with Nokota Management and Digital Currency Group. The company's investors from the Series A round were present in this one too, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Prudence Holdings, Virgin, Mosaic Ventures, and Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Group).
