It’s been another busy week in the foreign exchange (forex) and cryptocurrency industry, with the Finance Magnates London Summit 2019 taking place this week at the Old Billingsgate. Find out all of the latest news in our best of the week segment.
SBI Ripple Asia and SBI Remit partner
The first news item in our best of the week segment is a partnership between SBI Ripple Asia and SBI Fintech’s subsidiary SBI Remit. As Finance Magnates reported, the two joined hands to initiate money transfer services between Japan and Vietnam using Blockchain technology.
The Japanese companies partnered with Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank, a local Vietnamese bank, for making the transfers in fiat currency.
Analysis: is quantum computing a serious threat to crypto?
How serious is the threat that quantum computing poses to blockchain technology, and what can be done about it? This week, Finance Magnates’ Editor Rachel McIntosh posed this exact question.
Quantum computing could potentially be used to uncover every private key on a blockchain network, thus rendering that network’s users vulnerable to hacking and theft. Take a look at our analysis to see how serious of a threat it could really be.
Industry experts meet for the London Summit
At the Finance Magnates London Summit, top execs from leading businesses in the industry took center stage to discuss and debate some of the most pressing topics today.
As Finance Magnates recapped, this included an interesting perspective on 2020 vision and what’s to come as well as a bird’s eye view of the latest industry developments. The panel also touched on insight on the business implications from regulation while addressing growth, revenue & development. “The most important thing to do in this market is re-engineering operations for scale,” Harpal Sandhu, CEO of Integral.
Analysis: APAC’s continued influence on crypto
Although cryptocurrency has begun to gain footholds in a growing number of places across the globe, it can be argued that the cryptocurrency industry’s oldest and most powerful stronghold lies in Asia–specifically, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
How has the influence of what is arguably the cryptocurrency industry’s oldest and most powerful stronghold evolved over time? Read more here to find out.
Fidelisco renounces Cypriot CIF license
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) made a public notice on Thursday that Fidelisco Capital Markets Ltd (Fidelisco) has renounced its Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) license, as of November 8, 2019.
As Finance Magnates reported, Fidelisco’s surrender of the license is voluntary based on the company’s decision and does not arise from any regulatory action.
Canaan downgrades IPO target
Bitcoin miner manufacturer Canaan Creative has updated the terms at which it is aiming to publicly list its shares on the US stock exchange. Per the updated filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, the Chinese hardware giant detailed that it will issue 10 million American depositary shares (ADS), each priced between $9 and $11.
For more on the changes, read our report here.
Facebook launches ‘Facebook Pay’
Facebook is launching a new payment service that will eventually be integrated across all of its platforms. The payment service, named “Facebook Pay,” will eventually be operable across Facebook proper as well as Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, the company announced this week.
The product is slated to operate similarly to Venmo or Paypal. As Finance Magnates reported, the company says that the service will allow its users to make Payments to merchants and send money to other users using PIN numbers or biometric identification measures available on their phones.
CME to Debut BTC options
CME Group confirmed the launch date of options on its bitcoin futures contracts, with the date set for January 13, 2020. This is the latest move by the world’s largest futures exchange operator to expand into the crypto business.
CME’s BTC options are currently being reviewed by regulators, and the exchange operator confirmed that once the addition clears, they will be available for purchase.
Analysis: What’s in crypto’s way for e-commerce adoption?
Adoption of crypto in e-commerce is up, but there's still a long way before widespread adoption is a reality. So what, in particular, is hindering cryptocurrencies from mass adoption in e-commerce?
Take a look at another analysis from Finance Magntes this week, which explores the reasons and possible solutions to this question.
Analysis: Could the expansion of Bakkt raise volumes?
The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) gave cryptocurrency futures trading platform Bakkt the go-ahead to offer the Bakkt Warehouse — Bakkt’s custody solution — to “all institutions.”
Previously, the Bakkt Warehouse was only available to clients trading the Bakkt Bitcoin Futures contracts. Could the expansion of Bakkt's custody services bring increased interest to the futures trading platform? Find out more here.
INTL FCStone to offer Spotex’s ECN
Spotex announced this Monday that it has partnered with INTL FCStone Markets, LLC. Under the agreement, Spotex’s institutional electronic communication network (ECN) will be available from INTL’s prime of prime offering.
In particular, INTL FCStone will offer Spotex as an additional ECN within its prime of prime offering. The US-based ECN focuses on FX and precious metals trading for both the buy and sell-side participants.
