Another busy week has gone by in the foreign exchange (forex) and cryptocurrency industries. TRADE.com expanded to become a multi-asset broker, and Hong Kong has introduced legislation to regulate crypto exchanges. All this and more in our best of the week.
eToro buys Delta app
Kicking off our best of the week segment is news coming from eToro. As Finance Magnates reported this week, social investing platform eToro announced the acquisition of Delta.
Delta is a portfolio tracker app that provides a dynamic picture of the crypto market, including prices, market charts, and an alert system to allow users to stay ahead of the curve with investment opportunities.
Hong Kong’s SFC introduces framework for crypto exchanges
Hong Kong is a big market for cryptocurrency exchanges. However, as digital assets don’t fall under the category of securities, exchanges currently aren’t regulated. As you can imagine, this gives fraudsters an opportunity to dupe investors.
However, this week, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) introduced a new framework to regulate the digital asset exchanges operating under its jurisdiction. Find out what exactly the regulator has proposed here.
Europe mulls proprietary digital coin
Facebook’s stablecoin project Libra has made headlines around the world and has been a big wake up call for Europe. Now, as Finance Magnates reported, the European Union is considering launching a digital currency that would help it combat the direct threat of Cryptocurrencies and also make projects like Libra appear redundant.
“The ECB and other EU central banks could usefully explore the opportunities as well as challenges of issuing central bank digital currencies including by considering concrete steps to this effect,” said an official draft was seen by Reuters.
Analysis: What do BitMEX’s email leaks mean for crypto?
Anonymity has long been a contentious issue in the cryptocurrency space. This issue, which has pitted regulators against privacy advocates against each other, has been thrust to the forefront again following the release of thousands of BitMEX users’ email addresses.
The emails were sent in a mass email that was sent to every user on the exchange. While the exact amount of exposed email addresses is unknown, some estimates point to more than 30,000 addresses. Not every user on the exchange was effected. We took the time to analyze the widespread implications this might have on the industry, take a look at what we found here.
TRADE.com becomes multi-asset broker
With brokers needing to diversify their offering in order to stay relevant in an increasingly challenging regulatory environment, TRADE.com revealed exclusively to Finance Magnates that it had expanded from solely offering contracts for difference (CFD) and spread betting trading, to a fully-fledged multi-asset brokerage house.
As of this week, TRADE.com now offers a wide selection of product types, which cater to different investor profiles and risk appetites. The new offering will include Thematic Portfolio products, initial public offering (IPO) private allocations, Direct Market Access, and Asset Management Services through its Portfolio management group subsidiary.
Analysis: custody issues on crypto exchange Golix continue
This week Finance Magnates analyzed the situation with cryptocurrency exchange Golix. In particular, last Thursday, Zimbabwean news source iHarare reported that Tawanda Kembo, the founder and CEO Zimbabwean Golix, had lost the keys to one of the exchange’s cold wallets. According to the report, the wallet contained roughly 33 BTC, worth roughly $306,000 at press time.
On its face, the situation seems to bear some similarities with the QuadrigaCX debacle, in which the CEO of a Canadian exchange suddenly died, allegedly taking the exchange’s cold wallet keys with him to the grave.
CySEC removes group of FX brokers from lifeboat scheme
This week, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) published a list of financial services providers that were disbarred from its lifeboat scheme. The clients of these brokers, however, are still entitled to benefit from the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF).
The ICF serves to protect the claims of covered clients and provide them with compensation in case a member couldn’t meet its financial obligations. Find out which FX brokers were removed from the scheme here.
DX.Exchange seeking merger or acquisitions amid shutdown
Estonia-based digital asset exchange DX.Exchange announced this week that it would be stopping its operations with immediate effect. The sudden change was posted on the company’s blog, with the company informing its clients it would temporarily shut down due to a decision by its board of directors.
“As of today, we are not allowing any more deposits on the exchange and trading will be suspended. All open orders will be cancelled at 12:00 GMT today. All SLT will be closed at the last traded price at 12:00 GMT.” Find out more about the situation here.
Israeli regulator to adopt ESMA-like restrictions
In the final topic for our best of the week segment, another regulator appears to be following in the footsteps of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). This week, as Finance Magnates reported, the Israeli Securities Authority (ISA) on Sunday published its intentions to follow in the footsteps of its European colleagues and tighten forex regulations.
The proposed framework will include a reduction in leverage on trading, alongside transparency demands on the traders’ profit and loss figures.
