eToro Debit Card, Credit Suisse Merger, China FX Crackdown: Editor's Pick

In a busy week for news, let's take a look back at the standout stories from the Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term, fintech and crypto worlds, in our best of the week segment.

eToro Acquires Marq Millions to Support Debit Card Launch

eToro, a global investment platform, announced the acquisition of Marq Millions Ltd to support the trading provider’s launch of its forthcoming debit card this week.

Marq Millions, is an e-money business, based in the United Kingdom. Following the acquisition, the e-money business is now trading as eToro Money, and it will be the card issuer for the company’s debit card.

Read more on the eToro Marq Millions acquisition here.

China Cracks Down on Illegal FX Trading, Arrests 150 People

As Finance Magnates covered this week, the Shanghai police have made more than 150 arrests from 4 illegal foreign exchange (forex) margin trading groups, operating across 12 Chinese provinces and cities.

As reported by the local news agency CCTV.com, the police had been investigating the illegal forex market activities for the last couple of months and made the arrests in a concentrated crackdown across Shanghai, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan, and Henan.

Read more on the Chinese FX Crackdown here.

Credit Suisse to Merge Investment Banking, Trading Divisions

On Wednesday, it emerged that The Credit Suisse Group was expected to announce the merger of its investment banking unit, capital markets unit and also its risk and compliance units, thus, reversing the splits made five years ago.

The Switzerland-headquartered bank made the announcement on Thursday along with its quarterly results.

Read more on the Credit Suisse Merger here.

Chinese Central Bank Onboards Over 20 Firms to Test Digital Yuan

To accelerate the rollout of the digital yuan, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has partnered with over 20 companies in the country to test it in the real world.

The central bank first inked partnerships with four state-owned banks – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China; three telecom companies – China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom; and the tech giant – Huawei.

Read more on the Chinese Central Bank Digital Yuan latest here

ThinkMarkets Planning for a $300 Million Australian IPO

As Finance Magnates revealed this week, ThinkMarkets, an online forex, and contracts-for-differences (CFDs) broker is planning for a $300 million initial public offering (IPO) by the end of this year.

The listing is said to be done on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the primary stock exchange of Australia, and the broker is seeking to raise around $100 million with the public listing of its shares, with a market capitalization of $300 million.

The report also detailed that Citi’s equity desk has already started preparing for the IPO by onboarding fund managers.

Read more on the ThinkMarkets Australian IPO here

Do Crypto CFDs Need to Be Reported Under MiFIR?

In a widely read Finance Magnates analysis, we delved into the crypto Regulation Regulation Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Read this Term uncertainty and looked at whether crypto CFDs need to be reported in Europe.

With expert analysis from Quinn Perrott, Co-CEO of TRAction, the regulation of crypto assets was discussed and explained in full with no stone left unturned.

Read the Crypto CFD regulation analysis here.