It's been another busy week in terms of news as a lot of development has happened in the forex, fintech and cryptocurrency industries. Finance Magnates has short-listed some of the top stories from the finance industry that have made a massive impact.
Exclusive: Exness Hits $2 Trillion in Trading Volume, Breaks All Previous Records
In a big exclusive story, Finance Magnates revealed that Exness, one of the largest financial trading platforms, witnessed record-breaking trading volume in March. The trading volume has already crossed the level of $2 trillion, which is the highest level in the operational history of Exness.
The Cyprus-headquartered retail FX and CFDs broker reached the $2 trillion mark almost one week before the end of March. The latest announcement came on the back of a strong month for Exness. In February 2022, the financial trading services provider touched the mark of $1.59 trillion in trading volume.
Read more on Exness' record-breaking monthly trading volume here.
Exclusive: Enigma Strategy Gains FCA’s Retail Discretionary Permission
In another industry exclusive, Finance Magnates reported that Enigma Strategy, a London-based investment advisory provider, has received retail discretionary permissions for all derivative and securities instruments from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
“This now means the firm not only has the ability to provide our customers with CFD copy trading solutions but is also approved for further financial instruments some of which include Securities, Futures, Options and ETFs,” James Lawrence, Enigma Strategy’s Director, said.
Read more on Enigma Strategy's FCA permission here.
MillTechFX Enters Europe, Selects Paris as Hub
MillTechFX, which is a multi-bank foreign exchange (FX) marketplace, announced on Wednesday its expansion into the European markets with Paris as its regional hub.
The company has already received approval from two French financial market authorities: the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) and the Prudential and Resolution Control Authority (ACPR).
Read more on MillTechFX's expansion to Europe here.
Ronin Network Suffers $615 Million Crypto Heist
The cryptocurrency industry saw one of the largest heists last week. Ronin Network, a blockchain project, was reportedly a victim of a cyberattack after hackers managed to steal around $615 million worth of cryptocurrencies
The threat actors hacked the systems on March 23, when they managed to steal 173,600 ETH and 25.5 million USD Coins. At the time of the attack, the cryptos were worth $540 million, but their value rose to $615 million when it was reported, but the market price of cryptocurrencies has jumped since then.
Read more on Ronin Network hack here.
CySEC Alarms against Use of Crypto Assets by Sanctioned Russians
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) issued a notice on Tuesday, asking all regulated entities to be aware of sanction evasion attempts by flagged Russian individuals and entities. It is more concerned with the potential use of cryptocurrencies in sanction evasion.
The latest notice came almost a month after the Cypriot financial market supervisor ordered all regulated entities to implement restrictive measures on Russia-related entities and individuals sanctioned by the European Union.
Read more on CySEC's notice against the use of crypto for sanction evasion here.
Japan to Tighten Crypto Rules for Preventing Sanctions Evasion
The Japanese government is planning to make stricter rulings on cryptocurrency exchanges, as the country announced plans to amend its Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. The Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan will introduce a bill to revise the existing laws on the matter.
The manoeuvre is intended to crack down on any loophole that allows sanctioned countries like Russia to evade sanctions through cryptos.
Read more on Japan's upcoming sanction preventing crypto rules here.
Visa Introduces NFT Program to Support Creators
NYSE-listed multinational financial services provider, Visa has recently launched a program to help creators expand their small businesses through non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Dubbed ‘Visa Creator Program’, the newly launched initiative will assist digital-first artists, musicians, fashion designers and filmmakers.
Read more on Visa's NFT program here.
WeChat Bans ‘A Large Number’ of Accounts Promoting NFTs
Meanwhile, China continued its crypto industry crack-down. WeChat, a Chinese messenger app owned by Tencent and with 1.2 billion active users, has reportedly banned a large number of accounts that widely promoted non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
WeChat required them to have a blockchain company filing provided by the Chinese government and disallowed secondary transactions.
Read more on WeChat's NFTs accounts ban here.
Several US State Regulators Crack Down on Voyager Digital
The US regulators have continued their crackdown on a segment of crypto companies. Canada-listed Voyager Digital (TSX: VOYG) confirmed that several state regulators in the United States are scrutinizing its services for offering interest-bearing cryptocurrency accounts.
It has already received or is expecting to get cease and desist orders from the financial supervisors of Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey and Oklahoma. Additionally, the state securities division of Alabama, Texas, Vermont and Washington have issued show-cause orders to the company.
Read more on US state regulators' action against Voyager Digital here.
New York Approves Apex Crypto Application for BitLicense
Meanwhile, in a positive juncture, Apex Fintech Solutions, the parent company of Apex Clearing Corporation, announced that the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) approved the application of Apex Crypto LLC, its crypto-related subsidiary, for its virtual currency license or BitLicense.
With this approval, users in the state of New York who have Apex Crypto accounts now have the option to trade cryptocurrencies 24/7, 365 days a year on Apex Crypto’s trusted, secure platform.
Read more on the granting of BitLicense to Apex here.
Blockchain.com Hits $14 Billion Valuation amid Latest Funding
Blockchain.com has become one of the most valuable cryptocurrency platforms after it closed its latest funding round at a valuation of around $14 billion. But, the funding amount is not known yet.
The financing round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Baillie Gifford & Co who also participated in the round. Both of them were existing investors in the crypto company.
Read more on Blockchain.com's new valuation here.
ASIC Imposes $63M Civil Penalties in H2 2021 for Violations
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) released a six months enforcement update last week, reporting that it has imposed AU$84.3 million (around $63.4 million) in civil penalties between July 2021 and December 2021 that was approved by the courts.
The latest figure was significantly higher than the previous six months when ASIC collected AU$29.6 million due to penalizing several companies for violations.
Read more on the ASIC's civil penalties on Aussie financial services companies here.
