In a busy week of news, let's take a look at the stories that dominated the Forex , fintech and crypto spheres, in our best of the week segment.
PayPal Confirms Development of Crypto Capabilities
Gaining the most traction in this week's news cycle was PayPal, confirming that it is working to bring crypto capabilities on its platform.
The revelations were made in a letter to the European Commission in March, responding to the body’s public consultation on its proposed framework of crypto-assets.
Read more on the PayPal Crypto Confirmation here.
Robinhood Now Worth $8.6 Billion After New $320 Million Funding Round
As Finance Magnates reported, Robinhood has secured a $320 million at an $8.6 billion valuation in a round led by previous investors as well as new backers including TSG Consumer Partners and IVP.
Earlier in May, the popular app had landed an $8.3 billion valuation after it raised $280 million in Series F funding. The round was led by Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley’s biggest venture investors, and was joined by returning investors, including NEA, Ribbit Capital, 9Yards Capital, and Unusual Ventures.
Read more on the Latest Robinhood Funding Round here.
LMAX Group Reports Record Results
LMAX Group, an independent operator of institutional Execution venues for FX and cryptocurrency trading, revealed record results for the six months ended 30 June 2020.
Highlights of the H1 results included a 10% increase in Gross Profit from the same time last year and FX Trading volumes increasing 33% from H1 2019.
Read more on the LMAX Group Results here
Hacker Gains Control of Binance, Bitfinex and CoinDesk Twitter Accounts
In the well-publicized Twitter hack, Finance Magnates reported that the social media accounts of at least six crypto exchanges and media outlets were also temporarily taken over on Wednesday afternoon. Outside the crypto domain, Bill Gates and Elon Musk had their Twitter accounts hijacked as well.
Binance’s CEO warned Twitter users of the scam within a few minutes of the hack, but his warning was hidden and blocked by the hackers, and then his handle itself was hacked.
Read more on the Twitter hack here
FCA Slammed by its Watchdog over Complaints Handling
The UK financial markets regulator, the FCA, has found itself in hot water over significant shortcomings in handling of investors’ complaints as its relevant capacity were not coping with “the volume and complexity.”
In a report published by the Complaints Commissioner Antony Townsend, the City watchdog was criticised for not expanding its complaints team that had been “inadequately resourced and put under stress.” Townsend also noted the situation had “considerably worsened” over the past year and slammed the FCA for failing to consult on improving the complaints scheme, including clarity on compensation.
Read more on the FCA Complaint handling failure here.
Malaysia Flags Binance, eToro as ‘Unauthorized’ Firms
As Finance Magnates Reported this week, the Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) has added crypto exchange Binance to its list of unauthorized firms operating in the country.
“Operating a recognized market without authorization from the SC,” the regulator noted in its remarks.
Along with Binance, the SC has added nine other financial companies including eToro, OctaFX, FintechFX, and Fis Fidelity Solution to the list.
Read more on the SC Binance and eToro Decision here.
FXOpen UK Acquires Cypriot Broker AMB Prime Ltd
In a Finance Magnates exclusive, FXOpen UK, a foreign exchange (forex) broker regulated in the United Kingdom, revealed exclusively that it has acquired AMB Prime Ltd, a Cyprus based broker.
Following the acquisition, AMB Prime Ltd will operate under the name FXOpen EU and will start offering its services under this name on the 17th of August 2020.
Read more on the FX Open UK Acquisition of AMB Prime Ltd here.
FXCM UK Sees 71.6% Drop in Turnover YoY in 2019, Reduces Losses
FXCM UK posted a loss of $1.04 million for the year. Although the company still closed out the year on a loss, the loss is actually less on a yearly comparison, as the broker posted a $4.3 million loss in 2018.
Turnover during the 12 month period came in at $16.72 million. When measuring this against the previous year, which, as Finance Magnates reported, achieved a turnover of $58.8 million, it is lower by 71.6 per cent.
Read more on the FXCM UK results here.
British Fintech Moneybox Raises £30 Million Doubling Valuation
Finance Magnates covered the continued rise of Moneybox this week.
Moneybox, a British savings and wealth management platform, has announced that it closed a £30 million ($38 million) Series C funding round earlier this year, participated by both its existing and new investors.
The funding round was led by co-led by Eight Roads and new investors CNP, and was also participated by Breega
Read more on the Moneybox Funding Round here.
TradeOn Summit Draws Closer, Thousands Sign Up
In one of the most highly-anticipated online events of the Summer - the TradeOn Summit - thousands of traders have already signed up.
As the financial and economic rollercoaster shows no signs of stopping, retail traders are as active as ever, seeking opportunities and clarity. This has resulted in the perfect backdrop for the TradeON Summit 2020.
Over 5,000 traders are expected to tune in, attend educational sessions by world-class analysts, and stay abreast with cutting edge tools and unique offerings on July 28th.
You can get more information on the spectacular line-up and register for free here.
