In a busy week for the Finance Magnates newsroom, let's take a look back at the news stories that dominated the worlds of Forex, Fintech and Crypto in our best of the week segment.
26 Israelis Nabbed for FX/Crypto Scam Released, Overseas Busts Continue
Only a week after the arrest of 26 Israelis under the suspicion of running a massive forex and crypto trading scam, the authorities have released all the suspects without any preconditions.
The arrests were made in a joint operation conducted by the Israeli police and United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, which was led by the latter. Additionally, arrests were made in connection with the fraud ring in Ukraine and South Africa.
In addition, the Cypriot authorities made at least one arrest recently at the request of the FBI, according to Israeli news outlet N12. Though the report could not confirm the exact number of arrests made on the Mediterranean island, it is believed to be connected to the previous Israeli arrests.
Read more on the Israeli arrests here.
SEC Green Lights Volt Equities’ Crypto Stock ETF
The US regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), approved an exchange-traded fund (ETF) last week that will provide investors exposure to Cryptocurrencies but will not hold any digital currency directly.
The ETF has been brought in by Volt Equities and is dubbed as Volt Crypto Industry Revolution and Tech ETF. It will track the performance of the several publically traded companies that are closely tied with the cryptocurrency industry or hold a large number of digital currencies.
Read more on the Volt Equities’ Crypto Stock ETF here.
Deutsche Bank Faces €500M Lawsuit for FX Scandal
Deutsche Bank is facing a massive €500 million lawsuit slapped by Spain’s seventh-largest hotel chain, Palladium Hotel Group, for the alleged misselling of complex and risky foreign exchange (forex) derivatives.
As reported by the Financial Times on Wednesday, the claim for the damages was filed in the High Court of London last month and is among many allegations the bank is facing for selling exotic financial products to small and mid-sized companies in Spain.
The hotel operator made 259 derivatives transactions facilitated by Deutsche Bank by 2019. The outstanding notional amount of the contracts at the peak of the transaction in 2017 touched €5.6 billion, the lawsuit detailed.
Read more on the Deutsche Bank FX Lawsuit here.
Ripple Announces a Strategic ESG Investment
It was a busy week for Ripple who announced this week that the company has collaborated with Nelnet Renewable Energy in a $44 million joint investment.
According to an official press release, Ripple funded the majority of the latest joint investment. The investment will fund solar energy projects throughout the US in support of the transition to a cleaner and more stable energy future.
Read more on the Ripple ESG investment here.
Ripple Becomes a Part of the Digital Pound Foundation
Just two days after the ESG investment, Ripple, one of the world’s leading providers of enterprise Blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions, announced that the company has joined the Digital Pound Foundation to design a path for a CBDC-forward future.
Ripple mentioned that the company will be represented on the Board by Susan Friedman, Head of Policy at Ripple. The Digital Pound Foundation (DPF) aims to promote the importance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the UK.
Read more on Ripple's Digital Pound Foundation here.
XRP Gains Popularity among UK-Based Investors
According to a report published by eToro, XRP remained the most popular crypto asset among retail investors in the UK.
The data from eToro, who this week added Solana (SOL) to its crypto offering, revealed that UK-based retail investors preferred XRP over other digital currencies in Q3. XRP maintained its crown as UK retail investors’ number one pick, with a 4% increase on Q2 and a 105% growth in ownership YoY.
Apart from XRP, the UK-based retail investors showed interest in Cardano (ADA). Cardano leapfrogged Ethereum (ETH) to take second place with an 11% increase over the past three months and a significant 1230% jump year on year.
Read more on the UK's XRP preference here.
Exclusive: Major Cypriot Brokers Cease All Marketing Activities
Multiple sources confirmed to Finance Magnates that a major operator of multiple forex and CFDs brands based out of Cyprus has completely shuttered all its marketing efforts as of Wednesday, The reasons behind the move are still unknown, and it is unclear whether this is a temporary or a permanent shutdown of some or all of the brokerage brands.
Finance Magnates reached out to the group for official confirmation but has yet to receive an answer.
Read more on the Broker Marketing Shutdown here.
Shiba Inu (SHIB): Worth an Investment Right Now?
Dogecoin’s biggest competitor saw record gains in 2021, but is it really worth a $10 billion market cap? In a Finance Magnates analysis, we delved deep into the world of Shiba Inu and looked at whether SHIB is worth investing in right now.
Read more on Shiba In (SHIB) here.
NAGA Ends Q3 2021 with Record $21 Million Revenue
Hamburg-based social trading platform, NAGA AG (XETRA: N4G) has set yet another quarterly record with its financials, generating around $21 million in revenue for the third quarter of 2021.
The revenue of the trading services company has jumped by 157 percent compared to the figures reported in the same quarter of the previous year, while the rise was 38 percent from revenue of Q2 of 2021. The company has reported growth in its quarterly figures for eleven of the last consecutive quarters.
Read more on the NAGA record revenue here.
TradingView Secures $298 Million in Funding, Receives a Valuation of $3 Billion
TradingView, one of the world’s most popular charting platforms for traders and investors, announced this week that it has raised $298 million in the latest funding round led by Tiger Global.
The company is now valued at $3 billion and has paying customers in more than 180 countries. The popular charting platform has seen significant growth in the last 18 months.
During the mentioned period, TradingView reported a 400% jump in created accounts and a 237% increase in visitors to the platform. The company is also planning to expand its broker relationships in the next few years.
Read more on the TradingView funding round here.
Cardano (ADA): Why Should It Be a Must Crypto to Watch for 2022?
In another Finance Magnates analysis, it was the turn of Cardano to come under the spotlight. Cardano's coin seems to be unstoppable above $2.00 and the outlook for 2022 looks optimistic for ADA holders.
Now, after cracking the $2.00 threshold and consolidating its yearly gains above that neighborhood, crypto traders are eyeing next year’s forecasts.
Read more on what 2022 holds for Cardano (ADA) here.
