There has been a lot of developments coming from the foreign exchange (forex) and cryptocurrency sectors - Stater Global Markets is closing down, and Facebook is expected to announce its cryptocurrency project any day now. In case you missed out on any of the top and most interesting stories - never fear, here is a breakdown in our best of the week segment.
Facebook to Pay Salaries in GlobalCoin
The first article in our best of the week segment focuses on Facebook. Specifically, the social network giant is expected to announce its cryptocurrency project, which is reportedly referred to internally as GlobalCoin, later this month. Once it does, the social network giant will give its employees the choice of being paid in Cryptocurrencies .
According to a June 5 report by The Information, the digital coin will be used for transactions across multiple platforms of the social media company, as Finance Magnates reported.
Analysis: Client Losses Aren’t a New Phenomenon
Cathie Armour, a commissioner at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has once again touched on client losses when trading over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives products.
A regulator discussing client losses is likely to send executives at many brokers into a cold sweat, as it was this “excuse” that led the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) to implement its product intervention measures.
However, client losses aren’t a new phenomenon. Even prior to internet trading, clients that placed their orders over the phone would still lose about 80 percent of the time.
So why do regulators continue to use client losses as an excuse for major regulatory changes? You can find out in our analysis here.
Europe’s Pain is Africa’s Gain
The product intervention measures implemented by ESMA have forced a lot of brokers to diversify their business and look to offshore geographies to set up shop and attract new clients that are exempt from the regulator’s rules.
One such geography is Africa, which is seeing a wave of brokers coming and settling down in the region. However, whilst this is good news for the FX industry in Africa, the region still has a lot of obstacles to overcome. Find out the future of Africa’s forex industry here.
Stater Global Markets is Closing Down
After less than two years of business, Stater Global Markets is shutting down its business. As Finance Magnates reported, its parent company Stater Blockchain Limited Holdings (SBL Holdings), the recently renamed operating name of Stater Holdings, decided to not provide further funding for the brokerage.
According to the statement, SBL Holdings decided not to invest further with the FCA-regulated firm as it is pursuing alternative business opportunities.
Because of this, Stater Global Markets believes that it will not be able to continue to operate at the high level it wishes to maintain and therefore, it has chosen to suspend its operations instead of continuing to operate with a degraded service.
South Korea Opens Up Retail OTC Derivatives Market
The South Korea Financial Services Commission announced this week that it is taking a sharp turn to revitalize the retail over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives sector by cutting a lot of red tape across the market.
First and foremost, the barrier of entry to trading derivatives products by South Korean retail investors has been cut from KRW 30 million ($25,300) to 10 million ($8,500). The $8,500 limit applies to futures and buying options if a customer is willing to also be able to sell options, the figure doubles to around $17,000 or KRW 20 million.
The FSC is citing improving access to investing in the real economy as one of its main goals with the new regulation. Find out more on the changes here.
Bitcoin SV is Leading the Crypto Surge Race
Since the beginning of April, cryptocurrencies have been on the rise. The clear leader of the pack, however, is none other than Bitcoin SV (Satoshi’s Vision), the controversial cryptocurrency formed earlier this year by self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator Craig Wright.
Due to several price surges, the value of BSV increased a whopping 231 percent over the month of May and adding a few more percentage points in the first week of June. So what’s going on to drive the cryptocurrency so high? Find out here.
Aussie Traders Made Biggest Deposits in March
Foreign exchange (forex) trading in March remained solid. According to the most recent data from CPatter, which was revealed by Finance Magnates Intelligence, both the size of average monthly deposits and initial first-time deposits improved.
The best-performing country was Australia, with an average deposit size of $5,009 in March. That put the land down under far ahead of Canada in second place, which saw an average deposit size at $3,829.
Learn more about trading activity during the month of March here.
Kik Interactive Charged $100m by the SEC
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this past week that it is suing Canadian company Kik Interactive. According to the regulator, the firm conducted an illegal $100 million securities offering of its digital tokens Kin Coin.
As Finance Magnates reported, the company has been accused of selling its Kin tokens to US investors without registering its offering as required by U.S. securities laws.
