In a busy, if somewhat unremarkable week for news, here are the stories that dominated the Forex , fintech and crypto worlds, in our best of the week segment.
After Congress’ Digital Dollar Hearing, What’s Next?
This week, during a remote session held at 12:00 PM EST, the United States Congress Financial Services Committee heard testimony from four “witnesses” on the creation of a digital dollar.
In a Finance Magnates analysis, we discussed What led up to this moment in time? And how could a digital dollar improve the United States financial system?
Read more on the Digital Dollar Congress Hearing here.
Indian Government Plans to Bring a Law Banning Crypto
As Finance Magnates reported, after the Indian Supreme Court ruling in favor of the cryptocurrency exchanges, the government is now planning to introduce a law to ban the usage of digital currencies in the country.
The moves come after the central bank’s attempt to curb the industry failed with court intervention.
Read more on the Indian Crypto Ban Latest here
Bahamas Becomes One of Most Expensive Places for CFD Licence
As Finance Magnates exclusively revealed on Friday, The Bahamas regulator has added a new fee category for CFD dealers, making it one of the most expensive places for a CFD licence in the world.
After searching through regulatory documents, Finance Magnates discovered that a registered CFD firm shall, in addition to paying the annual renewal fee, need to pay a quarterly activity fee of $45,000, unless the firm has been exempted or had the fee reduced by the Securities Commission.
Furthermore, a “CFD Supervisory Officer” will be subject to a $1,000 application fee, a $3,000 registration fee, and a $5,000 annual renewal fee, the document showed.
Read more on the Bahamas Licence Fee Cost here.
What will Regulation Look Like Post COVID-19?
As Finance Magnates recently reported, heightened volatility has made the FX and trading markets more attractive than ever, and a new wave of traders have flocked to the space. These range from first-time traders to dormant traders having a renewed interest in their investment portfolio.
In a Finance Magnates analysis, we discussed how will regulation be influenced by this unprecedented pandemic event? And with the traders coming into the industry – will regulators across the world clamp down further on retail trader protection?
Read more on the post-covid-19 regulatory landscape here.
FX Trading Volumes at Saxo Bank Show Mild Rebound in May 2020
Danish multi-asset brokerage Saxo Bank has announced its monthly metrics for May 2020, The multinational has managed to recover from the weak momentum seen last month due to a more volatile market trading atmosphere.
Saxo Bank’s average daily FX volume came in at $7.6 billion, up seven percent month-over-month from $7.1 billion in April
The latest figures, however, saw a sizable consolidation in key volumes segments, failing to overtake a number of recent highs seen in March.
Read more on the Saxo Bank Volumes here
Skrill Launches Zero-Fee Money Transfer Service to the US
As Finance Magnates reported, Digital wallet and mobile Payments operator Skrill, part of Paysafe Group, is set to roll out its free Money Transfer service in the United States.
The service is now being offered to existing and new customers with no foreign exchange (FX) mark up or transfer fees. Skrill customers can transfer money to bank accounts and mobile wallets in Mexico, India, and 16 other Asian and European countries at the mid-market FX rate, with zero transfer fees.
Read more on the Skrill Zero-Fee US Launch here.
CMC Markets Posts 1,459% YoY Uptick in PBT in 2020 Fiscal Year
CMC Markets has published its financial results for its fiscal year ended on the 31st of March, 2020 this Thursday, revealing a strong year for the online trading provider, boosted by COVID-19 volatility in the final quarter of the year.
As Finance Magnates reported, for the 12 month period, net operating income for the UK-headquartered trading provider was £252 million. When measuring this against the same period of the previous year, net operating income has increased by 93 per cent.
Read more on the CMC Markets results here.
SIX Completes Acquisition of Controlling Stake in BME
SIX Group, a Swiss financial markets infrastructure operator, announced this week it has successfully completed its all-cash voluntary tender offer for Bolsas y Mercados (BME), operator of the Spanish stock exchanges and the cornerstone of the Spanish capital markets, securing an acceptance level of 93.16% of BME’s share capital.
Read more on the SIX Group BME Acquisition here.
Are Robinhood, eToro, & Other No-Commission Apps a ‘Gateway’ to Crypto?
As more new users sign on to commission-free trading apps such as Robinhood, Finance Magnates delved into whether it not more of the new users are buying Bitcoin? and if these zero-fee apps act as a gateway to crypto?
With expert insight from Haider Rafique, chief marketing officer at OKCoin and Yoni Assia, founder and CEO of Toro, don't miss this must-read analysis.
Read more on the no-commission app's crypto gateway here.
