XRP Sell-Off, AxiCorp Appeal and Virtu Americas Fined: Editor's Pick

While the dust settles on a busy week in the Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term and crypto industries, we take a look at the stories that dominated this week's news in our best of the week segment.

FINRA Fines Virtu Americas $250,000

Finance Magnates reported that Virtu Americas LLC agreed to pay $250,000 to settle against several violations brought by the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Allegations against Virtu Americas LLC (formerly KCG Americas LLC) were centered around executions and priorities on pending orders from 2009 to 2017. The industry-funded watchdog found a number of different violations, which were considered a disruption to market trading standards.

AxiCorp Appeals ASIC's Suspension of its AFS License

Dominating the Australian Forex scene was news that AxiCorp Financial Services Pty Ltd, has applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to review its Australian financial services (AFS) license suspension decision by ASIC.

The appeal means that AxiCorp can continue its operations until the Tribunal makes a final decision. However, it has refused the OTC derivative issuer's request for confidentiality orders.

AxiCorp provided an exclusive statement to Finance Magnates, which can be read here.

China Shuts Bitcoin Mining Farms

As the Coronavirus epidemic worsens, Chinese authorities are shutting down Bitcoin mining farms in a bid to contain the spread. Though the Chinese government banned the trading of digital currencies, the country is still leading Bitcoin mining, which is estimated at 65 percent of the total Hash Rate Hash Rate A hash rate is the measure of a cryptocurrency miner’s performance and a key security metric. In the context of mining, the more hashing or computing power in a given network, the greater its security and its overall resistance to attackMining hashrate is a key security metric. The more hashing (computing) power in the network, the greater its security and its overall resistance to attack. Hash rate is also a measurement of the output of a device that is used to add transactions to a blockchain A hash rate is the measure of a cryptocurrency miner’s performance and a key security metric. In the context of mining, the more hashing or computing power in a given network, the greater its security and its overall resistance to attackMining hashrate is a key security metric. The more hashing (computing) power in the network, the greater its security and its overall resistance to attack. Hash rate is also a measurement of the output of a device that is used to add transactions to a blockchain Read this Term.

Jiang Zhuoer, the operator of mining pool BTC.Top, revealed that his mining facility and several others were shut down by the local police, citing the ongoing epidemic. Read more about the controversial actions here.

FXCM Ties with Paysafe Income Access

Retail FX broker FXCM is set to launch its global affiliate and partner program that will be managed by Paysafe Group's marketing provider, Income Access.

Finance Magnates covered the FXCM partnership with Income Access who was acquired by Paysafe three years ago in a $30.0 million cash deal.

Ripple Co-Founder Sells a Billion XRP

Finance Magnates reported on Jed McCaleb, a co-founder of Ripple, who sold a billion of his XRP holdings between 2014 and 2019 worth a total of $135 million. McCaleb was allocated 9.5 billion XRP but was forced to limit his monthly and annual sales for seven years.

Currently, in the seventh year of his agreement, McCaleb still holds another 4.7 billion XRP, totaling around 5 percent of the total token supply. Read here for more about the XRP sales, the details of the selling agreement, and what's next when the agreement finally ends.

The Top 5 Trends in Fintech

In a detailed and fascinating analysis, Finance Magnates dissected the whole FinTech scene in 2020. With the help and opinions of some of the industry's leading lights, we identified the Top 5 trends in FinTech this year.

Respected industry figures such as Anthony Macciola, Chief Innovation Officer at ABBYY, lan Grujic, CEO of All of Us Financial, and Maarten Verweij, Chief Executive of Origin X, all discuss what will be hot in the world of FinTech in 2020 and beyond.