XTB in trouble
On Monday we reported on the tribulations of XTB, a major Polish brokerage. Following a lengthy investigation by the country's financial regulator, XTB finds itself accused of a series of illegal actions which have netted it somewhere in the region of USD 2.2 million.
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At the time of writing, XTB had been suspended from the Warsaw Stock Exchange and its shares had tanked over 35%.
Beeks to go public
Beeks Financial Cloud last week announced its intention to go public on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange. CEO Gordon McArthur said to Finance Magnates: “It was always our intention to go public to raise finance. Capital markets are our entire business so going elsewhere seemed illogical."
The total valuation of the firm is expected to be USD 32.2 million.
FCA takes control of binary options
Since 2012, there have been 2,605 reported cases of binary options fraud in the UK, with £59.4 million lost in total. For this reason, the FCA has decided to take control of the sector from the UK Gambling Commission which had previously been the binary options market supervisor.
Effective January 3rd, binary options firms that wish to operate in the UK will need to achieve an FCA license. One of the benefits of this is that customers will be able to use the Financial Ombudsman Service when they fall victim to fraud.
CME Group gives jump to Bitcoin
On Thursday, the price of Bitcoin once again hit a massive high following the announcement from CME Group that it will be offering Bitcoin futures starting from the 20th of November. The coin briefly hit $7,800.
However on the same day, the CEO of Interactive Brokers published a full-page statement in the Wall Street Journal warning of the risks associated with Bitcoin futures.
Business as usual in China
On Friday, we reported on brokerage website blockages courtesy of the Chinese government. However, it seems that this is par for the course for foreigners operating in the Asian giant, and as such there are tried and tested ways of getting around the issue.
Bitcoin Cash chaos
Friday also showed that those who jumped to offer CFDs on Bitcoin Cash may be regretting their hasty decision. Wildly fluctuating prices hit brokers hard, with many firms having to credit customer accounts with additional funds.
Turns out that trading systems weren't prepared for such massive jumps in price. Who would have thought...
