Bitget Wallet Adds New Fiat Options to Quick Buy Feature
Bitget Wallet, a multi-chain digital wallet, has expanded its Quick Buy feature to support three additional fiat currencies: EUR, RUB, and JPY. This move aims to enhance the wallet's over-the-counter (OTC) features and provide users with more convenient ways to enter the cryptocurrency market. The update addresses a significant challenge in the Web3 space: the difficulty of acquiring cryptocurrencies using fiat money.
"Quick Buy facilitates seamless crypto purchasing for users worldwide, removing the barriers of fiat-to-crypto transactions," said Gracy Chen, the Managing Director of Bitget. "We look forward to empowering users to explore the Web3 space. The launch of Quick Buy underscores our commitment to simplifying access to cryptocurrencies and facilitating crypto mainstream adoption. With its range of innovative features, Bitget is bringing crypto investing to the fingertips of users globally."
FMA NZ Issues Warning about IM Academy
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of New Zealand has advised the public to exercise caution when dealing with IM Academy. Several international financial regulators, including Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), have issued warnings against IM Academy.
The company is officially known as International Markets Live Inc. and operates under various names, including IM Mastery Academy. The warning comes amidst a growing number of overseas regulatory alerts about the firm.
Bjørn Sibbern Appointed Global Head Exchanges at SIX
Bjørn Sibbern, previously the Executive Vice President and President of European Markets at Nasdaq, has been appointed as the Global Head of Exchanges and a Member of the Executive Board at SIX. He will assume the role on January 1, 2024. Sibbern boasts over two decades of experience in capital markets and has held various leadership positions at Nasdaq.
He will take over from Christoph Landis and be responsible for the Swiss and Spanish Exchanges at SIX and the digital exchange SDX.
SC Ventures Unveils Audax Financial Technology
SC Ventures, the innovation arm of Standard Chartered, has launched Audax Financial Technology, a platform aimed to help financial institutions with digital transformation.
Audax focuses on offering Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and aims to tap into a market expected to be worth $440 billion by 2030. The platform recently commercialized its BaaS offerings with the Indonesian e-commerce platform Bukalapak.
“audax’s digital banking solutions will help financial institutions unlock more opportunities,” said Alex Manson, the Head of SC Ventures.
Kurt Baker Plans $3 Billion Hedge Fund
Kurt Baker, a former executive at Morgan Stanley and Millennium Management, plans to launch a $3 billion multi-manager hedge fund.
The 30th Century Partners fund will be Hong Kong-based and Asia-focused. It aims to begin trading in June 2024 with eight to ten investment teams and will primarily invest in Asian markets including China, India, and South Korea.
Tether Backs AI Chip Purchase
The stablecoin Tether has invested $420 million in purchasing 10,000 H100 GPUs from Nvidia. This move marks Tether's entry into the cloud GPU market. The investment will give Tether a 20% stake in Northern Data, a German-listed bitcoin miner. Northern Data plans to rent these GPUs to AI startups, reflecting a broader trend among miners to diversify revenue streams.
The agreement has the potential to elevate the Frankfurt-based firm to the position of Europe's biggest cloud GPU provider, aside from major cloud computing players such as Amazon, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle, according to the CEO at Northern Data, Aroosh Thillainathan.
Alpha Group Progresses to Main Market
Alpha Group International announced its progress in moving up to the Premium List of the Main Market. The company has started appointing relevant advisers for the move, which is expected to occur in 2024. Alpha Group sees the public markets as beneficial for its growth and reputation among global corporates and institutions.
“We have hugely enjoyed our journey on AIM since our IPO in 2017 and have seen the sizeable benefits that the public markets can offer,” the company commented.
“Being a public company has not only enabled us to raise capital to grow and create employee shareholders, but it has also greatly enhanced our reputation amongst the global corporates and institutions that we work with, who take confidence from our public market status, as well as the increased transparency and governance that comes with this.”
Aquis Exchange Reports Strong Growth in Interim Results
Aquis Exchange PLC, a player in next-generation financial markets, has released its unaudited financials for H1 2023, showing promising results. The company reported a net revenue increase of 17%, reaching £9.7 million compared to £8.3 million in H1 2022.
Additionally, the EBITDA rose 26% to £1.7 million, and the profit before tax surged 64% to £1.1 million. Basic earnings per share also saw a jump from 2.5p in H1 2022 to 3.8p this year.
CoinScan Raises $6.3 Million in Funding
CoinScan, a crypto analytics platform, has raised $6.3 million in funding. The platform aims to help crypto users reduce losses from hacks, scams, and exploits. It is backed by major shareholders in the sports betting company DraftKings and the digital asset trading firm Tectona.
Curve’s Series C Funding Round Hits £133 Million
The financial super app Curve has secured an additional £58 million in its Series C funding round, bringing the total to over £133 million. The new funds will be used to enhance the customer experience and expand its offerings. The company aims to reach profitability by early 2024.
"We are extremely pleased with the interest we received in our Series C extension round and the support we received from our existing shareholders," said Shachar Bialick, the Founder and CEO of Curve.
Danmarks Nationalbank Joins Eurex for Repo Trading
Danmarks Nationalbank has begun trading and centrally clearing repo transactions at Eurex. This marks the first Nordic central bank to join Eurex's repo markets, which have over 160 registered participants. The move aligns with Danmarks Nationalbank's aim to have broad market access.
“Joining centrally cleared repo markets is an important milestone in our reserve management. First and foremost, centrally cleared repo transactions are perfectly in line with our aim of having broad market access and ensuring efficient management across products,” said Martin Wagner Toftdahl, the Head of Banking and Markets at Danmarks Nationalbank.
Cornerstone FS Sells Non-trading Subsidiary
Cornerstone FS has sold its non-trading subsidiary, Capital Currencies, for £150,000. Capital Currencies was acquired in February 2022 but has not been a trading entity since November 2022. The sale proceeds will bolster Cornerstone's existing cash resources and are pending regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority.
“This is a great outcome for Cornerstone, generating value from the sale of a licence, that is surplus to our requirements, to a non-competing business,” James Hickman, the CEO of Cornerstone, said.
