News Nuggets | 26 September: IBKR Expands Trading Hours; Bitget Presents Smart Trading Bot

Cartesi Launches Honeypot DApp on Ethereum

Cartesi (CTSI), an app-specific rollup protocol featuring a virtual machine running Linux distributions, has unveiled its inaugural decentralized application (DApp) on the Ethereum Mainnet, known as Honeypot.

Honeypot is designed to empower developers in assessing the security of Cartesi Rollups. It reinforces trust in Cartesi's technology for the development and utilization of DApps hosting tangible assets, the company said.

JPMorgan Reshuffles Leadership in Investment Bank

JPMorgan Chase has undergone a significant leadership reorganization within its investment bank, as revealed in a memo obtained by Reuters. Fernando Rivas, who previously led the financial institution's group and played a pivotal role in the acquisition of First Republic Bank in May, is set to retire.

His successor will be Jay Horine who currently serves as the Global Industry Co-Head for energy, power, renewables, metals, and mining (EPRM). He will retain his existing position in addition to his new role as the Head of North American Investment Banking. Simultaneously, JPMorgan has appointed two Global Heads for various industry groups under the leadership of Jim Casey and Vis Raghavan, who jointly oversee Global Investment Banking.

Cryptocurrency Exchange Allegedly Uses Fake License Data

Several cryptocurrency exchanges including Bitspay, which boasts a daily trading volume of $1.4 billion on CoinMarketCap, are under scrutiny for allegedly providing false information about holding crypto licenses. Bitspay, based in Estonia, claimed to be regulated under Estonian law and held licenses from Estonia's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

However, after inquiries from Cointelegraph, Bitspay removed this information, and the FIU confirmed that Bitspay did not possess a valid license in Estonia. Additionally, the license number previously cited refers to a different Estonian company and was valid for less than a year.

Blue Ocean and QUODD Partner for Global After-Hours Trading

Blue Ocean Technologies, a fintech company specializing in global after-hours trading, has announced a strategic partnership with QUODD, a comprehensive provider of on-demand market data for the financial services industry.

Blue Ocean Technologies' advanced technology facilitates overnight trading of US equities. It is allowing overseas investors to engage in stock trading activities from 8:00 pm to 4:00 am ET, between Sunday and Thursday.

Bob Ward, the Chief Executive Officer of QUODD, said: "Blue Ocean Technologies has rapidly emerged as a leader in the US overnight trading. We are delighted to be partnering with Blue Ocean to provide access to their real-time data to all our clients. This new partnership is the next step towards QUODD’s vision of becoming the premier global financial market data and content provider."

Interactive Brokers Expands Trading Hours

Interactive Brokers has expanded its Overnight Trading Hours service, now offering over 10,000 US stocks and ETFs for nearly 24/5 trading. This move aims to provide more flexibility to clients in Asia and Europe who can now trade a broader range of US equities during their local market hours. The firm has additionally partnered with Blue Ocean Technologies to enhance liquidity for overnight trading.

“Overnight Trading is an important service that helps our clients make timely trading decisions and capture investment opportunities around the clock,” said Milan Galik, the Chief Executive Officer at Interactive Brokers.

Bitget Introduces Smart Portfolio Bot

Bitget, a leading crypto derivatives and copy trading platform , has launched Smart Portfolio, an intelligent investment bot. The bot dynamically rebalances a user's cryptocurrency portfolio, aiming to maximize returns by buying low and selling high. It offers two rebalancing modes, percentage-of-portfolio and calendar rebalancing, both designed to adapt to market conditions and price fluctuations.

"The launch of our Smart Portfolio bot exemplifies Bitget's mission to keep providing innovative solutions that make crypto investing smarter. This automated portfolio manager aligns with our 'Trade Smarter' philosophy of leveraging technology to empower users,” said Gracy Chen, the Managing Director at Bitget.

Laser Digital Receives Approval from ADGM

Laser Digital, a digital asset subsidiary of Nomura, has received In-Principal Approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). The approval is a significant step towards formal regulatory licensing for the company, which aims to provide broker-dealer and asset management services in both virtual and traditional assets.

“We are delighted that Laser Digital has been granted an ‘In Principal Approval’ for their virtual asset management services. Laser is developing investment services in virtual assets that are both dynamic and transparent, and their investment offerings align well with ADGM and the FSRA's international best practices and progressive regulatory ecosystem. We welcome them to our robust and vibrant financial community,” commented Arvind Ramamurthy, the Chief of Market Development at ADGM.

Kabu Collaborates with Morgan Stanley

The Japanese brokerage Kabu has announced a collaboration with Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities to improve Smart Order Routing (SOR) services and trading execution algorithms. The new service, set to launch in the first half of 2024, aims to provide customers with high-level performance trade execution services in the evolving Japanese stock market.

“As the Japanese stock market continues to evolve and change, we will continue to provide our customers with the world's highest level of performance trade execution services by utilizing MSMS's SOR and trade execution algorithms,” commented Kabu in a press release in Japanese, auto-translated to English.

RoboMarkets Joins TradingView

RoboMarkets, a European-regulated brokerage, has been integrated into TradingView, offering access to over 2,000 stocks from NYSE, NYSE Arca, and NASDAQ. The brokerage aims to provide top-tier trading terms for both retail and professional clients, featuring competitive margin rates and minimal fees.

“Founded in 2013, RoboMarkets has amassed a significant base with 250,000+ active trading accounts and secured 30+ industry accolades, including the Best European Stocks Broker Europe title at the recent 2023 Global Forex Awards,” stated TradingView.

Beeks Analytics Releases Version 11.1

Beeks Analytics has released version 11.1 of its product line, featuring improved REST API and Grafana data sources. The update aims to provide clients with real-time alerts and comprehensive analytics, enhancing the user experience through a new flexible dashboard.

“This is the second major update of our Analytics product line this year,” commented Matt Cretney, the Head of Product at Beeks. “This latest iteration provides significant benefits to Beeks clients, including a new flexible dashboard user experience through Grafana.”

Exegy Partners with BMLL for Data & Analytics

Exegy has signed a partnership agreement with BMLL Technologies to provide high-quality historical data and analytics . The partnership aims to give quants more time for algo development by streamlining the data analysis process, thus democratizing access to trading intelligence.

“We looked at a number of historical data vendors, and soon realized BMLL is in a class of its own. Accessing BMLL data now enables our clients to do strategy back-testing on high-fidelity data and execute using our real-time data,” said. David Taylor, the CEO of Exegy.

Finastra and Corvallis Extend Partnership

Finastra has extended its partnership with Corvallis to help Italian banks modernize their payment systems. The collaboration aims to facilitate SEPA and international payments, enabling Italian banks to comply with upcoming European instant payments regulations.

“Our partnership supports the imminent entry into force of the European regulation on instant bank transfers in euros, which will make instant payments mandatory without additional costs,” said Giampietro Vavassori, the Business Solution Director at Corvallis.

RockX and Cactus Custody Partner for Crypto Staking

RockX and Cactus Custody have entered into a strategic partnership to make crypto staking more secure and accessible for traditional financial institutions. The partnership aims to address challenges such as cybersecurity threats and regulatory barriers, providing a secure and compliant staking process.

Plum Launches “Plum Interest” Product

Plum has introduced a new product called “Plum Interest” designed to offer higher returns on cash holdings. The product aims to pass a higher proportion of central bank rates to customers and is available in both the UK and multiple EU markets. It offers daily returns and has no withdrawal or deposit restrictions.