ESMA splits the EU commodity position report before ITS 4 is law
From September 3 EU venues file two weekly commodity position reports under ESMA's v2.0 schema, while the ITS 4 amendment behind them stays unadopted.
Rick Steves
Senior Reporter, Regulation and Fintech
Rick Steves has seen business and economics through many lenses. He joined the financial services industry in 2009, and has been a financial journalist since 2011. He holds a degree in Business Administration and has experience producing real-time news, from both buy-side and sell-side, as well as for retail traders, brokers and service providers. Steves' work has appeared in a variety of online publications including FX Street, NewsBTC, FinanceFeeds, and The Industry Spread. Rick has great interest in the dynamics of the trading industry. The never-ending clash between technology, economics, regulation, and more importantly, the people.
August 2026
re:cap’s lending doubled to €200m since its €125m UK facility
re:cap's €125m UK facility was debt, not a raise. Its arranged lending has since doubled to €200m — with no UK entity on the Companies House register.
Socure buys Fravity at $5.2bn, up 15.6% on its 2021 mark
Socure's $5.2bn growth investment and Fravity acquisition put its valuation just 15.6% above the $4.5bn mark it set back in 2021, despite 63% ARR growth.
The CFTC’s compute derivatives notice is a manipulation brief
The CFTC's request for comment on compute derivatives, RIN 3038-AF77, asks whether an index its own suppliers administer can settle a futures contract.
BitGo buys NYDIG’s derivatives desk for $42.5m, 84% in stock
BitGo's press release skipped the price. Its 8-K puts $42.5m upfront on NYDIG's derivatives desk, 84% of it in BTGO stock, plus $15m of revenue earn-outs.
RQD Clearing lands $74m Bain Capital growth investment
RQD* Clearing takes a $74m Bain Capital-led growth round while already clearing 2.43% of US equities, as DTCC tokenisation makes clearing firms the chokepoint.
Vanguard’s reported $4.6bn Altruist deal undoes its 2003 custody exit
Vanguard is buying Altruist for a reported $4.6bn, re-entering the RIA custody market it quietly sold off in 2003 - and it was already an Altruist investor.
Australia’s swap rule discloses the client at 5%, the bank at 20%
ASIC Instrument 2026/482 counts cash-settled swaps at full notional from December 4, 2026: clients file at 5%, dealers only at 20% and not in a notice.
UK’s critical third parties regime cannot fine AWS or Microsoft
HM Treasury designated AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft and Oracle as Critical Third Parties from July 13, 2026 — but FSMA gives regulators no power to fine them.
FOREX.com joins weekend gold CFD wave as CME opens 24/7 hedge
FOREX.com's XAU/USD 7-Day launched a day before CME's gold futures went 24/7. Seven brokers now quote weekend gold CFDs, but the hedge book is still thin.
CFTC moves to end the SEF order-book rule for permitted swaps
The CFTC has proposed deleting the SEF order-book mandate for permitted transactions. What § 37.3(a)(2) changes, and how the EU and UK got there first.
Fasset hits $1bn valuation on $68m Series C led by SBI Group
Fasset raised $68m at a $1bn valuation led by SBI Group, but its corridor count doubled while volume rose only 25% — a capacity story, not a growth story.
Cantor Fitzgerald opens a block desk for Kalshi event contracts
Cantor Fitzgerald is now introducing broker for institutional block trades in Kalshi event contracts, with Susquehanna Predictions pricing the other side.
Munich Re pays $575m for At-Bay, a book it already reinsures
Munich Re Group agreed on August 19, 2026 to acquire At-Bay, Inc.
Experian puts live credit scores in ChatGPT, model blind
Experian's upgraded ChatGPT app shows UK users their real 1250 credit score inside a widget the AI model never reads. Distribution, not data-sharing.
FIX Trading Community flags tokenisation data gaps to FCA and BoE
FIX Trading Community told the FCA and Bank of England that missing data standards, not technology, will slow tokenisation as retail brokers list tokens.
CRD VI ends reverse solicitation as an EU business model in 2027
From January 11, 2027 Article 21c of CRD VI forces third-country banks into authorised EU branches, leaving reverse solicitation as a route no firm can scale.
Rain launches agentic payments alliance, silent on liability
Rain launched the Agentic Payments Alliance on August 18 with 26 founding members including Visa and Mastercard - but its documents never mention liability.
Regulation Crypto Assets caps token raises and preempts states
The SEC's proposed Regulation Crypto Assets sets $5m and $75m offering limits, a conditional investment contract safe harbor and state law preemption.
Also filing this week: Karthik Subramanian and Abdelaziz Fathi.