Now that the Christmas and New Year’s holidays are over, and traders are returning to their desks, let’s take a look back at top stories that dominated the financial markets in our Weekly Round coverage.
FX Market
The shifting world of FX Prime Brokerage: Expert views and trends
The FX Prime Brokerage (FXPB) industry is undergoing a significant transformation, marked by the consolidation among traditional prime brokers and the emergence of non-bank prime brokers (PBs) as key players. Read More
Saudis acquire 32.6% of Dubai’s commodities exchange to rebrand it Gulf Mercantile Exchange
Saudi Tadawul Group has entered into an agreement to acquire a 32.6% stake in DME Holdings Limited, the parent company of Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME). Read More
TD Bank’s earnings from Charles Schwab to drop 30%
Canadian lender TD Bank Group anticipates a big decrease in earnings from its investment in the US financial services giant Charles Schwab Corp. Read More
Alpha Group’s profit jumps 140% YoY to £115 million
Foreign exchange service provider Alpha Group International plc (AIM: ALPH) was able to amass a total revenue of £110 million. This figure was up 27% over the twelve months through December 2020, which was reported at £98.3 million the previous year. Read More
Exness reports $3.6 trillion in December trading volumes
FX brokerage powerhouse Exness reported a decrease in its trading volumes for the second consecutive month as the previous year got off to a calm end while no events were able to whip up a market frenzy. Read More
JPMorgan hit with $18 Million for silencing whistleblowers
A subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay an $18 million fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for violating whistleblower protection rules. This penalty ranks as one of the largest imposed by the regulator for breaches of this particular rule. Read More
Interactive Brokers 4Q2023 report shows how big options trading has become
Net revenues for the current quarter reached $1,139 million, and when adjusted, they amounted to $1,149 million. This indicates substantial growth compared to the year-ago quarter, where reported net revenues were $976 million and adjusted net revenues were $958 million. Read More
Robinhood fined $7.5 million over trading practices
No-fee trading app Robinhood has agreed to pay a $7.5 million fine and revamp its operational practices in a settlement with Massachusetts’ securities regulators. Read More
Saxo Bank joins FairXchange’s data-driven ecosystem of LPs
Saxo Bank has announced it has joined the expanding FairXchange ecosystem to enhance its data-driven dialogue with Liquidity Providers (LPs). Read More
Crypto Markets
SEC vs. Coinbase: Judge examines status of 13 crypto tokens
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Coinbase presented their arguments regarding whether transactions of certain tokens on the popular exchange constitute securities in a court hearing. Read More
Binance set for court battle with SEC in high-stakes lawsuit
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is preparing for yet another legal faceoff with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a Washington courtroom today. This hearing follows a recent one involving the SEC and another major crypto exchange, Coinbase. Read More
Crypto exchange HTX and its DAO hacked, Justin Sun assures users
Crypto exchange HTX (formerly known as Huobi Global), along with its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), said they recovered from a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack that temporarily disrupted their services. Read More
Grayscale sees $2.2 billion outflows amid shift towards bitcoin ETFs
The fresh spot bitcoin ETF market in the United States has seen a total net inflow of nearly $1.2 billion in the first five days of trading. According to BitMEX Research data, both Fidelity and BlackRock have joined the “$1 billion-plus inflows club,” reflecting the strong investor interest in these products. Read More
Celsius and FTX move crypto to exchanges to repay creditors
Embattled crypto lender Celsius Network has been actively transferring Ethers to cryptocurrency exchanges, a move seen as part of its efforts to begin repaying creditors. Read More
OKX secures VASP license from Dubai’s VARA
OKX Middle East Fintech FZE, the Dubai-based subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 technology leader OKX, has announced the acquisition of a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for VA Exchange Services. Read More
Bitcoin’s subdued price doesn’t necessarily mean failure in the ETF launch. Here’s why
Bitcoin (BTC) wrapped the week at $41,750, marking a 5.0% decline from the previous week, accompanied by a whirlwind of volatility driven by the approval of BTC Spot ETFs. In the aftermath of the SEC’s green light for the ETFs, Matteo Greco, Research Analyst at Fineqia International, provided insights into the classic “buy the rumor, sell the news” market behavior. Read More
Bitget risks reputation with launch of Spot P2P Market for early-stage tokens
Bitget has announced the launch of its Spot P2P Market aimed at facilitating early investments in tokens before their listing on major centralized exchanges. Read More
Binance launches crypto exchange services in Thailand
Binance, a joint venture between Binance and Thailand’s Gulf Innova, has officially launched its crypto exchange services to the public in Thailand. Read More
Tether refutes UN claims, Cantor Fitzgerald affirms USDT reserves
Tether has countered a United Nations (UN) report that highlighted the alleged use of its USDT stablecoin in illicit activities in East and Southeast Asia. Read More
