Forex Weekly Look Back: Markets.com integrates TipRanks’ Quantitative Strategy Builder, Søren Bjerregaard moves to GCEX

Looking back at the most intriguing and popular industry news from the past week between 10th and 14th of August on LeapRate.

Online gaming and financial trading giant Playtech made an announcement in response to recent rumors and speculation. The company confirmed that it is considering the sale of its financial division TradeTech Group (which includes CFH, Alpha, Markets.com). Playtech confirmed it is in discussion about a potential sale of TradeTech with a number of parties. However, the discussions are at an early stage.

Israel-based technology company TipRanks announced its partnership with trading platform Markets.com to make quantitative investing available for retail investors. Markets.com is the first broker to integrate TipRanks’ Quantitative Strategy Builder. The solution gives new opportunities through financial algorithm technology, usually available for banks and hedge funds.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) and pre- and post-trade margin and collateral analytics provider for derivatives markets Cassini Systems announced their partnership aiming to provide free service for SGX market participants and assist them with the preparation for meeting the Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR) requirements. As part of the partnership agreement, SGX will utilize Cassini’s domain expertise to provide market users with complimentary analyses to determine their average aggregated notional amount (AANA), representing the gross value of open, non-centrally cleared derivatives positions.

Søren Bjerregaard left CFH Clearing Limited after 11 years at his position and joins financial services firm GCEX. Digital asset and currencies technology solution for institutional and professional clients GCEX announced welcoming Bjerregaard as its new sales director. The company is headquartered in London and was established in 2018 to provide its clients with regulated and compliant exposure to the digital asset market. The company is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. He shared with LeapRate that he is happy to be “using new technology to disrupt the standard broker models and develop a genuinely institutional crypto offering”.

Zurich-based SIX reported solid performance for the first half of 2020 despite the heightened market volatility caused Covid-19. The exchange reported CHF 624.1 million operating income for the first half of the year, up by 7.6% compared to the same period last year. The company also registered CHF 151.6 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), with 32.7% rise compared to last year.

Bangkok-based Lightnet announced its partnership with SEBA. The fintech will serve retail as well as institutional investors globally with more transparent and secure settlement solution. Through the new collaboration, the company will strengthen its remittance settlement capabilities and bridge the gap between digital and traditional assets. The Zug-based crypto bank will serve as banking counterparty for the Lightnet Group.

Michael Walker, Managing Director and Chairman of the board for BlackBull Markets sat down with LeapRate for an interview. Michael garnered experience in the industry as a propensity derivative trader for a local firm before founding BlackBull Markets in 2014. Michael has always held a keen interested in the financial services sector and is intently focused on delivering an institutional experience for retail traders which has since become a focus for BlackBull Markets. He shared with us that their strategy for the future is to continue to add products and platforms for their clients to trade.

Boerse Stuttgart Group announced on Monday that it has joined forces with several other companies in order to develop a flexible method for financing industrial capital goods on a blockchain basis. The other participants in the joint research project are the Bosch research team “Economy of Things”, Daimler Mobility and technology partner 51nodes. In addition to technical feasibility, the project, which has been running since May 2019, also covered legal and regulatory aspects.

Forex Weekly Look Back

Global equities hit a record high on Wednesday as the recovery seen since the collapse in February continues apace. The FTSE All World index climbed 0.9% to 384.9 points, ahead of a high set in February, as technology giants which have propelled US markets higher now lift the global index to a new peak.

Huobi University shared yesterday an opinion piece by Huobi Group CEO Leon Li in a keynote speech at the opening session of Global Blockchain Leadership Programme, “Blockchain Industry and Its Outlook”. In his speech, Leon Li said that Blockchain technology has the potential to change the world and outlined his outlook for its future.

US investment management company Vanguard has decided to close Hong Kong office and change its focus to mainland China. The decision came after a strategic review the company conducted. Vanguard will exit the ETF business in Hong Kong and redirect its capital towards a more strategically aligned region, an exchange filling stated. The company is currently seeking options for a clean withdrawal including appointing an investment manager for each fund that is going to be delisted.

Technology driven foreign exchange and precious metals optimization software provider Edgewater Markets LLC announced its H1 2020 volume results in their precious metals product line. The company reported a surge in the volumes since the same period last year. The company’s low latency matching engine, market making software and front-end execution system has driven the firm to more than 500 mio USD of spot gold and silver executed daily.

China-based fintech platform FinVolution Group announced a new share repurchase program. Effective 24 August, the board of directors of the company approved a repurchase of the company’s own Class A ordinary shares in the form of American depositary shares (“ADS”) with an aggregate value of up to $60 million until 31 December 2021.

Moscow Exchange (MOEX) has just announced that it has started trading in foreign equities. The exchange admitted 20 stocks from the S&P 500 Index. Today, 19 stocks were made available for trading in the main and after-hours trading sessions, with Apple stock to be added on 7 September. The delayed launch is due to the upcoming Apple stock split.

Hong Kong’s markets regulator has agreed in principle to issue a licence to a cryptoasset firm for the first time. OSL Digital Securities, part of Fidelity-backed BC Group, said on Friday it had received the approval in principle, according to a Reuters report. BC Group provides business park and advertising services as well as its cryptocurency business, which accounts for the bulk of its revenues. The company made a net loss of US$13.13 million in H1 2020.

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