Saxo Bank Carved Up, ESMA Rules Depopulating EU Market: Best of the Week

Saxo Bank Carved Up

The Financial Supervisory Authority of Denmark has approved the purchase of a majority of multi-asset brokerage Saxo Bank to a couple of foreign entities.

Specifically, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group of China has bought 52 percent of the company and Sampo of Finland has bought 11 percent. Saxo Bank was valued at $1.550 billion for the purposes of the transaction.

Saxo Bank CEO Kim Fournais will retain his 25 percent share.

Exclusive Interview with Head of CySEC CySEC The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision Read this Term: "Crypto Is Not a Regulated Activity."

Demetra Kalogerou, as head of the Cyprus Security and Exchange Commission, has been contending with the foreign exchange industry and binary options scams for years. Nowadays, CySEC has joined other financial regulators in trying to fit cryptocurrency into its financial rules.

Finance Magnates asked Kalogerou about the repercussions of Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term technology, her new innovation hub, and why CySEC seems to be lagging behind other jurisdictions in this respect.

Exclusive Interview with Head of Interactive Brokers

Thomas Peterffy, CEO of foreign exchange company Interactive Brokers, removed his company from the Nasdaq stock exchange and moved it to IEX, a relatively new exchange that claims to be fairer and more open than older venues.

Finance Magnates spoke exclusively with Perffy about the move - he explained why he decided to move to a venue which is less well-established and thus has lower volumes.

Plus500 Also Being Carved Up

Several companies are taking advantage of the deflating price of foreign exchange company Plus500 by buying large slices of it.

The value of Plus500 has dropped dramatically of late because major shareholders sold their holdings in the company. Specifically, Playtech, a financial technology company, sold its ten percent, and Plus500's founders sold their eight percent. The drop in value at one point reached 34 percent when compared to a month prior.

Analysis: Problems with EOS

The blockchain adventure that raised more than $4 billion from hopeful investors recently formed a new internal management group made up of a disparate collection of individuals, including one famous R&B singer.

Some have posited that this was the management team's response to criticism of technical incompetence and potential corruption. What are these criticisms exactly? Read this analysis to find out.

Is ESMA Pushing People Away?

The European Securities and Markets Authority, the EU's financial regulation authority, recently made the market a much more difficult place for finance companies with a load of new rules.

Because these rules were meant to be up for review after three months, some believed that there was a chance that they would be relaxed. In this analysis, read why that probably won't be the case, and why the rules could cause customers to look abroad for business.

Finance Magnates Visits Bitmain Office

Bitcoin mining monolith Bitmain opened a branch in Israel earlier this year; this branch runs a mining pool and develops AI algorithms.

Finance Magnates visited the office, in the small town of Ra'anana, and picked the brains of Bitmain VP Gadi Glikberg about Bitcoin Cash, security issues, and ASIC sales. We also asked about the upcoming Bitmain IPO (spoiler: he declined to talk about that).