XRP & BTC Whales, Nomura CEO, Ripple IPO Plans, GKFX Arrests: Editor's Pick
- ICYMI: the biggest news stories of the week.
It's that time of the week when we take a look back at the news stories that dominated the worlds of forex, fintech and crypto in our best of the week segment.
XRP Whale Moves 15 Million Coins to Unknown Wallet
The trading week kicked off with news of some big whale movements. One crypto user transferred 15 million XRP worth more than $15.6 million from the cryptocurrency exchange crypto.com to an unknown wallet.
Before a weekend price surge, XRP attracted approximately $33 million in weekly institutional inflows during the third week of April 2021, which is its highest level on record.
The transfer was executed on 25 April at 00:14 UTC and recorded on Bithomp.com.
Read more on the XRP Whale here.
Nomura Has Secured Christopher Willcox as Its New CEO and President
Also on Monday was the news that Nomura Holdings Inc. secured Christopher Willcox as its new CEO and President, effective from 3rd May 2021.
Christopher Willcox, who until recently was CEO of JP Morgan Asset Management, has been appointed by Nomura Holdings, the Japanese financial services giant, as its new Co-CEO and President of Nomura Securities International Inc. Additionally, he will be named Senior Managing Director of Nomura Holding America Inc.
Read more on the Christopher Wilcox Nomura CEO Appointment here.
Binance Coin and Ethereum Lead $200 Billion Crypto Market Recovery
Binance Coin (BNB) and Ethereum (ETH) jumped by more than 10% in just 24 hours as the overall market cap of cryptocurrencies gained approximately $200 billion within a single day. The crypto market came back strongly after losing nearly $250 billion in the previous week.
On Monday, Binance Coin touched $550 after a jump of approximately 10% in 24 hours, leaving BNB with a market cap of more than $82 billion.
Read more on the Crypto Market Recovery here.
eToro Expands Product Offering with New Stocks Portfolio
eToro announced this week that the company has launched BitcoinWorldWide, a brand-new stocks portfolio based on companies creating value in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
According to the official announcement, the newly launched portfolio includes companies operating to support the adoption of the world’s largest cryptocurrency. eToro mentioned that the portfolio will have some exposure to Bitcoin as well.
Read more on eToro's BitcoinWorldWide here.
Six Former GKFX Executives Arrested for $29 Million Fraud
Dominating the forex news this week were reports that Turkish authorities have arrested six former senior executives of Maslak-based GKFX Financial Services Limited for their alleged involvement in a massive $29 million fraud.
According to multiple local media houses, the suspects embezzled the brokerage’s money by manipulating the accounting books. The alleged perpetrators have been identified as MKY, BK, C.Ö., VS, SE and RE.
GKFX confirmed with Finance Magnates that the embezzled funds belonged to the company and not its clients. The action against the perpetrators was, in fact, taken following a criminal complaint filed by the GKG Group.
Read more on the GKFX arrests here.
Demand for Cryptocurrency Assets Is Surging, Says PayPal CEO
As Finance Magnates reported, Dan Schulman, President, and CEO of PayPal stated that the demand for cryptocurrency assets has surpassed the company’s expectations.
During the latest interview with TIME Magazine, Schulman predicted a sharp decline in the use of cash and mentioned that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets can take advantage of the situation. PayPal allowed cryptocurrency Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term in 2020, and the company has seen a significant surge in crypto-related transactions in the last few months.
Read more on Dan Schulman's crypto comments here.
Ethereum Crosses Market Cap of PayPal
Staying with PayPal, Ethereum, the world’s second-most valuable cryptocurrency, touched the market cap of $320 billion on Thursday after ETH registered an all-time high of nearly $2,750. Ethereum is now more valuable than payments giant, PayPal Holdings.
The latest surge in the price of ETH came after a massive jump in retail and institutional demand for the cryptocurrency.
Read more on the ETH price surge here.
Simetria Announces Partnership with Algorand
Simetria announced this week that the company has partnered with Algorand, a leading 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 firm, to build its next-generation securities exchange.
The latest announcement came after Ziv Keinan, Founder and CEO of Simetria, revealed the demo of the company’s new DLT based platform to allow private companies to meet liquidity for the benefit of their employees, founders and VCs.
Read more on the Simetria Algorand partnership here.
Ripple Planning for IPO after Settling XRP Lawsuit: SBI CEO
As Finance Magnates reported on Thursday, Ripple is considering listing its shares publicly after the settlement of the ongoing dispute with the US financial market regulator over the status of XRP, according to SBI Group Chief, Yoshitaka Kitao.
The Japanese financial giant is the largest outside shareholder of Ripple. While addressing an earnings presentation call on Wednesday, Kitao revealed the possibility of Ripple going public, as both Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman, Chris Larsen support the step.
“After the current lawsuit, Ripple will go public. The current CEO wants to do that. Chris wants to do that,” Kitao said.
Read more on the Ripple IPO plans here.
BTC Whale Moves 3,671 Bitcoin from Coinbase
As the week started with XRP Whales, the week ended with Bitcoin Whales. On Friday, Finance Magnates reported that one Bitcoin user moved 3,671 BTC from cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase to a digital wallet on 29 April.
According to the latest data published by Whale Alert, a blockchain tracking and analytics firm, the total value of the BTC transfer stood at around $194 million.
Read more on the BTC Whale here.
Dukascopy Posts a Record 372% Jump in 2020 Profits
Geneva-based Dukascopy Bank, which is a CFDs and retail forex broker, published its annual financials ending December 31, 2020, reporting a record in its income and profits.
The total operating income of the company touched CHF 40.1 million, which is a yearly jump of 43.2 percent. It generated CHF 28 million and CHF 27.4 million in 2019 and 2018, respectively.
“2020 was an exceptional year in terms of trading profits due to high volatility,” Dukascopy’s Co-CEOs Veronika and Andrey Duka, said in a statement.
Read more on the Dukascopy Record Profits here.
It's that time of the week when we take a look back at the news stories that dominated the worlds of forex, fintech and crypto in our best of the week segment.
XRP Whale Moves 15 Million Coins to Unknown Wallet
The trading week kicked off with news of some big whale movements. One crypto user transferred 15 million XRP worth more than $15.6 million from the cryptocurrency exchange crypto.com to an unknown wallet.
Before a weekend price surge, XRP attracted approximately $33 million in weekly institutional inflows during the third week of April 2021, which is its highest level on record.
The transfer was executed on 25 April at 00:14 UTC and recorded on Bithomp.com.
Read more on the XRP Whale here.
Nomura Has Secured Christopher Willcox as Its New CEO and President
Also on Monday was the news that Nomura Holdings Inc. secured Christopher Willcox as its new CEO and President, effective from 3rd May 2021.
Christopher Willcox, who until recently was CEO of JP Morgan Asset Management, has been appointed by Nomura Holdings, the Japanese financial services giant, as its new Co-CEO and President of Nomura Securities International Inc. Additionally, he will be named Senior Managing Director of Nomura Holding America Inc.
Read more on the Christopher Wilcox Nomura CEO Appointment here.
Binance Coin and Ethereum Lead $200 Billion Crypto Market Recovery
Binance Coin (BNB) and Ethereum (ETH) jumped by more than 10% in just 24 hours as the overall market cap of cryptocurrencies gained approximately $200 billion within a single day. The crypto market came back strongly after losing nearly $250 billion in the previous week.
On Monday, Binance Coin touched $550 after a jump of approximately 10% in 24 hours, leaving BNB with a market cap of more than $82 billion.
Read more on the Crypto Market Recovery here.
eToro Expands Product Offering with New Stocks Portfolio
eToro announced this week that the company has launched BitcoinWorldWide, a brand-new stocks portfolio based on companies creating value in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
According to the official announcement, the newly launched portfolio includes companies operating to support the adoption of the world’s largest cryptocurrency. eToro mentioned that the portfolio will have some exposure to Bitcoin as well.
Read more on eToro's BitcoinWorldWide here.
Six Former GKFX Executives Arrested for $29 Million Fraud
Dominating the forex news this week were reports that Turkish authorities have arrested six former senior executives of Maslak-based GKFX Financial Services Limited for their alleged involvement in a massive $29 million fraud.
According to multiple local media houses, the suspects embezzled the brokerage’s money by manipulating the accounting books. The alleged perpetrators have been identified as MKY, BK, C.Ö., VS, SE and RE.
GKFX confirmed with Finance Magnates that the embezzled funds belonged to the company and not its clients. The action against the perpetrators was, in fact, taken following a criminal complaint filed by the GKG Group.
Read more on the GKFX arrests here.
Demand for Cryptocurrency Assets Is Surging, Says PayPal CEO
As Finance Magnates reported, Dan Schulman, President, and CEO of PayPal stated that the demand for cryptocurrency assets has surpassed the company’s expectations.
During the latest interview with TIME Magazine, Schulman predicted a sharp decline in the use of cash and mentioned that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets can take advantage of the situation. PayPal allowed cryptocurrency Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term in 2020, and the company has seen a significant surge in crypto-related transactions in the last few months.
Read more on Dan Schulman's crypto comments here.
Ethereum Crosses Market Cap of PayPal
Staying with PayPal, Ethereum, the world’s second-most valuable cryptocurrency, touched the market cap of $320 billion on Thursday after ETH registered an all-time high of nearly $2,750. Ethereum is now more valuable than payments giant, PayPal Holdings.
The latest surge in the price of ETH came after a massive jump in retail and institutional demand for the cryptocurrency.
Read more on the ETH price surge here.
Simetria Announces Partnership with Algorand
Simetria announced this week that the company has partnered with Algorand, a leading 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 firm, to build its next-generation securities exchange.
The latest announcement came after Ziv Keinan, Founder and CEO of Simetria, revealed the demo of the company’s new DLT based platform to allow private companies to meet liquidity for the benefit of their employees, founders and VCs.
Read more on the Simetria Algorand partnership here.
Ripple Planning for IPO after Settling XRP Lawsuit: SBI CEO
As Finance Magnates reported on Thursday, Ripple is considering listing its shares publicly after the settlement of the ongoing dispute with the US financial market regulator over the status of XRP, according to SBI Group Chief, Yoshitaka Kitao.
The Japanese financial giant is the largest outside shareholder of Ripple. While addressing an earnings presentation call on Wednesday, Kitao revealed the possibility of Ripple going public, as both Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman, Chris Larsen support the step.
“After the current lawsuit, Ripple will go public. The current CEO wants to do that. Chris wants to do that,” Kitao said.
Read more on the Ripple IPO plans here.
BTC Whale Moves 3,671 Bitcoin from Coinbase
As the week started with XRP Whales, the week ended with Bitcoin Whales. On Friday, Finance Magnates reported that one Bitcoin user moved 3,671 BTC from cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase to a digital wallet on 29 April.
According to the latest data published by Whale Alert, a blockchain tracking and analytics firm, the total value of the BTC transfer stood at around $194 million.
Read more on the BTC Whale here.
Dukascopy Posts a Record 372% Jump in 2020 Profits
Geneva-based Dukascopy Bank, which is a CFDs and retail forex broker, published its annual financials ending December 31, 2020, reporting a record in its income and profits.
The total operating income of the company touched CHF 40.1 million, which is a yearly jump of 43.2 percent. It generated CHF 28 million and CHF 27.4 million in 2019 and 2018, respectively.
“2020 was an exceptional year in terms of trading profits due to high volatility,” Dukascopy’s Co-CEOs Veronika and Andrey Duka, said in a statement.
Read more on the Dukascopy Record Profits here.