News Nuggets | 13 June: BidFX Hires eFX Expert; Orbex's Prepaid Card

BaFin Fines a Manager for Failing to Publish Financial Reports

Germany’s regulator, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), imposed a fine worth 15,000 euros against a manager of a securities firm based in the country.

According to the regulator, the individual works for a company based in Germany that failed to publish its half-financial report for 2021. BaFin also accuses the unnamed individual and the undisclosed company of failing to issue public announcements accompanying the reports.

The concerned individual has since appealed against the penalty, according to the statement issued by BaFin today (Tuesday).

ION Unveils Fidessa Spotlight

ION, a trading and risk management solutions provider, has launched Fidessa Spotlight to boost global equities trading performance. The innovative technology aims to help traders improve operations, streamline workflows, and grow businesses amidst industry demands. Fidessa Spotlight provides a comprehensive solution, combining dark pools with traditional algorithms, and is expected to reduce business costs significantly.

Primarily, Fidessa Spotlight grants traders access to dark volume while maintaining order in third-party algorithms, thus minimizing market impact. The platform's design allows users to shape and modify their model with static data changes to control slice release finely across various venues.

Bitfinex Presents New Website

Bitfinex has announced the launch of its new website, a centralized hub for all its official channels. The website represents Bitfinex's commitment to transparency and trust, providing customers with reliable and updated information about the company's activities. It serves as a one-stop location for important announcements, product updates, and the latest news.

The Bitfinex Channels website covers the company's presence across various social media platforms. The service provides easy access and validation for Bitfinex's official pages. It ensures that users stay connected with the company on their preferred channels.

BingX Integrates Tealstreet

BingX, a major crypto exchange, has announced its integration with Tealstreet to enhance automated crypto trading. The collaboration is set to offer BingX users a more efficient trading experience by providing access to additional resources.

Tealstreet's software streamlines order placement and position management, enhancing the overall trading experience. The free-to-use business model, order tools, and mobile experience give Tealstreet a competitive edge.

Chainalysis Integrates Coinbase Commerce

Chainalysis has integrated Coinbase Commerce, allowing customers to pay with a wide range of digital assets, including DeFi tokens. The new payment option aims to meet customers' evolving needs, particularly in the fast-growing DeFi sector. It should streamline the payment process and reduce the friction in fiat transactions.

The crypto payments integration benefits customers who mainly operate within decentralized networks and rely on cryptos for financial activities. These customers can now pay invoices without needing fiat conversions or traditional banking services.

“We recognize the unique needs of DeFi participants and are excited to support their operations by accepting a wide variety of digital assets,” Rakib Azad, the SVP of Finance at Chainalysis, commented.

Interactive Brokers Adds Two More Exchanges

US-headquartered Interactive Brokers has expanded its global brokerage dominance by adding access to two more stock exchanges, Nasdaq Copenhagen (CPH) and the Prague Stock Exchange (PSE). Shares listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen will be available for fractional trading.

"Clients seeking to diversify and take advantage of new trading opportunities across geographies in Europe and around the world, can now add Danish and Czech stocks to their portfolios while benefiting from Interactive Brokers' low costs and the ability to trade products across asset classes from a single unified platform," said Milan Galik, Interactive Brokers' CEO.

"Adding Nasdaq Copenhagen and the Prague Stock Exchange reinforces our commitment to providing our clients with the greatest breadth of investment products."

BidFX Hires eFX Expert as Sales Director

BidFX has appointed Eric Marfat as its new Sales Director, stationed at its London office. He joined the new role from Citi, where he was the Vice President of eFX Sales for almost seven years.

According to his Linkedin, he was the eFX Sales Vice President at BNP Paribas and eFX Sales Associate at Morgan Stanley. He started his career at JPMorgan Chase as an Analyst.

Former SEC Chief of Staff Joins Public

Public, a brokerage offering retail investments, announced hiring Prashant Yerramalli as the VP of Operations and Regulatory Affairs. Yerramalli previously served as the Chief of Staff for SEC's Chairman, Gary Gensler and was also one of Gensler's lead advisors.

He has been tasked to manage Public's overall risk profile and will provide strategic support to the legal and compliance teams in regulatory matters.

"Throughout my career, I have seen firsthand the power of new technologies on the financial markets and the transformation that can occur in people's lives by saving and investing for their futures," Yerramalli said.

Orbex Launches Prepaid Card

Orbex, a retail brokerage platform, expanded its product range with the launch of the new Orbex Prepaid Card and Orbex Card app. Orbex Maestro Prepaid Card is available for the broker's clients in the Gulf Region, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Palestine.

On top of that, the newly launched app to support the prepaid card is available on Android and iOS.

CLS Adds Six New Board Directors

CLS, a provider of forex market settlement services, announced the appointment of six new board members: Debbie Chin from United Overseas Bank, Alberto Covin from UniCredit, Bruno d'llliers from BNP Paribas, Rodolphe Sahel from Société Générale, Jodi Schenck from Citibank, and Bhupesh Vora from Royal Bank of Canada.

All of these new appointments bring extensive financial industry knowledge to the table.

"Their extensive market infrastructure knowledge and leadership experience in financial markets will be invaluable, and we look forward to their contributions as we continue to develop CLS's services to solve the challenges facing the FX industry," said Gottfried Leibbrandt, Chair at CLS.