News Nuggets | 14 June: Consob Blacklists Four; Vantage's Marketing Exec Leaves

MetaTrader 5 Unveils Major Update Build 3800

The latest major update of MetaTrader 5, Build 3800, is now available, boasting a range of new features across its platform components. One of the most significant changes is the introduction of the Passive/Book or Cancel (BOC) order-filling policy. It guarantees that orders will not be executed instantly upon placement, thus preserving current liquidity. This addition enables passive trading and prevents an immediate impact on market conditions.

Furthermore, MetaTrader 5's code editor, MetaEditor, now supports Copilot, an advanced coding assistant backed by OpenAI models. The program provides coding suggestions based on various prompts. The update also brings expanded ONNX (Open Neural Network Exchange) support to show model properties directly in the editor. It includes the ability to visualize machine learning models and neural networks using Netron.

Shield Advances Risk Monitoring Solutions with AI

Shield, a digital communications compliance solution for financial institutions, has expanded its risk monitoring tools suite. The company's AI-powered system, 'Shield Supervision', allows organizations to extend risk monitoring coverage and effectively manage supervision workloads.

Designed to counter the inefficiency of traditional supervisory programs, 'Shield Supervision' utilizes advanced AI and automation to lessen manual workloads. The new system is designed to help regulated financial services keep up with increasing communication monitoring requirements while addressing different teams' organizational risk management needs.

Banq Files for Bankruptcy amid BitGo Acquisition

Banq, the payments subsidiary of crypto custodian Prime Trust, filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States on 13 June. The filing follows BitGo, a wallet infrastructure provider and digital asset custodian's non-binding letter of intent to buy Prime Trust, announced a few days prior.

Banq's bankruptcy filing has put forward assets worth $17.72 million and liabilities of $5.4 million. It pointed towards an 'unauthorized transfer' of $17.5 million in assets to Fortress NFT Group and the illicit transmission of trade secrets as primary reasons for filing bankruptcy.

Greg Leos Joins Yeeld's Advisory Board

Yeeld, a Chicago-based payments consulting company, recently welcomed Greg Leos, an experienced fintech executive, as an advisor and investor. Yeeld, founded by former Stripe employees Emily Tsitrian and Mira Boora, provides technical expertise and advisory services to businesses looking to integrate and upgrade their payments infrastructure.

Leos has over 20 years of experience in fintech, payments, and investment. He was the Chief Sales Officer for i2c, a global Banking as a Software (BaaS) fintech, and an investor at Propellant Ventures. His vast experience in building and scaling businesses makes him a valuable asset for Yeeld as the company grows its payments integration practice.

Visa's New Africa Fintech Accelerator Program

Visa has announced the launch of its new African Fintech Accelerator program. Introduced by Visa Executive Chairman, Alfred F. Kelly Jr., the initiative aims to bolster Africa's growing startup community. It will offer expertise, technology, and investment funding.

Annually, the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator aims to back up to 40 startups via a rigorous three-month educational program centered around business expansion and mentorship. Upon the program's conclusion, Visa intends to bolster fintech development by investing capital in chosen participant enterprises. In addition, Visa is set to speed up its market introduction by granting them access to its technology and resources.

Consob Adds More Names to Warning List

Italy’s financial market regulator, Consob, has added four new names to its long list of blacklisted websites providing services in the country illegally. The agency has now blacklisted 907 illegal websites in total.

The newly added names of the blacklisted platforms are Top Markets Ltd, Gadvm Limited, PrimeCapital, and ToroProfit. All of these platforms offer risky and complex financial investment instruments like margin forex and contracts for differences.

Raul Sanchis Fortea Joins Bloomberg

Raul Sanchis Fortea has left Vantage to join Bloomberg as the new EMEA Marketing Manager for Electronic Trading & Indices, based in London. He left Vantage after two years; he joined the broker as the UK Marketing Manager in July 2021; and he was promoted to the role of Senior Marketing Manager for the UK.

Previously, he was the Head of Marketing at Blackwell Global, an FX/CFDs broker. Further, he performed in marketing and sales-related roles in a number of other companies.

He is also a private equity investor in several fintech firms, including Wirex, Freetrade, Plum Fintech, Chip, and Paysend.

CMC Markets’ Head of Trading Joins StrikeX Board

Simon Campbell, who has been a part of CMC Markets for the past 17 years and is currently the Group Head of Trading, has joined the Board of StrikeX Technology as a Non-Executive Director. He will continue his role with CMC Markets.

The appointment came only a few days after CMC Markets revealed its investment into StrikeX, a customer-centric blockchain solutions business. The brokerage bought 33 percent of the blockchain company in a strategic investment.

Cboe Gets New Senior Leadership

Cboe Global Markets announced the appointment of five new senior executives: Megan Goett as the Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer; Hatice Unal as the Senior Vice President of Infrastructure; Laura Fuson as the Vice President of Futures; Jodie Gunzberg as the Head of Strategic Partnerships; and Katherine Kirkpatrick as the Chief Legal Officer of Cboe Digital.

All of the five new high-ranking executives bring extensive knowledge from their respective fields.

“Megan, Hatice, Laura, Jodie, and Katherine are dynamic leaders who bring deep industry knowledge and expertise that will complement our world-class teams and help advance our mission of building trusted markets around the globe,” said Ed Tilly, the Chair and CEO at Cboe.

Israel Securities Authority Names New Chair

The Israel Securities Authority, which protects the interest of public investors, has appointed Seffy (Yosef) Zinger as the new Chairman. He replaced Anat Guetta, who completed his five-year tenure two months ago.

He will join the leadership of the Ministry of Finance, with a focus on making the capital market more sophisticated, developing new financial instruments to support the various branches of the economy, strengthening the stock exchange, reducing and consolidating regulation, and more.