News Nuggets | 2 August: IG's Share Buyback; New Features on Fortex

BingX Unveiled New Feature for Multiple Deposit Addresses

The cryptocurrency exchange BingX has launched a new feature that enables users to obtain multiple deposit addresses for a single network. According to the company's statement, the new feature will reportedly enable users to transact conveniently.

Additionally, BingX has introduced personalized notes for each newly added address to allow its users to track their transactions. The exchange has opened token queries for displaying all the addresses associated with a selected blockchain network.

BTC Mining Firm CleanSpark Recorded 17% Increase in July’s Production

The Nasdaq-listed bitcoin mining company CleanSpark released its production update for July today (Wednesday), disclosing a month-over-month increase of 17% in production to 575 Bitcoins. The company's holdings doubled to 1,061 BTCs during the period.

Commenting about the performance, CleanSpark's CEO, Zach Bradford said: "In less than one month, we brought 2.3 EH/s of capacity online and doubled our Bitcoin holdings. We increased our Bitcoin holdings due to what we see as substantial momentum building across the Bitcoin ecosystem."

CME Group Has Reported Second-Highest July ADV on Record

CME Group, a leading global derivatives marketplace, has announced its July 2023 market statistics. The company reached an average daily volume (ADV) of 19.9 million contracts for the month, making it the second-highest July ADV in its history.

The figures include an Interest Rate ADV of 9.4 million contracts, which is an Equity Index ADV of 5.4 million contracts and Options ADV of 4.2 million contracts. This robust performance highlights the strength and diversity of the company's offerings across different asset classes, including energy, agriculture, foreign exchange, and metals.

IG Group Has Renewed Its Partnership with Teach First

IG Group, a global fintech firm, has announced the renewal of its partnership with Teach First, a UK charity focused on educational inequality. The renewed collaboration is marked by a donation of £2 million from IG that will help 'Teach First' train and support 200 new and aspiring head teachers in disadvantaged communities, benefitting 150,000 pupils across the country.

This donation forms part of IG Group's larger commitment to donating 1% of its post-tax profits to charity, including cash donations from their Brighter Future Fund and employee skills and volunteering.

Fiserv Has Appointed Charlotte Yarkoni

Fiserv, a global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, announced the appointment of Charlotte Yarkoni to its Board of Directors. Yarkoni brings a wealth of experience from her background in cloud-based applications, having held executive leadership roles in a number of public and private technology firms. Yarkoni has been with Microsoft Corporation since 2016, and has served as President of Commerce, Ecosystems, Cloud & AI since 2022.

In her role at Microsoft, Yarkoni drives cloud adoption and ensures customer and partner success across various segments. Her prior experience includes a term as President of Telstra Software Group, where she led the development of specific software competencies across the company. Yarkoni has also held senior leadership roles at EMC and VMWare and has served as a tech startup CEO. Her appointment to Fiserv's board of directors demonstrates the company's commitment to innovation, talent, and investment in cloud-based applications and AI.

Blackboxstocks Launched Pro Tier Pricing Program

Blackboxstocks, a fintech and social media hybrid platform offering real-time analytics for stock and options traders, has announced the launch of its Pro Tier Trading Package. This new pricing tier allows professional traders, financial institutions, and Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) to subscribe to the Blackbox analytics platform.

The Pro Tier Pricing Program marks a significant expansion for Blackbox, as it opens the door for a new market segment of professional traders.

Etana Custody Launched Digital Asset Trading

Etana Custody, a leader in digital asset custody and trade support solutions, has announced its partnership with CryptoFi, a Cryptocurrency-as-a-Service (CaaS) company, to onboard WeStreet Credit Union. The collaboration aims to revolutionize the access and management of digital assets for credit union members by leveraging CryptoFi's interface and Etana's comprehensive custody platform. This would offer increased convenience, security, and confidence in asset management to credit union members.

Bitcoin Mining Firm GDA Launched New Data Center in South Carolina

The Bitcoin mining company Genesis Digital Assets (GDA) launched three data centers in the Western region of the state of South Carolina in the US. The first data center, which has a capacity of 18MW, has been operational since February, the company said in a statement yesterday (Tuesday).

The other two facilities are located between the towns of Union and Lockhart and have a combined capacity of 15MW. GDA has reportedly deployed more than 20 industrial-grade mining farms across North America, Europe, and Central Asia.

Missing Goldman Sachs’ Analyst Found Dead in New York

Goldman Sachs’ analyst who went missing over the weekend has been confirmed dead by the New York Police Department. John Castic was found floating in the creek on Tuesday, according to a report by BNN Bloomberg.

The 27-year-old joined the investments giant in 2022 and has worked for Haver Analytics and Alvarez & Marsal, according to his LinkedIn profile. The cause of his death has not been determined.

SoftBank’s Semiconductor Unit Eyes $70M IPO by September

SoftBank Group’s semiconductor unit, Arm Limited, is reportedly targeting an initial public offering valued between USD $60-70 billion before September, Bloomberg reported today (Wednesday), citing sources familiar with the matter.

The group’s anticipated IPO arrived at a time Softbank is focusing on the AI and chips business. According to the Financial Post, Arm’s executives could be aiming for a valuation as high as USD $80 billion.

IG Has Kicked Off Share Buyback Under New Plan

London-listed IG Group (LON: IGG) has stated to buy back publicly listed ordinary shares under its extended buyback plan of £250 million. The broker has entered into non-discretionary instructions with Morgan Stanley for the first tranche of up to £100 million and to make trading decisions independent of IG’s intervention.

“The First Tranche will be for a maximum aggregate market value of £100 million, will commence on 2 August 2023, and will end on or before 12 December 2023,” the announcement stated.

Fortex WebTrader Has Added New Features

Fortex has enhanced the trading experience with its Webtrader platform with the addition of several features. The new features include enhanced trading details with swap section, convenient chart functionality, drag and drop price line, and sounds.

“We are thrilled to announce the latest update to Fortex WebTrader, featuring a host of powerful enhancements that will elevate your traders experience to new heights. Our team has been hard at work, carefully crafting these new features to make each trading journey even more seamless, informative, and efficient,” the announcement stated.

Crossover Markets Has Tapped Liquid Mercury

Crossover Markets has partnered with Liquid Mercury to use its graphical user interface (GUI) for crypto trading. According to the announcement, Crossover’s CROSSx clients can use the customized trading platform to access order management capabilities and trading tools.

“Liquid Mercury’s responsiveness, collaborative approach, and strong technology are a perfect fit for CROSSx venue participants who need to trade via GUI, and we are excited to bring another facet of our ECN to market,” said Anthony Mazzarese, the Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Crossover.

Finmo Has Gained Singapore License

Finmo, a Singapore-headquartered payments platform, has obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), allowing the company to receive funds in Singapore dollars.

“We are enthusiastic about the abundance of opportunities accompanying our official expansion into Singapore,” said David Hanna, the Co-Founder and CEO of Finmo.

“We also recognize the challenges faced by Singaporean businesses – both SMEs and larger enterprises – in navigating the complexities of international payments and automating treasury functions. We aim to be a trusted partner for these businesses by simplifying cross-border transactions and providing effective and innovative solutions.”

ViewTrade Has Strengthened Executive Team

ViewTrade, a financial services company, has strengthened its executive team with two new appointments: Laksh Gangwani as the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) for the Asia-Pacific and Middle, and Ronit Kar as the Head of Institutional Growth.

The appointment of Gangwani came as an internal promotion as he joined the company in September 2022 as a Managing Director for Asia. In the new role, he will focus on the company’s expansion. However, Kar, based in India, is a fresh hire who most recently worked as Head of International Stocks at Groww and other investment platforms.

“Laksh and Ronit bring a depth of understanding about the business environment across multiple countries that will be invaluable as we continue our worldwide expansion,” said Anthony Petrilli, the CEO of ViewTrade. “Their ability to build things from the ground up and their extensive experience in wealth management make them invaluable assets to ViewTrade and the entire global investing community.”