News Nuggets | 20 April: FlowNow Rebrands; Deribit's Zero-Fee Crypto Trading

Binance Labs Supports GOMBLE

Binance Labs, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world, has recently pledged its support for GOMBLE, a blockchain game development company affiliated with the South Korean casual mobile game publisher 111Percent.

GOMBLE aims to provide casual gamers worldwide with an opportunity to experience blockchain games while incorporating sustainable reward systems. The company also seeks to improve the interoperability of NFTs by creating a mobile-based blockchain.

GOMBLE's leadership is headed by Jihoon Byun, the former COO of 111Percent, and a team of experts who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from various Web2 and Web3 companies such as Google, Kakao Brain, SK Telecom, and crypto exchanges.

CME Fines Trader $200k

The CME's Chief Regulatory Officer recently charged Tajgir Rahman for violating multiple CBOT rules. Allegedly, Rahman entered orders in his employer's account without the intent to trade in several Soybean, Soybean Oil, and Soybean Meal contracts between July 2019 and September 2022.

He did this to mislead other market participants and benefit orders in his personal account. As a result, he profited $10,821.50. CME found Rahman guilty of committing the admitted charges and ordered him to pay a $200,000 fine and $10,821.50 in disgorgement. Furthermore, he was permanently suspended from direct access to any trading floor owned or controlled by CME Group.

Plum Presents Price Alerts and Watchlists

Plum, the innovative money app offering money management services, has launched two new features designed for stock investors. These new features aim to enhance customers' understanding of their portfolios while providing timely information to make informed investment decisions.

One of these new features is the 'Watchlist' tool, which allows to monitor financial instruments that interest them. Plum has also introduced 'Price Alerts', which enables customers to set target prices on stocks. The app automatically notifies when the share price hits the level they set, enabling traders to make informed decisions about investments.

FlexNOW Rebrands to Spark EMS

FlexTrade has rebranded its cloud-based multi-asset EMS platform FlexNOW to Spark. The company highlighted that the rebranding would not affect current customers or product functionality.

The rebranding came with the rising demand for cloud-based services in the trading industry. Spark will now focus on cloud-based innovation leveraging FlexTrade's industry experience.

"We will stay under the FlexTrade umbrella where we are able to continue developing new features for our Spark community which has been growing significantly since we started this project in 2019. Our main focus is to deliver a platform with no compromise to power and performance," said Adi Prnjavorac, a General Manager at Spark EMS.

M4Markets Taps Acuity Trading

FX/CFDs broker M4Markets enhanced its offerings by adding AI-powered tools, including an economic calendar, a signal center, and a market sentiment hub, provided by Acuity Trading.

"At M4markets, we are committed to empowering our traders with the latest and most sophisticated resources. Our new AI-powered suite, in collaboration with Acuity, is a game-changer that will provide our traders the latest market insights and data-driven analysis. We are excited to offer this powerful tool to our clients, affording them the opportunity to make more informed investment decisions," said M4Markets' Group Chief Business Development Officer, Nick Jay.

Recently, Finance Magnates reported on M4Markets' acquisition of the client book of closed FX/CFDs broker, Tixee.

Deribit to Launch Zero-Fee Spot Crypto Trading

Crypto exchange Deribit is poised to sweeten its offerings with the launch of zero-net-fee spot trading next week. Initially, the zero-fee service will be available for three crypto pairs: BTC/USDC, ETH/USDC, and ETH/BTC.

Zero-fee trading is rare in the crypto trading space. Exchanges usually discount trades with their native tokens. Deribit detailed that there will not be any volume discounts nor affiliate or partner sharing offered on the zero-fee trading model. Deribit also offers crypto options and futures instruments.

"Our goal has always been to provide our users with a complete exchange platform that meets all their trading needs," said Luuk Strijers, the Chief Commercial Officer at Deribit.

"After years of being the leading crypto derivatives trading platform and ensuring that our exchange has the highest level of security and transparency, we have decided to apply our expertise to spot trading. By adding spot trading to our existing futures and options products, we are now able to provide a fulsome exchange offering that caters to all types of traders."

Blackbull Markets Changes Domain

Blackbull Markets, an FX and CFDs broker, announced the transition of its domain address from blackbullmarkets.com to blackbull.com, effective from the end of April.

Though it will change the email addresses of the company, services directed towards customers, like accounts, trading activities, and investments, will remain unchanged.

"This domain transition is purely aimed at streamlining our online presence and enhancing our brand identity, and it will not affect your ability to access and use our platform, products, or customer support in any way," Blackbull stated.

"We are taking all necessary measures to ensure a smooth transition, and our team is readily available to address any questions or concerns you may have. Please feel free to contact our customer support team for any assistance."

ClearBank Onboards New Chief Product Officer

London-based Clearbank announced the appointment of Spiros Theodossiou as Chief Product Officer (CPO). He brings over 20 years of experience to the role.

He joined ClearBank from DEXT, where he was also the CPO. Before that, he was the SVP of Product Management at WorldPay and also worked at PayPal, Skrill, and Vouchercodes.com.

"The growth opportunities, both in the UK and as ClearBank expands internationally, are phenomenal and I look forward to being a part of the bank’s journey, working closely with our clients to understand their needs, drive product innovation and help take our vision to new markets," Theodossiou mentioned.

CAT Financial Products Selects Broadridge

CAT Financial Products, a Swiss provider of securities and investment services, has implemented Broadridge's global multi-asset post-trade processing solution.

"We are strategically positioned to gain new momentum through the development of structured products, AMCs and exchange-traded products, all delivered through an enhanced and differentiated client service offering," said Stephan Giselbrecht, the COO at CATFP.

Danny Green, the Head of International Post-Trade Solutions at Broadridge stated: "They can depend on our unwavering commitment to drive efficiency through the highest levels of straight-through processing and API-enabled services that reduce risk and provide the flexibility and capacity for future growth, while optimising cost/income ratios."