News Nuggets | 20 June: AvaTrade's New Sales and Retention Head; Torstone's CFO

Tether and Bitfinex Announce 100k USDT Grant for Qubes OS

Tether, a USDT stablecoin issuer, and Bitfinex, a digital asset trading platform, have committed 100,000 USDT to support the development of Qubes OS, an open-source operating system for data security and privacy.

Announcing the grant on Tuesday, Paolo Ardoino, the CTO of Tether and Bitfinex, said the move shows commitment towards open-source initiatives that promote innovation and empower individuals to control their digital lives.

Qubes OS uses Xen-based virtualization to isolate tasks and applications in separate machines called ‘Qubes’. The systems’ level of security is ideal for supporting financial transactions, safeguarding confidential information, and ensuring secure communication.

Leadership Transition at Deutsche Bank

Karl von Rohr, the President of Deutsche Bank, will relinquish his responsibilities to his successors on 1 July, after the robust transition preparations by the Management Board. Claudio de Sanctis will take over the Private Bank and join the Management Board, while Alexander von zur Mühlen and James von Moltke will assume new responsibilities in different regions and Asset Management, respectively.

A separate process will determine von Rohr's successor as the Chairman of the DWS Supervisory Board. The option of an earlier handover was already anticipated in the Supervisory Board's decision on Management Board personnel dated April 26. The decision creates clear responsibilities at an early stage.

XTM Acquires QRails

XTM Inc., a Miami and Toronto-based fintech company, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire QRails, a certified Earned Wage Access (EWA) provider. The corporate update came in response to an earlier announcement made on 15 June.

The company is renowned for creating payment innovations and mobile solutions for service industries like hospitality, personal care, and more.

eToro Expands Investment Options

eToro has expanded its line-up of investment options by adding 14 new stocks and ETFs. Investors can trade these new stocks and ETFs without paying additional fees over the raw market spread. There are no limits on commission-free positions and fractional shares are available, adding flexibility for eToro users.

The list of new instruments includes EWI, Saipem Spa, Nexi S.P.A, Iveco Group N.V, Banca Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena S.P.A, Saras S.P.A, Banca Mediolanum S.P.A, Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane S.P.A, Technoprobe S.P.A, Basic-Fit N.V, Aperam S.A, Alfen N.V, Universal Music Group N.V, and Fb Financial Corporation.

Broadridge Secures Patent for AI in Lending

Broadridge Financial Solutions has been granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for its machine learning technology. This tech provides financial advisors with predictive engagement scores and valuable insights on securities-based lending (SBL) borrowers.

Broadridge's patented machine learning technology delivers actionable insights that help wealth organizations and advisors identify and efficiently target high-propensity prospects. In addition, it reduces loan attrition, understands overall book trends, and increases marketing spend effectiveness.

TransBnk Secures Seed Funding for Transformation

TransBnk, the Mumbai-based fintech startup, has successfully raised $1 million in seed funding, led by 8i Ventures, with contributions from Growthcap Ventures, Leadway Ventures LLP, and Growth Sense. The funding aims to disrupt India's transaction banking in the wake of regulatory shifts.

Over the past couple of years, new regulations from the Reserve Bank of India have transformed India's transaction banking sector. Responding to these changes, TransBnk was established by veterans in transaction banking to create a programmable system for managing complex multi-party transactions compliantly.

AvaTrade Onboards New Head of Sales and Retention

AvaTrade, an Ireland-headquartered FX/CFDs broker, has strengthened its team with the latest hiring of Gabriel Michaeli as the Head of Sales and Retention. According to his LinkedIn, he is located in Israel.

Michaeli is an industry expert and has previously worked with multiple other brokerage brands. Before joining AvaTrade, he was a Business Development Manager at markets.com, a role he held for five months. Earlier, he worked as a Regional Manager at eToro. Other companies where he worked are Firstlane Securities, Lead Capital Markets, and Trade FXL.

Republic Crypto Gets New Head of Growth and Ecosystem

Heslin Kim has joined Republic Crypto, a Web3 accelerator, as the Head of Growth and Ecosystem. The company advises on token economics, structuring deals, smart contract development, marketing, fundraising, running infrastructure, and venture work, among others.

In the new role, his primary focus is to drive new business streams, particularly around Republic Runtime’s infrastructure.

Kim joined Republic Crypto from SupraOracles, where he spent more than four years and parted as the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO). On top of that, he was the Director of Business Development at Euronext. What's more, he was involved with several other blockchain firms, including Tokeny Solutions, Polymath, and Digital Strategies.

“Joining Republic Crypto feels like a natural progression, given my previous experience in the digital assets/securities sector since 2017,” Kim wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Torstone Technology Announces New CFO Name

Torstone Technology, a SaaS platform provider for post-trade securities and derivatives processing and risk management, has onboarded Neil Mardon as the new Chief Financial Officer, who will also hold a seat on the company’s board.

Mardon is a trained Chartered Accountant and brings extensive industry experience to his new role. Most recently, he worked at Daiwa Capital Markets Europe, first as the CFO, and then as its COO.

“Torstone is renowned for its innovative cloud-based post-trade solutions, and I am committed to supporting the team in their mission to be the industry-leading post-trade platform,” Mardon said.

SIX and Piraeus Bank Partner

SIX has strengthened its presence in the Greek market with its latest partnership with Piraeus Bank. Through the deal between both parties, Piraeus Bank is moving international assets from custody to SIX.

“Based on SIX’s multiplicity of connectivity patterns along with an enhanced multi-asset servicing model, and market surveillance, SIX and Piraeus Bank join forces in a time of continuous industry change to ensure the highest level of performance for Piraeus Bank and its clients,” said Javier Hernani, the Head of Securities Services and an Executive Board Member at SIX.

Binance Labs Continues Investing Spree

Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of Binance, has taken stakes in five blockchain and Web3 startups under its incubation program. These startups consist of Bracket Labs, DappOS, Kryptoskatt, Mind Network, and zkPass.

These specific companies were selected from more than 900 projects that applied for participation in the fifth season of the venture arm’s incubation program.

“Binance Labs remains dedicated to empowering scalable early-stage projects that contribute to the advancement of the industry. We look forward to seeing the positive impact of Season Five’s incubated projects on the broader Web3 ecosystem,” Yibo Ling, the Chief Business Officer at Binance, expressed.

We’re excited to announce we’ve invested in 5 incubation projects from our program!@Bracket_Labs_@dappOS_com@kryptoskatt@mindnetwork_xyz@zkPass

Season 6 coming soon👀https://t.co/8pLzyU760v

— Binance Labs Fund (@BinanceLabs) June 20, 2023