News Nuggets | 22 March: Dukascopy, Crossover Markets, Alpha Group and More

Canadian Broker Questrade Adds to Trading Platform Family

Questrade, a Canadian online broker and wealth manager, has expanded its family of trading platforms with the launch of Questrade Edge Mobile, a new app which says “boosts power, performance and speed to benefit active traders.” The app is an addition to the broker’s existing platforms: Edge Web, Edge Desktop and QuestMobile.

Speaking on the launch of the app, Edward Kholodenko, Questrade’s President and CEO, noted that the app is targeted at improving its clients’ trading and investing experience.

Equiti Group Promotes Ahmad Qutaishat to Sales Vice President

Equiti Group, a provider of online trading technology and multi-asset financial products, has appointed Ahmad Qutaishat as its new Vice President of Sales. Qutaishat, who announced his new role on LinkedIn, was previously a Senior Manager at the brokerage firm.

Read more here.

Robinhood Retirement Joins Forces with Capitalize to Simplify 401(k) Rollovers

Robinhood Markets, Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD), the US commission-free trading app, has revealed a new alliance with Capitalize, the platform for rolling over retirement accounts. The new partnership is designed to assist customers in locating and transferring their existing 401(k)s into Robinhood's recently launched individual retirement accounts (IRA).

Read the full story here.

Bitget Becomes BitKeep's Top Shareholder with US$30M Investment

Bitget, a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange, has emerged as the largest shareholder of the multi-chain wallet, BitKeep with its new US$30 million investment in the wallet. The investment means that BitKeep Wallet will be merged with Bitget's business domain, the exchange announced on Wednesday, noting that the deal will improve the stability and security of the former's services.

Dukascopy Reacts to the Banking Crisis

Duakascopy has changed the trading conditions of stock CFD instruments of seven banks, whose stocks have shown massive volatility recently. These banks are Credit Suisse Group, Ally Finance, Popular, Cullen/Frost Bankers, First Republic Bank, Fifth Third Bank, and Keycorp.

The Swiss broker has restricted the opening of new positions or increasing existing exposure with the eight instruments related to these banks. Further, the broker said it may close the existing positions anytime.

European Exchange Eurex to Launch Bitcoin Index Futures in April 2023

Beginning on 17 April 2023, Eurex will become the first European exchange to offer Bitcoin index futures. This novel contract was developed by the major European derivatives exchange in collaboration with Digital Asset Research (DAR), its institutional-grade digital asset data provider, and FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider.

Tools for Brokers Presents FIX API Emulator

Tools for Brokers (TFB), an international technology company, has introduced an upgraded FIX API emulator technology, making the transition to a Trade Processor liquidity bridge more accessible and less risky. This new technology helps clients avoid the usual hassle of excessive coding and re-configuring during the process.

Read the full story here.

ASIC Suspends and Cancels AFS Licences

ASIC has suspended the Australian financial services (AFS) license of Cartesian Corporate Finance Limited (Cartesian) until 25 August 2023 and has canceled ACVM Pty Ltd (ACVM) authorization for failing to meet its financial reporting obligations.

Until 30 June 2023, ACVM has the authorization to offer financial services that are reasonably required for or connected to the distribution and liquidation of its assets and the closure of its scheme. In the case of Cartesian, ASIC put the license on hold as the company has stopped operating a financial services business. If Cartesian is unable to restart its financial services business by the end of the suspension term, ASIC reserves the right to revoke the license.

Alpha Group Confirms 27% Revenue Jump in 2022

Alpha Group International (AIM:ALPH), previously known as Alpha FX Group, released its 2022 full-year results on Wednesday, revealing a robust revenue and net income gain compared to the previous year. The Group's earnings came in at £98.3m, increasing by 27% on a yearly basis.

Read the full report here.

Australian Banks Asked to Disclose Involvement with Startups and Crypto Ventures

The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reports that Australia's prudential regulator requests the nation's banks to disclose their involvement with startups and crypto-focused enterprises in the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank's (SVB) failure.

Citing three anonymous sources, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) has reported that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) had instructed banks to submit daily reports on their cryptocurrency holdings to understand their potential weaknesses better.

Sharda Caro Del Castillo Joins Payoneer's Board

Fintech firm, Payoneer has added Sharda Caro Del Castillo to its Board as a Director, which became effective on 17 March. She brings more than 25 years of experience with a background in payments, financial services, and regulations and compliance. Meanwhile, Heather Tookes stepped down from the Board of Payoneer.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sharda Caro Del Castillo to the Payoneer Board of Directors and look forward to the deep experience she brings and the value she will add to Payoneer," the Chairman at Payoneer stated.

Advanced Markets Integrates PrimeXM's XCore

Advanced Markets has enhanced its liquidity with the addition of PrimeXM's XCore to its liquidity distribution channel. It came as an extension of the partnership between the two companies, initiated in 2020.

Read the full report here.

Exness-Backed Crossover Markets Launches Crypto ECN

Crossover Markets Group, established last year by two former Jefferies executives, has launched CROSSx, an execution-only cryptocurrency Electronic Communication Network (ECN).

The launch was made after Crossover Markets received a seed investment for an undisclosed amount from a consortium of market participants, the majority of which are traditional financial services companies. The backers include major names in the forex and contracts for differences (CFDs) retail brokerage space, including Exness, Pepperstone, Think Markets, and TMGM.

Read the full story here.

OneCoin's Legal Head Extradited to the US

US law enforcement extradited OneCoin's Legal and Compliance Head, Irina Dilkinska, from Bulgaria on Monday and charged her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Both the charges individually carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

Read the full story here.

SEC Flags IG's DailyFX as an "Unregistered Soliciting Entity"

The United States SEC says DailyFX, an IG Group-owned trading news portal, is not allowed to solicit investments from investors. While the US is the site's top source of traffic according to Similarweb, IG Group clarified that it is designated to European and Asian traders.

Read the full report here.