News Nuggets | 4 April: Vida Markets' New Hire; Funding of TerraPay, Bidget

Crossover Markets Appoints Paul as Global Head of Operations

Crossover Markets Group, a startup providing an advanced digital assets marketplace for institutional investors, has appointed Paul Cusack, an ex-Senior Business Developer for FX Prime Brokerage at ABN AMRO Clearing Bank, as its Global Head of Operations. Cusack announced his appointment on Tuesday through LinkedIn.

The new Crossover Markets executive has worked for a number of financial organizations, such as Deutsche Bank and Citi where he worked between 2004 and 2022. He worked as the Director of FX Prime Brokerage at both investment banks. However, at Deutsche Bank, he took on the additional role of Product Head for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Credit Suisse CEO Pledges Merger Completion amidst Probe

Ulrich Koerner, the Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse, has pledged “to do everything in my power” to ensure the complete merger of the beleaguered financial institution with rival UBS. Koerner, who was named CEO in July last year, said this on Tuesday at the bank’s final annual general meeting (AGM), Reuters reported, citing a manuscript of the executive’s speech.

UBS agreed to take over Credit Suisse in mid-March for CHF 3 billion in a quick deal mediated by the Swiss regulator FINMA, which bypassed stakeholders' consent. Koerner’s comment comes days after the Switzerland Attorney General’s Office confirmed its investigation into potential breaches committed by participants in the deal.

Furthermore, during the AGM on Tuesday, Axel Lehmann, Credit Suisse’s Chairman said he was “truly sorry” the bank was not able to rein in on the “loss of trust” it has suffered over the years, Reuters also reported, citing a manuscript of Lehmann's speech.

Richard Berliand Appointed by TP ICAP

Today, TP Icap Group announced that the 2023 annual general meeting (AGM) will take place on 17 May 2023. What is more, the company revealed that effective from 20 April 2023, Richard Berliand will be appointed as a member of the Remuneration Committee.

Berliand was elected the Board Chair in May 2019 and served on the Nominations & Governance Committee. He operated as the Managing Director at JP Morgan for 23 years, followed by 13 years at Deutsche Börse, where he served as Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Chairman of Risk & Technology Committees Deputy.

TerraPay Raises $100 Million

Payment infrastructure company, TerraPay recently closed its Series B funding round, raising more than $100 million in equity and debt financing. IFC led the funding round, which was also participated by Prime Ventures, Partech Africa, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and a consortium of other investors.

TerraPay is aiming to fund its expansion goals in Latin America and MENA region with fresh proceeds. In addition, it plans to apply for regulatory licenses.

"The continuous support from our investors and lending partners has enabled us to expand our infrastructure, enhance our network coverage, and accelerate investment in our operations, product development, and technology," said Ambar Sur, the Founder and CEO of TerraPay.

Eightco Holdings Emerges as New Identity for Cryptyde

Eightco Holdings Inc. revealed today that it has rebranded from Cryptyde, Inc. The company has decided to focus on its most valuable asset, Forever 8, which is projected to generate $60 million in revenue for the fiscal year 2023. Additionally, Eightco foresees synergistic opportunities to enhance its expanding fintech business.

Besides the transition to Eightco Holdings Inc., the trading symbol for its common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market has switched from 'TYDE' to 'OCTO'. Starting Tuesday, 4 April 2023, the common stock will be traded under the new symbol when the market opens.

"Eightco Holdings Inc. signifies our commitment to the fintech industry's expansion coupled with the market opportunities that our subsidiary, Forever 8, presents," Brian McFadden, the CEO of Eightco Holdings, said.

Luis Dos Santos Joins Vida Markets

Vida Markets has hired Luis Dos Santos as the new Head of Partnerships. He is a financial services industry insider and previously worked for Trading 212, London Capital Group, Blackwell Global Investments (UK), and IG.

Vida Markets is a forex and contracts for differences (CFDs) broker, offering services with licenses and registration in Cyprus, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and UAE. Earlier this year, the broker became a member of the Financial Commission.

Bitget Gets $10 Million from Dragonfly

Crypto derivatives platform, Bitget, has received a $10 million investment from Dragonfly, a crypto-focused venture capital firm, to support its ongoing global market and services expansion.

"As the fastest-growing exchange in the past 12 months, this investment is a recognition of our focus on BUIDL in the bear run. Except for the cash inflow, what will benefit us more from the Dragonfly partnership is their crypto savvy and insights," said Gracy Chen, the Managing Director of Bitget.

Meanwhile, Bitget, which signed Lionel Messi as its brand ambassador, was among the four crypto exchanges recently flagged by the Japanese financial market regulator.

Finanzguru Raises €13 Million

Frankfurt-based fintech, Finanzguru has secured €13 million in a fresh funding round. Two new investors, SCOR Ventures and PayPal Ventures, led the round, while existing investors, including Deutsche Bank, VR Ventures, Hannover Digital Investments, Venture Stars, and the former CEO at Postbank, Frank Strauss, also participated in the funding round.

The company will use the proceeds to accelerate profitable growth in Germany and to expand its product platform further. Moreover, it plans to increase its headcount.

"By adding personal financial advice as an offering in the Finanzguru app, we are meeting a real need in the German consumer market. This has allowed us to greatly expand our business over the past 18 months," said Benjamin Michel, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Finanzguru. "We are pleased to be able to continue to drive growth with the support of two new high-profile investors."

ClearBank Almost Triples 2022 Income

London-based ClearBank ended 2022 with an income of £58 million, which was 173 percent higher than the previous year. The income was primarily driven by a 43 percent increase in net transactions and a 23 percent jump in fixed platform fees, both of which were pushed by a 22 percent rise in its customer base.

On top of that, the lender became profitable and now anticipates continuing UK profitability through 2023. Additionally, it plans to enter the European markets in H2.

"2022 was a landmark year for ClearBank – we've grown exponentially, onboarded fantastic new clients and been one of the few new banks globally to reach profitability. On top of this, we've secured the investment to fuel the next phase of ClearBank's journey – international expansion," said Charles McManus, the CEO at ClearBank.

CoinShares Announces Share Buyback

The Board of CoinShares (Nasdaq Stockholm: CS; US OTCQX: CNSRF), a digital asset investment firm, has approved a share buyback program for a maximum amount of SEK25 million (about $2.42 million). It will start on 4 April and end on 30 May.

The decision was taken after a review of the company's capital structure, aiming towards reducing the capital.

FD Technologies Expects £296M in Revenue for FY2

FD Technologies released a trading update, revealing its expectations to end the fiscal year 2023 with a revenue of approximately £296 million, which is 12 percent higher than the previous year. The group EBITDA is expected to be at £35 million, pushed by the performances of KX and First Derivative.

"KX and First Derivative have performed strongly, with both revenue and EBITDA ahead of our expectations, as each business strengthened its market position," said Seamus Keating, the Group CEO at FD Technologies.

The company now aims to push KX further with an acceleration in the speed of data and AI-driven business innovation. It expects KX to achieve ARR growth of at least 35 percent. And, for First Derivatives, the revenue is expected to grow more than 10 percent with a three-year target of a 15 percent EBITDA margin.

GCEX Launches Proprietary Trading Platforms

GCEX has entered the trading technology space with the launch of two proprietary trading platforms, XplorSpot and XplorTrader. Both platforms are part of the company’s XplorDigital trading solutions and are targeted toward brokers, fund managers, hedge funds, and professional traders. XplorSpot is a digital asset trading platform developed to serve institutional and professional clients, while XplorTrader is for margin forex and contracts for differences trading.

“The introduction of XplorDigital and our new platforms is a major step forward for GCEX, propelling us to the next level,” said Lars Holst, the Founder and CEO of GCEX.

Read the full article here.

CMC Invest Soft Launches in Singapore

CMC has announced the soft launch of CMC Invest in Singapore. The new online and mobile trading platform will be available to the existing CFD clients of CMC Markets in Singapore from May 2023, while it will start onboarding new clients from Q3 2023 onwards.

Singapore has become the third country for CMC Invest as it is already available in the UK and Australia.

Read the full report here.