News Nuggets | 6 April: FCA Stops WealthTek; RoboForex Increases Partner Commissions

Balance Launches Bot for Rebalancing Crypto Portfolio

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has introduced Rebalancing Bot, a new feature that enables the exchange’s users to “automatically adjust their cryptocurrency portfolios to maintain their desired asset allocation with ease.”

Balance in a blog post published on Thursday noted that the bot will help its users to manage their risks and trade in line with their investment objectives. In addition, it can help users increase returns on investment by selling overvalued assets and purchasing those that are undervalued.

“The Rebalancing Bot can be used to rebalance based on either pre-set time intervals or changes in a certain coin's ratio,” Balance explained.

Bybit Introduces AI Tool and Position Builder to Clients

Bybit, a Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange, has expanded its client offerings with the introduction of two new features. The first is an artificial intelligence-powered engine called ‘Tools Discovery’ while the second is a portfolio builder called ‘Position Builder’.

In separate announcements, Bybit explained that while the first product uses “backtested data” to provide its users with personalized product and strategy recommendations, the other “provides smart strategy data for futures, perpetuals, and options contracts, based on liquidity and price trends to help traders make advantageous decisions.”

The introduction of the two new products comes less than a week after Bybit launched its new 'optimized' Web3 Staking Pool to give its users access to its “uncomplicated ETH staking options.” The pool is aimed at future opportunities expected from the Shanghai Upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain.

Crypto Collections by Revolut

Revolut, the global financial super app boasting over 28 million users worldwide, has presented Crypto Collections to its UK and EEA customers, introducing a new way to explore and trade digital tokens.

According to Revolut's press release, Crypto Collections categorize the 100+ tokens available within the app based on their underlying technology and use case. Customers can purchase an entire Collection, distributing their investment evenly among all the tokens within it.

Crypto Collections examples include NFTs, DeFi, Metaverse and Layer 1 tokens. On top of that, users can monitor the Collection as a whole through an aggregated view.

Britannia Global Markets Promotes Sebastian Jones

Britannia Global Markets, the complete multi-asset brokerage, has promoted its Head of Commodities, Sebastian Jones, to the role of Head of Trading. Jones has been connected with the company since 2019, previously working for more than 18 years as a Commodity Broker in Berkely Futures Limited.

“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Head of Trading at Britannia Global Markets Limited,” Jones wrote on his LinkedIn profile.

French AMF Warns against Forex and Crypto Firms

The French regulators, AMF and ACPR, caution the public about the actions of multiple entities offering Forex and crypto-asset derivatives investments in France without possessing the required authorization.

According to the press release from 6 April 2023, the updated warning list includes cint.pro, cintra.group, green-capitalz.com, hightrustcapital.com, ipgatetrade.pro, spotyfx.com, stbmarkets.com and superether.io.

At the time of writing, most of these sites were still operating, offering their services to retail investors.

FCA Ceases WealthTek Operations

The United Kingdom's financial market regulator, the FCA, has ordered WealthTek Limited Liability Partnership, which operates with the trade name Vertem Asset Management and Malloch Melville, to cease operations immediately as serious regulatory and operational issues surfaced.

Additionally, the regulator worked with the Northumbria Police to arrest a 48-year-old man in connection with WealthTek, which offers discretionary, advisory, and execution-only services to retail clients.

Now, the FCA has approached the High Court to appoint Shane Crooks, Mark Shaw and Emma Sayers of BDO LLP as interim managers of troubled WealthTek. However, the appointment decision is still pending with the court.

Binance Declines to Buy Justin Sun's Huobi Stake

Binance has rejected an offer to acquire the stakes of a rival crypto exchange Huobi owned by Justin Sun, who is known for funding Tron, according to a Coindesk report.

Binance, the largest crypto exchange regarding trading volume, turned down the offer due to Huobi's ties with mainland China. However, neither of the involved parties revealed anything officially.

However, Sun's ownership and stake in Huobi are private. About Capital purchased Huobi last October, but Sun's representative denied any links to that Hong Kong-based investment company. However, Huobi confirmed in January that Sun is a leader in the crypto exchange.

Fortex Brings One-Click Trading Feature

Fortex, the provider of the trading platform XForce, has enhanced its offering by adding a one-click trading feature to allow traders to execute orders with the click of only a button.

The new feature will allow traders to place orders directly on the chart without having to navigate through menus or input multiple parameters. It has been made available for all asset classes on XForce, including forex, stocks, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.

"One-Click Trading is a significant development for the platform, and the team has worked tirelessly to develop this feature. We are excited to see the positive impact it will have on our traders' experience," said the Director of Sales at Fortex.

RoboForex Increases Partner Commission

RoboForex has increased the commission for its partners on several instruments, including Gold (XAU/USD), Silver (XAG/USD), and Crude Oil (Brent, WTI).

It has doubled the commission in many cases. The account Partner commission for a lot of XAU/USD was previously $4, which has now been increased to $8. For Brent, it is now $20 for a lot, which is up from the previous $10.

Furthermore, the platform enhanced the spread of all ECN and Prime accounts but has not revealed any details.

ASIC cancels AFS Licence of Starfish Financial

Australian financial market watchdog, ASIC, has canceled the regulatory authorization of Starfish Financial Services Pty Ltd that allowed the company to deal in interests in managed investment schemes to wholesale clients.

The cancellation of the Australia Financial Services (AFS) license came as Starfish failed to maintain the required organizational competence to provide the financial services covered by its AFS license and to meet its financial reporting obligations.

Starfish, which obtained the AFS license in October 2017, is now permitted to offer only necessary financial services until 30 April, during its winding down process.