The week brought a mix of ownership changes, regulatory action, financial results and new product launches across the retail trading and financial services sectors. UK regulation remained a key theme, with the FCA taking further action against CFD firms linked to overseas operations while new businesses prepared for changes to the country's crypto regime.

London's trading industry is coming home!

Brokers also continued to expand into adjacent areas. CMC Markets is preparing a simulated prop trading service, eToro is moving clients to an AI-centred application and Capital.com appears to be preparing a UK crypto operation. Elsewhere, BlackBull Markets postponed its IPO plans and iFOREX reported a first-half loss.

The week also highlighted the continued convergence between traditional finance and digital assets. The ECB launched its Pontes settlement infrastructure, BitMEX ended its exchange operations, and developments across tokenised securities and blockchain infrastructure continued to narrow the distinction between crypto and conventional financial markets.

LCG Ownership Changes After Three-Year Buyout Process

Finance Magnates interviewed London Capital Group Managing Director Matt Basi about the broker’s management buyout, which took nearly three years to complete. LCG is now fully owned by its management after Basi and co-director Dave Worsfold acquired the FCA-regulated broker through MBDW Holdings from the estate of collapsed FlowBank.

The managers had sought to buy LCG from 2022 but could not agree on a price with FlowBank. Its bankruptcy in 2024 changed the process, with Swiss liquidators required to test the market before accepting a bid. MBDW ultimately made the successful offer, although the purchase price was not disclosed.

• The Prop Trading Challenge Pass Means Little Once Real Execution Starts
• The Two-Licence Model: How Brokers Bridge Trading and Payments
• Another Italian Club Partners with CFD Broker, This Time AC Milan and FPG

The deal includes an upfront cash payment and a further obligation tied to LCG’s profits over the following 24 months, while an intercompany balance of about £200,000 was also settled.

CMC Markets Sets October Launch for Prop Trading Service

CMC Markets Funded has set 1 October 2026 as the public launch date for its simulated trading evaluation programme. Legal documents identify Dubai-based True North Tech as the operator, while CMC Markets Singapore is described as the programme’s exclusive financial services and online brokerage partner.

The documents state that CMC Singapore is not the operator or guarantor, and that its regulatory status does not extend to the programme. The trading infrastructure appears linked to MatchTrader, although the terms do not confirm a commercial agreement. The platform has also shown signs of pre-launch testing, including Trustpilot activity.

Participants will trade simulated accounts, with payouts structured as contractual rewards rather than profits from live company capital.

BDSwiss Ruling Puts Swiss Branding Under Scrutiny

BDSwiss has become the first financial firm to face a Swiss court ruling under the country’s “Swissness” rules governing claims of Swiss origin. The Bern Commercial Court ordered the retail broker to remove the Swiss cross from its logo and drop “Swiss” from its name.

The case centres on legislation requiring foreign firms using Swiss indications in products and advertising to meet specific conditions. Legal expert Yiannos Georgiades said the ruling highlights requirements around the services a business actually provides, rather than simply maintaining an address in Switzerland.

BDSwiss was given a three-month period to comply. Its website now redirects users to BDS Markets, the brand used by its Mauritius-registered business after the closure of its Cyprus operations.

BlackBull Postpones IPO Plans to 2027

BlackBull Markets has postponed its planned initial public offering until 2027, according to a source familiar with the matter, after the broker’s board decided not to pursue a listing “at this time”. Co-founder and CEO Michael Walker said the company’s roadshow had been constructive and investor feedback positive, but that the board wanted to focus on business growth and upcoming milestones.

BlackBull had appointed Barrenjoey Capital Partners, UBS and Forsyth Barr for a non-deal roadshow ahead of a possible dual listing in Australia and New Zealand. The broker has since reported an 85% increase in New Zealand client funds to nearly NZ$100 million. It now processes about US$200 billion in monthly trading volume across more than 180 countries.

FCA Shuts 21 CFD Brokers in Overseas-Linked Crackdown

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has shut down 21 CFD providers since 2025 as part of a crackdown on firms with little or no business in Britain but links to overseas operations. The regulator cancelled the permissions of three other firms, while two more are under investigation over misleading customers.

The FCA said the action targets so-called “halo” firms, where UK authorisation can give customers the impression that they receive UK regulatory protection when contracting with an overseas entity. The regulator did not name the firms involved. This follows its earlier finding that around 20% of local CFD brokers were conducting little or no activity.

As of December 2025, 74 firms were authorised to offer CFDs to UK retail clients.

iFOREX Reports First-Half Loss and Plans Cost Cuts

London-listed CFD provider iFOREX reported a first-half net loss of $2.5 million, reversing a $1.2 million profit a year earlier. Revenue fell 2% to $26.9 million in the six months to 30 June. The company attributed the loss to the stronger Israeli shekel, costs related to its February listing and a charge linked to money owed to clients.

iFOREX plans to reduce operating costs by about $500,000 per month from October. Net cash stood at about $6.3 million by mid-September, with roughly $4 million held for regulators. Active clients increased 8%, but average revenue per user declined 9% as lower volatility reduced activity in some of the company’s core instruments.

Capital.com Prepares UK Crypto Expansion

Capital.com appears to be preparing a push into the UK crypto market through Capital Vault UK, with the broker recruiting a Head of Risk for the business. A LinkedIn job advertisement describes Capital Vault UK as the FCA-registered crypto business for Capital Vault Group, although the entity had not appeared on the regulator’s public register at the time of publication.

UK crypto firms remain subject to the FCA’s anti-money laundering regime, while a broader licensing framework is scheduled to come into effect under the Financial Services and Markets Act in October 2027. The hiring activity points to preparations ahead of that framework. The UK market is becoming more competitive as regulators build a wider regime for cryptoasset firms.

eToro Begins Migration to AI-Centred Trading App

eToro will begin moving existing clients to its redesigned trading application from 4 October, using a phased rollout. According to a client communication reviewed by Finance Magnates, accounts, login credentials and portfolios will carry over automatically, with no requirement to create new profiles or transfer positions.

The broker has not disclosed which clients or jurisdictions will move first. An early-access application labelled “eToro AI” will be retired once users are migrated to the updated main app.

The redesigned platform includes revised portfolio displays, expanded asset pages, advanced charts and different viewing modes for portfolios and watchlists. eToro’s AI assistant, Tori, is central to the new interface. The broker has also said the rebuilt application should operate faster.

ECB Launches Pontes for Tokenised Settlement

The European Central Bank has launched Pontes, a new Eurosystem infrastructure designed to support settlement for tokenised financial transactions using central bank money. The system is initially available only to credit institutions and will operate during normal European business hours, with 24-hour settlement planned for later stages.

Pontes is intended to connect blockchain-based financial markets with central bank settlement, allowing transactions involving tokenised assets to use central-bank-backed euros rather than relying solely on stablecoins. The launch forms part of the ECB’s work on distributed-ledger technology and tokenised markets.

It also places Europe’s public settlement infrastructure alongside private-sector initiatives in the US, where exchanges and financial firms are developing blockchain-based market infrastructure and tokenised securities.

BitMEX Ends Exchange Operations After 11 Years

BitMEX officially ended its exchange operations on 23 September, closing an 11-year run after its market share had fallen sharply from its earlier peak. The exchange, known for pioneering perpetual swap contracts, said users could still access their accounts and withdraw remaining balances after the shutdown.

By the time the closure was announced in July, BitMEX accounted for roughly 0.08% of daily Bitcoin futures volume, or about $84 million a day, according to Finance Magnates’ report. The closure followed senior management departures in June and came after years of regulatory pressure.

Finance Magnates also noted that CoinEx and BitMart had shut down within the preceding two months, highlighting a wider reduction in activity among some crypto exchanges.

Crypto and Traditional Finance Continue to Converge

Crypto platforms are expanding into stocks, derivatives, prediction markets and payments, while banks, exchanges and central banks are adopting blockchain infrastructure. Coinbase is among the clearest examples, adding products beyond spot crypto and filing with the CFTC to offer perpetual futures on around 50 to 60 US stocks.

Meanwhile, the ECB has launched Pontes for blockchain-based settlement using central bank money, while the London Stock Exchange is working with Payward, the company behind Kraken, on tokenised UK equities.

Coinbase Q2 Revenue Falls 14% as Prediction Markets Revenue Jumps 106% Coinbase reported Q2 2026 total revenue of $1.22 billion, down 19% year over year and 14% quarter over quarter, while transaction revenue fell 21% to $599 million. The company recorded a net loss of $359 million and adjusted EBITDA of $208 million. Crypto spot trading volume declined 24% to $146.4 billion, but Coinbase’s share of total crypto trading volume rose from 9.1% to a record 10.3%. Subscription and services revenue fell 5% to $555 million, representing 48% of net revenue, while revenue outside BTC spot trading accounted for 88%. Prediction markets revenue increased 106% quarter over quarter and exceeded $100 million on an annualized basis. Average USDC held in Coinbase products reached $20 billion.

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 30, 2026

These developments are bringing crypto and traditional finance closer through shared digital infrastructure. For retail investors, the shift could mean more asset classes on a single platform and longer trading hours, but also different forms of counterparty, liquidity, leverage and regulatory risk.

AI Threats Drive Calls for Shared Cyber Defence

AI is increasing the speed and scale of cyber threats facing financial firms, prompting calls for greater cooperation between organisations on cybersecurity. Manasseh Paradesi, CISO at Pepperstone, argues that brokers could improve their defences by sharing threat intelligence, testing controls under real-world conditions and learning from incidents across the industry.

His commentary points to a broader shift from isolated security programmes towards collective defence. The argument comes after a call for collective action on cyber defence led by OpenAI and supported by more than 100 organisations across technology, cybersecurity, financial services and critical infrastructure.

For brokers, the focus is not only on adding security tools but also on understanding whether controls work against evolving threats and reducing duplicated efforts.