Fazzaco Weekly Digest: Cboe Europe Receives Dutch Regulatory Approvals; Eurotrader Gains South African License; Rakuten Securities' Financial Results in H1 2021

Take a look at the latest happenings in this week's news digest from around the forex, fintech and crypto industry. Here are some of the top headlines from this past week.

1. Cboe Europe Receives Dutch Regulatory Approvals for Cboe Europe Derivatives

Cboe Europe, the pan-European exchange operator and subsidiary of Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe) has received the necessary regulatory approvals to launch Cboe Europe Derivatives, a new Amsterdam-based futures and options market, on 6 September, 2021.

Cboe Europe Derivatives is planned to launch with the trading of futures and options based on six Cboe Europe indices: the Cboe Eurozone 50, Cboe UK 100, Cboe Netherlands 25, Cboe Switzerland 20, Cboe Germany 30, and Cboe France 40 – all calculated using Cboe market data. EuroCCP will provide clearing services for the platform. The new derivatives exchange plans to add futures and options on additional European benchmarks, along with single stock options, at a later date, based on customer demand and subject to regulatory approval.

2. Eurotrader Secures South African License from FSCA

Eurotrader Group, a fully licensed and regulated retail broker in FX, stocks, cryptos, indices and commodities, announced that it has secured a South African license from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).

This new license is for Eurotrader's locally formed entity, Eurotrade SA (Pty) Ltd. Services under the new entity will be offered from the newly acquired eurotrader.com domain. 

Eurotrader has also added to its product portfolio, with new arrivals including thousands of additional US, UK and European stock CFDs, therefore enabling fractional share trading too.

3. Rakuten Securities Reports Net Income of JPY5.248 Billion in H1 2021

Rakuten Securities, a Japanese FX, CFD and stock broker, has reported its financial results for H1 of 2021. The financial services platform reported strong growth in revenue and net income.

According to the results, the Tokyo-headquartered company generated an operating income of more than JPY8.447 billion during the first half of 2021, which is 17.2% higher than the same period in 2020. During the first half of 2020, the company posted an operating income of JPY7.205 billion.

For H1 of 2021, the broker posted net income of JPY5.248 billion, which is 9% higher compared to the same period in 2020. In H1 of 2020, Rakuten Securities posted net income of JPY4.813 billion.

4. eToro Expands Offering with More Tokens

eToro, an Israeli social trading and multi-asset brokerage company, announced that it has expanded its crypto offering by adding a number of new tokens, showing its ongoing commitment to offer all its users a broad variety of cryptoassets.

According to the announcement, the newly added cryptoassets are MAKER (MKR), a special governance token that cannot be mined, and ENJIN (ENJ). The launch of MKR and ENJ brings the total number of cryptoassets available on eToro to 27.

5. 24 Exchange to Acquire 11B Technologies

24 Exchange Bermuda Ltd, the operator of multi-asset class trading platform 24 Exchange, announced on Tuesday that it will acquire 11B Technologies, a technology and service provider for forex spot transaction and other over-the-counter (OTC) brokers and professionals.

According to the official press release, the latest acquisition includes 11B's IP and software. In addition, the company's software development and business support team and its president will join 24 Exchange.

6. FXTRADING.com Forges Partnership with CGS-CIMB Securities

FXTRADING.com, a multi-asset class online brokerage, announced today that it has inked a partnership with CGS-CIMB Securities Singapore Pte. Ltd, one of Asia’s leading integrated brokerage firm, to provide clients the best trading environment to trade share market Contracts for Difference (CFD).

CGS-CIMB Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CGS-CIMB Securities International Pte. Ltd., one of the leading integrated financial service providers in Asia. It has direct global presence in over 20 countries, providing a truly Asian perspective.

FXTRADING has now also added the powerful IRESS platform to its trading product range, while CGS-CIMB will also provide liquidity to facilitate clients’ trades. This means that customers can now trade share market CFDs with deep liquidity pools, fast trade execution, and some of the most competitive spreads in the industry.

7. Darwinex Announces the Completion of €3 million Financing​

UK-based fintech Darwinex announced it has closed the financing of €3 million, for the purpose of supporting its growth vision.

Stefan Jaecklin and Pinorena Capital participated in the funding round, alongside Darwinex’s co-founders and a number of major employees.