Fazzaco Weekly Digest: Switzerland, Haven for Crypto Companies; SBF Guilty of FTX Fraud; Nomination Opens for 2024 Trading.live Trading Influencers Awards
Last week, two well-known firms in the financial services/crypto industry received widespread attention due to scandals involving their leaders. One of them is the troubled cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which went bankrupt last year. Its head, Sam Bankman-Fried, was found guilty of fraud and money laundering after a month-long trial. Odey Asset Management, a long-established asset management company in London, was also in a crisis, facing business closure after its founder, Crispin Odey, was accused of sexual assault and harassment.
In response to the changing needs of customers and increasingly fierce market competition, Saxo Bank Japan announced that it would provide after-hours trading from November 1 this year. LMAX Group also completed the acquisition of Cürex's FX business last week, further enhancing its ability to serve customers.
As for the crypto industry, regulation of the sector is becoming increasingly strict globally, and Switzerland's tolerant attitude towards digital assets has made the country an ideal location for global crypto companies.
In addition, it is worth noting that Trading.live 2024 Trading Influencers Awards Middle East (Dubai) has already kicked off the nominations and all participants in the financial industry are welcome to sign up!
Here are the related details, as well as some of the most read forex, crypto, and fintech news pieces and articles from Fazzaco over the past week.
1. Listen to the Article: Switzerland Is Becoming the New Haven for Crypto Companies
The crypto community has always been popular in the financial sector today, where the regulation has long sparked heated debate. Last year, Fazzaco published a special feature titled "Cryptocurrency Regulations: A World Tour", which explored the regulatory dynamics of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, in various parts of the world.
As we explored previously, the United States, for example, is still struggling to clarify the nature of cryptocurrency: whether it should be deemed as securities, commodities or currencies. As a result, there is still a tug-of-war between multiple regulators such as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Against such backdrop, Europe has shown a more tolerant attitude towards digital assets, with Switzerland emerging as a new haven for crypto firms.
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3. ACI Worldwide Onboards Abe Kuruvilla as CTO
ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), a global leader in mission-critical, real-time payments solutions, on Monday announced the appointment of Abe Kuruvilla as chief technology officer. In this role, Kuruvilla will lead ACI's innovation agenda, optimizing the way the company develops and delivers its industry-leading software solutions globally to banks, merchants and billers.
"Abe's appointment comes at a pivotal time for the industry and ACI. We are focused on advancing our leadership in real-time payments, accelerating SaaS-enabled delivery and building an intelligent payments orchestration solution that reduces the increasing complexity of payments for our customers," said Thomas Warsop, President and CEO of ACI Worldwide. "Abe's vision and established track record in spearheading transformational technology initiatives will be invaluable as we focus on these key technology priorities."
4. LMAX Group Completes Acquisition of Cürex FX
LMAX Group, a global financial technology company and the leading independent operator of multiple institutional execution venues for FX and crypto currency trading, announced yesterday (October 30) that it has closed the acquisition of the FX business of Cürex, a New York City‐based institutional FX execution services and data analytics company.
Through the transaction, the Group will leverage the distribution and technical strengths of both companies to form a more robust and varied institutional FX offering for clients to include execution venues, precise market data and trade analytics.
5. Saxo Bank Japan to Provide After-Hour Trading Service from November 1
Saxo Bank Securities (Saxo Bank Japan), the Japanese unit of Copenhagen-based multi-asset trading and investing platform Saxo Bank, will offer after-hour trading from Wednesday, November 1, 2023, allowing foreign securities trading, individual stock CFD trading, and CFDs on other securities listed on major U.S. stock exchanges to be traded outside of normal trading hours.
After-hours trading allows investors to engage in trading activities before and after the regular trading hours, known as the pre-market and after-market sessions. By taking advantage of this opportunity, clients can potentially profit from sudden changes in stock prices caused by financial events, big news, or earnings announcements.
6. Odey Asset Management to Shut down After Sexual Assault Allegations Against Founder
Odey Asset Management is to close five months after allegations of sexual assault and harassment against its founder, Crispin Odey, plunged one of London’s oldest hedge fund groups into crisis.
The firm, which the 64-year-old founded in 1991, announced on its website on Tuesday: "Odey Asset Management, including Brook Asset Management and Odey Wealth, will be closing. Fund managers and funds have moved to new asset managers."
7. 'Crypto King' Sam Bankman-Fried Guilty of FTX Fraud
Sam Bankman-Fried, who once ran one of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, has been found guilty of fraud and money laundering at the end of a month-long trial in New York. The jury delivered its verdict after just four hours of deliberations.
It concludes a stunning fall from grace for the 31-year-old former billionaire and one of the most public faces of the crypto industry.
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