Updates on Kraken, FINRA, Iress, Eurex and Tickmill; FastBull Trading Contest Heats Up; Brokers P/L in April; ATS Hosted Pools...News Recap from Last Week

Fazzaco continued extensively covering the latest trends in forex, crypto, fintech, and prop trading last week. The below is the selected highlights of last week.

Kraken Introduces 24/7 Perpetual Futures for Major Forex Pairs

Crypto exchange Kraken has made a significant move to broaden its offerings beyond digital assets with the launch of FX perpetual futures for the widely traded EUR/USD and GBP/USD currency pairs. This new product, now available on the Kraken Pro platform, marks the exchange's first foray into providing its users with continuous, round-the-clock access to major foreign exchange markets. Unlike traditional FX products that typically have expiration dates or operate within limited trading windows, Kraken's newly introduced FX perpetual futures will trade continuously without any expiry.

FINRA Announces "FINRA Forward" Initiatives to Enhance Regulatory Effectiveness

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) last week announced the launch of "FINRA Forward," a series of initiatives intended to improve the organization's effectiveness and efficiency in fulfilling its mission.

Iress to Divest QuantHouse Market Data Business to BAHA Tech Holding for €17.5M

Iress stated that the decision to divest QuantHouse followed a strategic review conducted as part of its transformation program. This review concluded that Iress was "not the natural owner" of QuantHouse and that the business was expected to perform better under new ownership with the capacity and intent for investment to deliver specialist market data offerings globally at scale. Iress will retain its traditional market data offering as part of its Trading & Market Data business.

Eurex to Launch Futures on EU Bonds in September

Eurex has announced its intention to launch futures contracts based on European Union (EU) bonds starting in September. This new instrument is designed to offer traders a mechanism for hedging exposure or gaining market access. The launch comes at a time when interest in futures is reportedly increasing, particularly among proprietary trading companies.

Tickmill Enhances Onboarding with Sumsub Verification

Tickmill, a globally recognized broker in Forex and CFD trading, is reportedly streamlining its onboarding processes through a collaboration utilizing Sumsub's verification technology. The initiative is aimed at providing new traders with smoother access to global financial markets.

2025 FastBull Gold Short-Term Trading Contest Heats Up!

Since the contest began, a multitude of elite traders from around the globe swiftly moved to activate their exclusive competition accounts. Armed with the initial $10,000 in virtual funds, they've dived into this short-term contest focused solely on Gold (XAUUSD). As of market close on April 24, 2025, this global trading showdown has quietly reached its exact halfway point.

Client Account Profit/Loss Ratio of 28 Brokers in April 2025, Plus500 Still No Updates!

Among the 28 brokers this month, an average of 27.12% of client accounts achieved profits, while 72.88% of client accounts suffered losses. Compared with the average data in March 2025, the winning rate of client accounts decreased by 0.81%.

ATS Hosted Pools: FlexTrade on Broker Opportunities & Challenges​

The architecture of equity markets is perpetually evolving, and the latest wave of innovation is generating significant buzz around the rise of "hosted pools" or "private rooms" within Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs). These bespoke liquidity oases are prompting market participants to re-evaluate how and where they seek execution, presenting both compelling opportunities and intricate challenges, particularly for broker-dealers. The article is based on FlexTrade's latest blog. FlexTrade is a global leader offering broker-neutral, multi-asset execution and order management trading solutions.