The lines between crypto exchanges, neobanks, and zero-commission brokers are disappearing, creating multi-asset and multi-instrument platforms that pose growing competition to traditional CFD brokers.In the following article, we trace the history of this evolution, focusing on how these relative newcomers have expanded and consolidated, attracting new generations of traders and taking advantage of network effects to become global leaders.The crypto upstartsIt’s almost impossible to separate Bitcoin from the 2008 crisis. Bitcoin’s whitepaper was published in October 2008, and the network itself was launched on January 3, 2009. A Times of London headline from the same day is embedded into the Bitcoin network’s first ever transaction. It reads: “Chancellor on the Brink of a Second Bailout for Banks.” This genesis block speaks volumes about how Bitcoin’s pioneers regarded their project.At the time, there weren’t even any exchanges on which to trade Bitcoin, or the growing list of alternative cryptocurrencies that were rapidly emerging. Kraken and Coinbase, for instance, weren’t founded until 2011 and 2012, respectively. In the ensuing decade, crypto went from an asset that was seen as a threat to the financial system, to one that has been largely assimilated by it. Today, Bitcoin and Ethereum futures are traded on the CME and CBOE, while BlackRock, J.P. Morgan, BNY Mellon, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, State Street, and Deutsche Bank are all involved in efforts to tokenize real world assets. Meanwhile, former crypto upstarts like Coinbase and Kraken have become major financial players. Coinbase went public in 2021, while Kraken is in the process of doing so, and both firms have extended their reach far beyond the world of crypto assets. Today both Kraken and Coinbase are licensed broker dealers that also hold FCM licenses. In addition to crypto assets, they offer zero-commission stocks and ETFs, futures, and their own debit cards. In short, they’ve expanded their businesses into both zero-commission brokerage and neobank territory. Furthermore, both Kraken and Coinbase now offer tokenized stocks to EU customers that are backed 1:1 by shares held by regulated custodians.The zero-commission revolutionZero-commission brokerage commenced with the establishment of Robinhood in 2013. By 2017, established household names like Fidelity and Charles Schwab were being pressured to cut their own commission fees. Schwab had already cut its fees to $6.95 first (from $8.95). Then in February of 2017, Fidelity cut its fees to $4.95 (from $7.95). Schwab responded several hours later by cutting its own fees to $4.95.However, it wouldn’t be until 2019 that Fidelity, Schwab, E*TRADE, and TD Ameritrade all removed commission fees completely. Under continued pressure from Robinhood, which had amassed an enormous client base of young, mobile-first users, as well as its controversial payment for order flow (PFOF) business model that made the zero commissions possible, these established brokers had to follow suit to remain competitive. Schwab specifically cited Robinhood’s disruption as one of the reasons for the move.In 2018, Robinhood expanded its offering to include cryptocurrencies and options. In 2019, cash management services were added via FDIC-insured partners, including debit cards and spending accounts. In 2025, futures trading was added, over 200 tokenized US stocks and ETFs were launched in Europe, and savings accounts that offer over 4% APY are currently being rolled out on an invite-only basis to Gold subscribers. The neobank disruptorsThe turmoil caused by the 2008 crisis led to widespread anger and lack of confidence in traditional banking institutions that arguably continues to this day. Subsequent regulatory changes aimed at reining banks in and preventing the sorts of excesses that led to the crisis opened the door for a new type of bank. Online only, mobile first, and geared to a younger generation of users. In the U.S, post-2008 regulations such as Dodd-Frank did not directly empower neobanks like PSD2 did in Europe, however, the heavy compliance costs they imposed on incumbents created regulatory asymmetry, allowing fintech firms to bypass many of the restrictions that established banks were subject to. An example of this was the Durbin Amendment to Dodd-Frank, which capped debit interchange fees for banks holding over $10 billion in assets. This allowed neobanks to partner with smaller banks that were exempt from these caps, effectively borrowing their FDIC insurance while also generating significant revenues from debit card transactions. In Europe, the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) forced banks to open their APIs to third-party providers. The change was groundbreaking, allowing fintech firms to access customer data and build their own financial services on top of pre-existing banking infrastructure. This is how app-based banks were able to onboard so many users quickly and easily, offering free peer-to-peer payments, and highly competitive foreign exchange rates. In recent years neobanks have also expanded to encompass the world of financial services, even those that were formerly the exclusive domain of crypto exchanges and zero-commission brokers. A notable example is the UK-based Revolut. It launched crypto trading in 2017, stock trading and fractional shares in 2020, commodity trading, crypto staking and NFTs in 2022, and robo-advisory wealth management services in 2023. CFD brokerage and the Futures pivotOver the time period that the above developments have taken place, CFD brokerage has come under increased scrutiny from regulators, with leverage caps and marketing restrictions now more or less standardized between the UK, EU and Australia.A 2024 Acuiti survey of 72 European CFD brokers showed that 54% of respondents were “quite concerned” about the impact of retail CFD restrictions, while 38% were “very concerned.” 69% of the respondents believed that EU countries would eventually move to impose heavier restrictions on the trading of CFDs, while more than half stated that they’d look to expand into exchange-traded markets if this were the case.If the recent moves of some of the larger OTC players are anything to go by, then this pivot is definitely underway. IG’s acquisition of US broker Tastytrade in 2021 gave it access to the firm’s licenses, client base, partnerships, and infrastructure for trading listed securities. Its acquisition of UK neobroker, Freetrade, in 2025 served much the same purpose.We see a similar pattern with Plus500. Its 2021 acquisition of Futures Commission Merchant, Cunningham Commodities, allowed it to enter the US futures and options market. Its 2025 acquisition of India’s Mehta Equities Limited gives it access to India’s massive retail trading market as well as a regulatory license to offer futures, options, and equities. Both firms (and many more besides) appear to be positioning themselves in a manner that reduces their dependency on OTC revenues. What brokers can doAs we’ve seen, the bigger OTC players have the resources to expand into other areas, much like the examples presented above, and this expansion via strategic acquisitions is already underway. Small-to-medium sized firms may have to undergo this transition in a different way. Some will be content to serve core OTC traders who value the very features that have systematically been regulated away in stricter jurisdictions, such as high leverage. Light offshore regulation may be sufficient for these brokers, for the time being, at least. Other companies that are intent on broadening their instrument landscape to include exchange-traded securities and derivatives, while lessening reliance on OTC volumes, will have to make wise technological investments. Time is of the essence, though. Not only are crypto exchanges, neobrokers, and neobanks essentially transforming into everything apps for all things finance. They have pursued a strategy that has ensured that what they offer is maximally appealing to younger generations. Young traders today are far more likely to experience their first trade via their neobank app, than via an OTC trading platform. A generation ago OTC was one of the only games in town. It’s also important to note that it’s not just financial services that have evolved in the period we have covered throughout this article. Fintech provision, too, has come along in leaps and bounds. The technologies required for OTC brokers to unlock a far wider selection of assets and instruments, whether it be trading platforms, integrations with executing venues, instrument-specific risk management capabilities, or high quality market data, is today more available, more affordable, more reliable, and more flexible than ever before. The question is how will these brokers take advantage of what’s currently available to maintain their relevance. This article was written by FM Contributors at www.financemagnates.com.

EAERA is honored to announce the launch of CFD WebTrade, a fully web-based trading platform that will improve the trading experience for retail traders and give brokers more control over their operations. Instead of forcing traders to use complicated platforms, CFD WebTrade introduces a modern, easy-to-use interface that lets traders trade seamlessly. This launch presents EAERA CBS's vision to make a single system that links trading experience with operational control.Combination of Infrastructure and Trading Innovation The webtrade presents a vision which is helping brokers scale efficiently without sacrificing compliance, performance, or user experience.EAERA’s CBS platform is the backbone of the web trade's operations, helping with client onboarding, following workflows, managing accounts, and running funds. The CFD WebTrade compliments this with a modern interface and execution engine that is made for speed, ease to use, and real-time responsiveness. The system creates a single platform that makes it easier for brokers to do their jobs and gives retail users a professional-grade trading environment. The webtrade also shows a broader shift in the world of brokerage technology, where providers are moving away from standalone tools and toward fully integrated ecosystems. EAERA is helping brokers cut down on system fragmentation and speed up the time it takes to bring new trading services to market by aligning infrastructure with execution. What Is CFD WebTrade? CFD WebTrade is a fully responsive web application accessible via desktop and mobile browsers, eliminating the need for software installation. The platform supports a structured user journey across three segments: Guest users are directed to secure registration or login flowsDemo traders can access simulated trading environments with real-time market dataLive traders gain full functionality upon KYC verification, including wallet management, live trading accounts, and transaction tracking This means that traders can explore, practice, and trade in a simpler setting without having to deal with the complicated interfaces that are usually there. This tiered flow helps brokers get more clients while making sure that all compliance requirements are met through the EAERA CBS client portal. This means that brokers can get more people on board while still following the rules that are needed in regulated environments. EAERA CBS: Powering Secure and Compliant Broker Operations EAERA CBS handles all the non-trading tasks that are necessary for a brokerage to run. Key capabilities include: Authentication & Security: Secure login, password recovery, and access control features aligned with industry standardsKYC & Onboarding: Multi-step verification process covering identity, financial background, and proof of addressClient Profile Management: User-controlled updates, credential management, and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)Wallet & Payment Infrastructure: Multi-currency wallet support, deposits, withdrawals, and transaction history trackingAccount Management: Creation and configuration of demo and live trading accountsReporting & Support: Integrated reporting tools and customer support channelsThese features let brokers work in a safe, legal, and scalable way while giving their clients the same experience every time. EAERA CBS lowers the need for manual intervention and the risk of breaking the law by putting compliance and operational workflows directly into the system. This method makes sure that brokers can grow their businesses without having to deal with more compliance issues. Advanced Trading Experience Powered on CFD WebTradeCFD WebTrade’s trading technology delivers a comprehensive market interface tailored to modern trader expectations. Core trading features include: Market Access: Full instrument coverage with customizable watchlistsAdvanced Charting: Real-time charting and technical analysisOrder Execution: Support for market and pending orders, including limit and stop configurationsPosition Management: Real-time monitoring of account metrics such as equity, margin, and open positionsCustomization & Workspace Control: Flexible layout options and multi-account managementReal-Time Synchronization: Continuous data flow between the platform and infrastructureUsers use CFD WebTrade, which has a user interface that is optimized for clarity, fast, and simple to use. CFD WebTrade hides the complexity so that traders can focus on making decisions instead of figuring out how to use technical workflows. This results in a significantly smoother trading experience, especially for retail users who often find traditional trading platforms too complicated. Delivering Value for Brokers and Technology Partners CFD WebTrade is positioned as a comprehensive solution for brokers seeking to enhance both operational efficiency and client experience. For Retail Traders: Simplified, intuitive trading interfaceNo installation requiredReal-time data with better visualizationReduced learning curvePersonalized trading environment For Brokers: Unified system combining CBS + trading platformBetter onboarding conversion and retentionReduced support load due to improved UXFull control via Admin PortalScalable infrastructure for growth Brokers get more engagement, longer retention, and more efficient operations by focusing on improving the experience of traders first. Supporting the Next Phase of Retail Trading CFD WebTrade's launch is in line with trends in the industry toward trading on the web, automation, and systems that work together. Retail traders increasingly expect platforms that are easy to use, visually clear, and accessible across devices - not legacy systems requiring technical knowledge. CFD WebTrade solves this problem by using both modern user experience and institutional-grade infrastructure. Brokers who use platforms like CFD WebTrade are better able to handle these changes. This means they can roll out new products faster and respond more quickly to changes in the market. Availability CFD WebTrade is now available for brokers and partners. Organizations interested in deploying the platform or exploring partnership opportunities are encouraged to contact EAERA for further information and product demonstrations. Demo CFD WebTrade: app.cfdwebtrade.hn.eaera.comAbout EAERA EAERA is a fintech company with over 10 years of international experience, specializing in the development of financial core systems and big data analytics platforms for the modern financial industry.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eaera/Website: https://eaera.com/ This article was written by FM Contributors at www.financemagnates.com.

Deloitte's fifth Middle East and Cyprus Technology Fast 50 ranking included two United Arab Emirates-based prop trading firms, with FundedNext placing second overall and FundingPips heading the consultancy's Rising Star list at fourth, according to the report published this week.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)The placements come as the region continues to attract relocations and license applications from CFD brokers, prop firms and fintech infrastructure providers. FundedNext was the highest-ranked fintech on the main list, behind only UAE healthcare firm Valeo Health.FundedNext Holds Top Fintech Spot in Main RankingFundedNext, founded in 2022, was placed at number two on the main Fast 50, which Deloitte ranks by four-year revenue growth. UAE robo-advisor Sarwa came in third. The list covered 49 companies and recorded average growth of 12,643%, up from 8,823% in the previous edition, with the highest individual figure inside the main category reaching 6,107%, according to the report.In the foreword, Kyriacos Charalambides, Fast 50 Program Leader at Deloitte Middle East, wrote that companies on the list are "leveraging innovation to improve various aspects of life and society." Software firms accounted for 38% of applications and fintech 22%, both consistent with prior editions, with the program drawing more than 200 submissions in total.“From day one, the focus was on infrastructure, and this recognition is the result of that focus,” FundedNext commented in their official social media channels.Winner! FundedNext has won the Deloitte Technology Fast 50, one of the most prestigious awards globally.The program recognizes the fastest-growing tech companies across the Middle East and Cyprus. This year, in its 5th edition, FundedNext ranked #1 in the Fintech category.… pic.twitter.com/PzHam5ILVM— FundedNext (@FundedNext) May 4, 2026The firm has scaled rapidly under chief executive Syed Abdullah Jayed. The company declaries it has paid more than $271 million to traders since launch, with $15.19 million disbursed in February alone across 8,340 traders, according to its monthly payout report. FundedNext was also named Global Prop Firm of the Year at the Finance Magnates Annual Awards 2025.FundedNext has expanded beyond its core CFD prop product over the past year. The company launched a futures brand for US clients in April 2025, relaunched CFD prop trading for US traders on the Match Trader platform in November, and set up a brokerage division called FNmarkets that has applied for licenses in Dubai, Mauritius and Cyprus.FundingPips Heads Rising Star Category at Number FourSaudi-based companies dominated the Rising Star list, but FundingPips finished fourth and was the only company on either list that Deloitte tagged specifically as "Prop Trading" rather than the broader "Fintech" label. The Rising Star category recognizes companies trading for less than three years.Founded in 2022, FundingPips has reported around $160 million in distributed rewards and more than 2 million users across 195 countries, according to company statements. Chief executive Khaled Ayesh launched a separate futures brand called FundingTicks in early 2025 and a brokerage platform named Tradin in November.The futures arm faced a sharp customer backlash in late December after applying retroactive rule changes including a one-minute minimum trade hold to existing accounts. Ayesh defended the company's record on social media, citing more than $220 million in cumulative payouts across the group.MENA's Pull on Prop Firm CapitalBoth rankings reflect a broader pattern in retail trading. Prop firms have relocated to or expanded operations in the UAE in response to regulatory tightening in the United States and Europe. The DIFC financial hub added more than 1,000 companies in the first half of 2025, with fintech registrations up 28%, according to data cited by the centre.Deloitte's engagement with the prop trading segment extends beyond the Fast 50. Last month, Dubai-based Hola Prime hired the Big Four firm to review its payout processing between October 2025 and March 2026, with the audit finding 98.35% of withdrawals processed within one hour and zero denials across the period.The 5ers and IC Funded both said at iFX Expo Dubai in February that MENA was their top expansion priority, while FXIFY, FunderPro and Traddoo have all launched dedicated futures arms in the past 18 months that mirror the structures used by FundedNext and FundingPips.Czech Republic-based FTMO, the largest established player in the segment, recorded $213 million in revenue and $98 million in pre-tax profit for 2023 and is in the process of acquiring US broker OANDA. The deal positions FTMO as the only major prop firm currently offering MetaTrader 5 to US clients, after MetaQuotes restricted prop firm access in early 2024.Sarwa, Finery Markets Round Out Trading-Adjacent NamesTwo other companies on the main Fast 50 sit close to the broader online trading ecosystem. Sarwa, the UAE robo-advisor, ranked third with revenues that have grown alongside its expansion into stock trading and crypto offerings.Finery Markets, a Cyprus-based non-custodial crypto electronic communication network, placed seventeenth and was the highest-ranked Cypriot fintech in the main ranking. The firm graduated from last year's Rising Star category, where Deloitte had recognized it in 2024.Founded in 2019, Finery operates a hybrid order book and request-for-quote venue serving brokers, OTC desks and exchanges. Its partnership with B2BROKER announced in September makes its platform the backbone of the liquidity provider's OTC crypto operations.Cyprus contributed 14% of Fast 50 applications and 18% across both lists, behind the UAE at 34% and Saudi Arabia at 26%, according to the Deloitte data. Software firms accounted for 38% of all applications and fintech 22%. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Plus500 (LSE: PLUS) used its annual general meeting in London today (Tuesday) to reaffirm the upgraded full-year guidance it issued two weeks ago, telling shareholders that performance in the first quarter ran ahead of market expectations and that the board remains confident in the outlook for the rest of 2026.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)The statement repeats the substance of the Q1 trading update Plus500 released on April 20, when the company first told investors to expect revenue and EBITDA above consensus. The Israeli broker said it entered FY 2026 with momentum across both its OTC and non-OTC businesses, citing growth in B2B futures and its newer prediction markets ecosystem.The Q1 Numbers Behind the MessageThe figures Plus500 was alluding to in Tuesday's commentary were already on the table. Revenue rose 18% year-on-year to $242.1 million in Q1, a 24% jump from the fourth quarter of 2025, while EBITDA reached $95.7 million on a 40% margin. Customer income, which the company describes as a leading indicator of platform activity, hit $270.6 million, the highest quarterly reading since the pandemic-era boom of 2021.The board's stance carries weight because Plus500 has a history of overshooting its own forecasts. The company delivered $792.4 million in revenue and $348.1 million in EBITDA for FY 2025, comfortably above the Bloomberg consensus of $757.7 million and $345.8 million it had been working against last summer.[#highlighted-links#] Current consensus for FY 2026 sits at $779.3 million and $360.4 million, which the board now expects to surpass.UK Peers Ride the Same Volatility WaveWhat makes Plus500's commentary less of a standout is that every UK-listed retail broker is telling investors more or less the same story. Heightened volatility from gold's January correction, the Middle East conflict that pushed Brent crude past $115, and macro repricing on rate paths have lifted activity across the cohort.IG Group reported Q1 calendar 2026 revenue of around £300 million, up roughly 7% year-on-year, alongside CY 2025 results showing total revenue of £1.12 billion and net trading revenue at £1.0 billion. Chief Executive Breon Corcoran told investors IG now expects organic revenue growth at the top end of its mid-to-high single-digit guidance range for 2026, and the company has launched a strategic review that may include a New York relisting.CMC Markets, which operates on a March fiscal year, pulled forward its FY 2026 guidance in November to roughly 10% above the £353.9 million consensus. The London-listed broker reported H1 2026 net operating income of £186.2 million and pointed to a white-label deal with Westpac that it expects will add 40% to its Australian customer base over a 12-month integration.The Polish broker XTB, which also operate in the UK retail market, delivered the most dramatic Q1 in the European listed cohort. Operating revenue jumped 88.5% year-on-year to PLN 1.09 billion, roughly $301 million, and net profit climbed 176% to PLN 535 million as the broker added 370,000 new clients in three months.XTB CEO Omar Arnaout told investors the result validated the company's bet on aggressive marketing spend through 2025, when net profit had fallen 25% even as client numbers expanded. Prediction Markets Become the DifferentiatorWhere Plus500's outlook commentary actually differs from peers is in non-OTC. The broker's US arm, built around its 2021 purchase of Cunningham Commodities, generated about $35 million in Q1 revenue, up 45% year-on-year, and now accounts for roughly 15% of group turnover.Plus500 launched a B2C prediction markets product in February through the Plus500 Futures brand, distributing event contracts issued by Kalshi. The broker also acts as clearing partner for the CME Group and FanDuel event-contracts venture that went live late in 2025, putting it on both sides of the regulatory split currently dividing the US prediction markets industry. A next-generation version with broader product range is expected in Q2."Customer Income reached a five-year record high in Q1 2026, driven by the continued execution of our strategic shift toward higher-value customers," CEO David Zruia said in last month's update. The board did not quantify Tuesday how far above consensus FY 2026 would land.Plus500 shares closed Friday at 4,530 pence in London, valuing the broker at roughly £3.16 billion. The stock is up about 72% over the past year but remains below the February peak it touched before three top executives, including Zruia and CFO Elad Even-Chen, sold a combined £67.1 million in stock days after the launch of a $100 million buyback. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

HYCM Capital Markets (UK) Limited swung to a net loss of £236,304 for the year ended December 31, 2025, reversing a £1.25 million profit a year earlier, as administrative expenses more than doubled and a one-time gain that flattered the prior comparison dropped out, according to the company's annual report filed with Companies House.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)The London-based unit of the wider HYCM group, posted revenue of £981,137, up roughly 3% from £950,775 in 2024. Administrative expenses, however, jumped to £1.30 million from £580,908, sending the prior year's £373,024 operating profit into an operating loss of £323,665.Currency Swing Drives the HYCM UK ReversalThe bulk of the cost spike was foreign exchange. The income statement shows exchange losses of £419,281 in 2025 against exchange gains of £283,433 in 2024, a swing of more than £700,000 that overwhelmed the modest revenue uptick. Stripped of FX movements, administrative costs were broadly stable.The company itself flagged the dynamic. The Board described the year as "satisfactory" at group level but said administrative expenses "were adversely affected by exchange rate differences during the year, resulting in an operating loss," according to the report signed by director Marcin Swanson-Zając.The 2024 comparison was further distorted by a £972,102 fair value gain on a disposal, tied to the sale of the firm's Dubai subsidiary HYCM Limited to its own management duo for £1.4 million. Without that gain, prior-year profit before tax would have been around £374,000. The 2025 results carry no such offsetting item, and the Strategic Report's headline measure, return on net assets, fell to zero from 34.2% the year before.Cash Builds Even as Profit FallsThe balance sheet drew sharply on related parties. Amounts owed to group undertakings rose to £3.25 million from £704,925 a year earlier, with the parent group providing written assurance that £2.66 million owed to HYCM DMCC would not be called in for at least 12 months. Cash at bank grew 76% to £5.12 million from £2.91 million.Own funds stood at £3,419,051, well above the £750,000 minimum required under the Financial Conduct Authority's Investment Firms Prudential Regime. Headcount slipped to five from six, while aggregate remuneration ticked up 4% to £356,930. The directors do not recommend a dividend.Source: HYCM Capital Markets (UK) Limited annual report, year ended 31 December 2025.Small CFD Operators Squeezed by FCA ReviewHYCM Capital Markets (UK) Limited belongs to a shrinking pool of small FCA-regulated CFD specialists. A Freedom of Information response to FinanceMagnates.com showed 74 firms held permission to offer CFDs to UK retail clients as of December 1, 2025, out of 105 firms in the regulator's wider CFD portfolio.Pressure at the smaller end has intensified. Two UK brokers collapsed in a single month at the end of 2025, Blackwell Global UK booked a £17,000 loss and exited the retail market in September, and LCG UK followed HYCM into the red on an 18% revenue decline. Larger competitors held up better, with XTB UK reporting a 116% jump in pre-tax profit on cost cuts, and FxPro UK swinging to a £153,103 profit on 23% revenue growth.The HYCM group has been reshaping its footprint around the UK entity. Its Cyprus unit voluntarily renounced its CIF license in 2024 and ceased serving EU-based clients, and the Dubai-based HYCM Limited was sold the same year, leaving the brand to operate primarily through the London company alongside Cayman and DIFC entities.Group Outlook and Regulatory FootingThe directors said they expect profits to return in 2026 and beyond, pointing to what the filing calls increasing interest in CFD trading across the group's core markets.The report explicitly flagged the FCA's November 2025 multi-firm review of CFD providers, which found some firms may not be delivering fair value to retail consumers, alongside the regulator's 2025-2030 strategy. A separate FM Intelligence analysis estimated cumulative compliance costs for mid-tier FCA-regulated CFD brokers now run between £325,000 and over £1 million annually, a burden the report described as potentially existential for firms with UK revenues below £10 million. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

The online trading industry requires reliable infrastructure and compliant operations to function effectively. iFX EXPO International 2026 addresses these operational needs by gathering key technology and financial participants in one physical location. Scheduled to take place between 16-18 June 2026, at the City of Dreams Mediterranean in Limassol, the event provides a structured environment for business development and networking. The demand for dedicated networking space reflects the industry's focus on direct partnerships.Attendees will have direct access to established brands, including Equiti Capital, Leverate, Ecommbx, Solid Payments, payabl, and LMAX Global. This layout allows institutional representatives to evaluate new trading tools, liquidity pools, and payment gateways through direct comparison. Brokers can meet directly with liquidity providers and regulatory consultants to negotiate technical contracts and plan their regional expansions. Additionally, the event delivers actionable market data through its dedicated conference stages. The online trading landscape faces continuous updates regarding jurisdictional compliance and digital asset integration. Industry experts will lead panel discussions detailing these shifting frameworks alongside current client acquisition metrics. Attendees receive practical operational knowledge to implement within their own corporate structures.Event informationiFX EXPO International 2026 is set to welcome 6,500+ attendees, 200+ exhibitors, and 100+ speakers across three days of intensive networking and content.Knowledge and insight are delivered across two dedicated conference stages. On the first stage, The Speaker Hall hosts expert-led sessions covering market trends, regulatory frameworks, and client acquisition strategies. The second stage, the Mastery Hub, is making its debut at iFX EXPO International 2026. It is a first-of-its-kind content stage for the Cyprus edition of the expo. Following its successful launch at iFX EXPO Dubai, the Mastery Hub brings 25+ hours of exclusive content featuring need-to-know insights, strategic trends, and conversations on discipline and human performance, going beyond technical analysis to explore the mindset behind long-term success.The social programme runs alongside the main expo floor. The Welcome Party opens the event with an informal setting designed for reconnecting with existing partners and making introductions ahead of the main event days. The Night Party follows, offering a space to unwind after a full day of networking with entertainment exclusive to iFX EXPO attendees.Securing event accessProfessionals planning to attend must complete their registration through the official event website. Securing a pass unlocks the ability to book meetings with key exhibitors and access the conference sessions. Furthermore, only officially registered attendees qualify for the exclusive accommodation rates provided at the City of Dreams hotel. Interested parties should register promptly to coordinate their logistics and monitor the official channels for the final agenda announcements. Follow this link to reserve your place in advance. This article was written by FM Contributors at www.financemagnates.com.

Liquidnet, the New York agency broker owned by TP ICAP Group, will pay $250,000 and accept a censure to settle Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) charges that it published six years of inaccurate execution-quality reports, the regulator said in a settlement letter accepted Monday.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)It is the second time in four years FINRA has censured the firm for the same category of order-execution reporting errors. The company’s Canadian subsidiary was also fined three weeks ago after foreign stuff could pick at client orders.Sixty-Seven Million Orders MisclassifiedBetween February 2018 and March 2024, Liquidnet published 74 inaccurate monthly reports under Regulation NMS Rule 605, according to FINRA's Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent. The reports cover statistical information that market centers must publish each month on how they handle and execute orders in NMS securities.“The firm erroneously included in its Rule 605 reports approximately v67 million orders that required special handling because the firm incorrectly classified those orders as covered orders,” FINRA said in the statement.Treating those as standard covered orders skewed the order and execution-quality statistics that buy-side clients, regulators, and rival venues rely on to compare execution performance.FINRA identified the inaccuracies during a March 2023 examination of the firm. By April 2024, Liquidnet had implemented coding fixes that removed the misclassified orders from its monthly disclosures, the settlement letter said.A Repeat of the 2022 SettlementThis is not Liquidnet's first encounter with the same rule. In February 2022, the firm consented to a $50,000 fine and a censure over 30 inaccurate Rule 605 reports filed between August 2015 and January 2018. That earlier matter involved a different mistake, with marketable limit orders classified as inside-the-quote limit orders.Liquidnet joins a list of broker-dealers FINRA has penalized in recent years over Rule 605 reporting failures, suggesting the regulator continues to comb monthly disclosures for misclassified orders and supervisory gaps.In July 2022, BofA Securities was fined $325,000 for publishing 107 inaccurate Rule 605 reports between January 2014 and February 2022. The errors there involved combining order data from two market centers, MLCO and MLIX, and misclassifying orders due to technological issues. Five months later, FINRA fined Instinet $165,000 over 54 inaccurate reports tied to its Continuous Block Cross alternative trading system, where the firm had erroneously excluded orders it incorrectly treated as subject to special handling.Early 2023 brought a $475,000 censure for UBS Securities, which had published 41 inaccurate reports for its UBSA dark pool because of a coding error that mixed parent and child orders. . This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Australia's corporate watchdog wants to keep two pieces of AFS license relief on the books for another five years, with feedback from the industry due by the start of June.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said today (Tuesday) it is consulting on remaking two legislative instruments due to expire on October 1, 2026. Both touch the AFS licensing regime that underpins Australia's CFD industry, and both have been in place since 2016.The Two Instruments at GlanceThe first gives general-advice providers a break from AFS licensing rules when their advice appears in specific documents, mainly explanatory statements for foreign schemes of arrangement and offer documents tied to overseas control transactions. The second exempts issuers and advisers from having to spell out certain figures in Australian dollars on standard disclosure paperwork.ASIC said the proposed changes are minor and technical, focused on cleaning up the wording rather than reshaping the substance. The carve-outs would roll forward through 2031.Discretionary Mutual Funds Get Pulled InThe one bit of new ground is around discretionary mutual funds, the not-for-profit risk-sharing structures used by community groups, churches and some industry associations. ASIC wants the dollar disclosure exemption to cover risk products issued through these funds, which currently sit outside the relief.It's a narrow expansion, and the agency frames it as a consistency fix rather than a policy shift. Nothing in the proposal changes who can give general advice without an AFS license or which overseas documents qualify. ASIC has taken a tougher line on adjacent reliefs, reassessing investment introduction service relief last year after low industry use.A Crowded Regulatory Inbox for AFS HoldersThe proposal is administrative, but it lands in the middle of one of the heaviest regulatory years AFS license holders have faced. Brokers, fund managers and advisers under the regime are juggling deadlines that have nothing to do with consultation paper CS 51.The most pressing is ASIC's no-action position for unlicensed digital asset providers, which expires on June 30, 2026. Crypto firms that miss the cutoff face civil and criminal penalties of up to 10% of annual turnover, and they will be slotting into the same AFS framework being tinkered with in the current consultation. ASIC reminded those firms only days ago that they have under two months left.Running alongside that, adviser qualification standards introduced on January 1 are still rippling through the industry, with ASIC running compliance checks against the Financial Advisers Register. The regulator has also flagged financial reporting misconduct as a top 2026 enforcement priority and earlier proposed easing breach reporting for minor errors fixed inside 30 days.The licensing pipeline itself has tightened. ASIC granted 290 new AFS licenses in fiscal 2025 while canceling or suspending another 215, and an enforcement campaign produced a record A$583 million in penalties in the second half of 2025.Submissions Close June 1Feedback on the proposal can be lodged with ASIC's consultation team until 5pm AEST on June 1. The document is consultation paper CS 51, "Proposed remake of relief from dollar disclosure reporting and AFS licensing requirements for general advice in certain exempt documents."If the regulator goes ahead, the new instruments would replace the existing ones before the October 1 sunset and run for another five years, taking the regime through to 2031. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Lochlan White has joined oneZero Financial Systems as it launches its first Middle East office in Dubai. As the Director of Sales & Relationship Management (EMEA), White will lead the new office launch efforts.“Looking forward to building strong partnerships across the region and bringing our technology to more brokers and institutions,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)A Strategic Hub for the Trading IndustryoneZero provides execution and liquidity hub technology to retail brokers and institutional clients. It is entering Dubai when many contracts for differences (CFDs) brokers have established their presence in the city and have even obtained local licences.Other technology and infrastructure providers like Leverate also have a presence in the Middle Eastern city. The objective is to stay closer to their existing and prospective clients.Interestingly, oneZero’s CEO, Andrew Ralich, recently said in his annual outlook that “volatility has shifted from relative predictability with occasional curve balls to a state of capricious, sustained market activity.” The assessment comes as CFD and forex brokers grapple with elevated trading volumes but also heightened risk management demands.[#highlighted-links#] A Known Face in the IndustryWhite joined oneZero after his tenure at Scope Prime as the Chief Commercial Officer. He spent more than a year and a half there and was also based in Dubai, according to his LinkedIn profile.He started his career at Australia-headquartered 26 Degrees, where he spent 11 years. He first joined the Sydney office as the Marketing Director and then moved to Prime Services, first becoming a Director and then the Head of Prime Services for APAC. He later shifted his focus to the EMEA region and moved to Cyprus. He left the company as its Chief Commercial Officer for EMEA.oneZero, meanwhile, recently hired Alberto Bruno, a former PrimeXM executive, as its Director of Business Development. This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Mario Saudino has joined Blueberry Markets as LATAM Regional Manager, following his departure from STARTRADER earlier this year. The move marks his continuation in regional leadership roles within the forex and derivatives sector.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!).Joining Blueberry Markets in LATAM RoleSaudino started his new position in March 2026 and is based in Mexico in a hybrid role. He is responsible for overseeing business development and strengthening the company’s presence across Latin America.Commenting about the move, he said that his approach in the region will center on building trust and supporting partners and clients in developing sustainable business opportunities.Before joining Blueberry Markets, Saudino worked at STARTRADER as Regional Director for LATAM. He operated remotely from Germany and led regional operations during his tenure. Departure from STARTRADERPrior to STARTRADER, Saudino held senior roles across several firms. He served as Regional Director for LATAM at TigerWit Group between 2020 and 2022. Earlier, he worked at Global Markets Group in London, where he held positions including Sales Director and Sales Manager for Spanish and LATAM markets. He also worked as Sales Director for LATAM and Spanish markets at Roar Forex.His appointment comes as brokers continue to expand their footprint in Latin America, a region that remains a key focus for client acquisition and business growth in the derivatives industry.Blueberry has appointed Ghaith Alghatas as Head of Partners for the MENA region, with the executive based in Cyprus and joining the firm full-time. He brings partner management experience from Pepperstone, where he served as Senior Partners Manager, and IC Markets, where he handled partner operations and team leadership, supporting the broker’s ongoing expansion in the region.The firm also appointed Magdy Mohamed as Head of Marketing for the MENA region, bringing experience from VT Markets and earlier roles at ONEPRO, PU Prime, and GTCpros. Based in Dubai, he will lead the broker’s regional marketing efforts as Blueberry continues to expand its presence and brand visibility in the MENA market. This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

Gold traded near $4,580 per ounce on Monday, May 4, 2026, falling more than 1% on the session and roughly 2% from last Friday's intraday peak as a firmer dollar, rising Treasury yields, and a fresh tanker strike in the Strait of Hormuz pushed XAU/USD to its lowest level since late March. Intraday selling tagged $4,560, the metal's first sub-$4,580 print in more than five weeks. Spot now trades approximately 18% below the $5,595 January 29 all-time high.The harder question is not why gold is going down today. It is whether anything structurally has changed on the chart. From my reading, it has not.Follow me on X for real-time market analysis: @ChmielDk.What pushed gold lower on May 4?The session move came from the same paradox that has defined the metals tape for two months. The Middle East war pushes oil higher, oil pushes inflation expectations higher, inflation expectations keep the Federal Reserve frozen, and a frozen Fed keeps real yields elevated. Higher real yields raise the opportunity cost of a non-yielding asset."Gold declined on Monday as the metal faces a stable US dollar and rising Treasury yields. Ongoing inflation concerns arising from elevated oil prices could continue to push monetary policy expectations toward more caution, lifting yields and weighing on non-yielding assets such as bullion," said Paolo Broccardo, CEO at BankPro.Broccardo's framing matches the price action: the dollar index sits firm above 98, ten-year yields are in the 4.3-4.4% range, and a tanker was struck by projectiles in Hormuz earlier today.The mechanical drivers behind today's session:Dollar Index holding above 98, ten-year Treasury yields in the 4.3-4.4% rangeTanker struck by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz Monday morning, oil bidISM Prices Paid printed 84.6 in April, the highest reading since April 2022Gold-backed ETFs in net outflows last week after a three-week inflow streakCME FedWatch shows over 90% probability the Fed holds at 3.50-3.75% in JuneGold technical analysis: the channel still holdsIn 15 years reading gold charts, I have learned that the most useful response to a 2% session is not to ask "why" but to ask whether anything structurally changed. Today, on the daily chart, nothing has.XAU/USD remains inside the same dual consolidation it has traded for over a month. Two overlapping boxes define it. The faster box is bounded by exponential moving averages: the 200 EMA (blue) at $4,300 per ounce on the floor, the 50 EMA (red) at $4,740 per ounce on the ceiling.The slower box is bounded by horizontal price action: the October 2025 highs in the $4,284-$4,400 range as the floor, the April 2026 highs near $4,840 as the ceiling.Today's drop did not break either floor. The 50 EMA at $4,740 is now acting as dynamic resistance, and price is moving in the direction of the slower 200 EMA at $4,300. That is the next test.Above the 50 EMA, momentum reverses to the upside and the consolidation upper bound at $4,840 comes back into focus. Below $4,300, the picture changes materially. As I wrote in my April 28 analysis on gold's $3,400 risk, a weekly close below the EMA cluster is the trigger for a sustained move toward the 200 EMA test, then $4,000, then the April 2025 highs at $3,400 on a 100% Fibonacci extension. That sequence is the only path that turns today's session move into something structural."Gold is no longer moving according to the classical rules investors are accustomed to, and this paradox is not incidental, it reflects a deeper structural shift in the market. In my view, the notable decline in gold prices near $4,626 despite escalating geopolitical risks and heightened global uncertainty reveals that traditional drivers such as the safe haven narrative are no longer sufficient to explain short-term price action,” Rania Gule, Senior Market Analyst at XS.com MENA, added. What's next for gold?Two paths from here. Both depend on whether the channel holds.Bull case:A break above $4,840 reopens the path to $5,420, the January 28 record session high and Goldman Sachs' standing year-end 2026 target. As my prior coverage of Goldman's $5,400 forecast detailed, the bank's thesis rests on real-yield compression once the Fed's stagflation trap becomes consensus.Above $5,420, gold re-enters the price-discovery zone toward the $5,595 all-time high.Bear case:A weekly close below $4,300 invalidates the consolidation and shifts the bias toward a $3,400 measured target, anchored by April 2025 resistance. As my earlier $3,400 scenario analysis showed, that level sits roughly 26% below current spot.The 200 EMA at $4,300 is the line. Anything else is noise.The institutional range is wide. UBP holds a $6,000 year-end target, as my prior coverage of UBP's bullion repositioning detailed, while the consensus institutional clip tracked in the FinanceMagnates.com 2026 gold prediction roundup sits closer to $4,750. My read: the structural backdrop, central bank buying, supply discipline, dollar pressure, has not changed today. The price action has not changed today. What has changed is one more session of dollar strength inside an existing consolidation. That is a difference worth flagging.FAQWhy is gold going down today, May 4, 2026?Gold fell roughly 1.4% on Monday, May 4, 2026, to a session low of $4,560 because the US dollar index held above 98, ten-year Treasury yields traded in the 4.3-4.4% range, and a tanker was struck by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, reinforcing inflation concerns that keep the Fed on hold. Higher real yields raise the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset, even with active geopolitical risk in play.How low can gold go?If the $4,300 EMA cluster fails on a weekly closing basis, the next major support sits at $4,000, then $3,400, the April 2025 highs that capped price for four months on a 100% Fibonacci extension. That extreme scenario implies roughly 26% downside from current spot. The trigger I am watching is a weekly close below $4,281, the lower edge of the October 2025 highs cluster.What is the next major resistance for gold?The 50 EMA at $4,740 is the immediate dynamic resistance. Above it, the April 2026 highs near $4,840 cap the consolidation. A weekly close above $4,840 would reopen the path to $5,420, the January 28 record session high, with $5,595 as the all-time intraday high beyond that. Goldman Sachs' standing year-end 2026 target of $5,400 sits inside this corridor. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Market participants share their views on where investors can find value in Singapore’s equity market. HSBC’s Q1 2026 investment outlook report notes that Singapore continues to provide compelling dividend yields. Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!).The bank has an overweight view on Singapore stocks for their elevated dividends and defensive character, which it feels can help dampen portfolio volatility.Singapore Valuations Driven by Structural GrowthThis perspective is shared by Gidon Kessel, group head deposits and wealth management at UOB, who adds that domestic companies have displayed improving earnings momentum in a market with high-yielding stocks across different market capitalisations, including small- and mid-caps.Investors are responding to companies that are deliberately building capabilities, strengthening capital management discipline, improving disclosure and engaging more actively with the investor community to explain how shareholder value is created and sustained.“That said, valuation confidence tends to be stronger where company strategies are aligned with longer-term economic growth drivers, such as infrastructure renewal, energy transition, supply chain realignment and regional demand growth, rather than relying on cyclical or thematic sector momentum alone,” notes Geoff Howie, SGX market strategist.He expects stronger valuation confidence where companies invest in understanding their value drivers, articulate them clearly and communicate consistently across cycles. This includes clarity around capital allocation, operating metrics and risk management, rather than reliance on sector tailwinds or broad macro narratives.Investor Communication, Governance and Market DepthCommunications matter because even well-defined strategies are discounted if investors cannot understand them. Communities matter as peer learning, governance standards and market engagement help lift overall confidence and comparability.That is the view of Robin Harris, Ocorian's regional head of APAC, who says investors are increasingly focused on companies that use the current spotlight to commit to disciplined disclosure, consistent metrics and proactive investor engagement, supported by research coverage, institutional participation and a disclosure-based regulatory regime.“Together, these factors can deepen liquidity, strengthen price discovery and build a more compelling and resilient market for investors over the long term,” he adds.Banks and REITs Dominate Singapore’s Income ProfileThe Singapore market is concentrated in banks and REITs, which gives it a more income-driven profile. At the same time, it offers stability and steady earnings, which continues to appeal to institutional investors.On the macro side, geopolitical uncertainty and inflation risks are also influencing rate expectations, which in turn would affect how different sectors are going to be valued, explains Lydia Chin, senior manager fund solutions at Vistra in Singapore.“Banks and REITs remain key holdings for income-focused investors,” she says. “Banks continue to look resilient with strong earnings and dividends. REITs are more mixed, still under pressure from higher interest rates and refinancing costs, where we are seeing more selective repositioning rather than broad de-risking, particularly into higher quality, well-leased assets.”Earnings Outlook and Valuation BackdropPolicy reforms have gone some way to closing the liquidity discount that Singapore equities have carried for years. The earnings backdrop is solid — with banks in particular delivering — while the broader Straits Times Index, or STI (a market capitalisation-weighted index that tracks the performance of the top 30 companies listed on SGX), is on track for high single-digit earnings growth in 2026.“In addition, Singapore's safe haven appeal has driven real capital inflows that many other markets in the region simply aren't seeing, and a 4–5% dividend yield is hard to argue with in the current environment,” says Patrick Na, head of financial services South East Asia at TMF Group.He also acknowledges that a lot of the re-rating has already happened and, with the STI trading well above its historical average P/E, the market needs earnings to do the heavy lifting from here.Where Investors are Finding OpportunitiesAccording to Na, the most interesting opportunities are in small- and mid-caps, which trade at a meaningful discount to regional peers.“Within that universe, industrials and trade connectivity names are where I would focus attention,” he says. “On the large-cap side, the banks (DBS, OCBC and UOB) are hard to avoid. The dividend yields are attractive and the balance sheets are in good shape. S-REITs are worth a closer look too, particularly in data centres, logistics and hospitality, where the underlying demand story is strong and falling rates improve the economics.”“Telecoms — particularly Singtel — are interesting for a slightly different reason; there is asset monetisation potential there that I don't think the market has fully credited yet.”Jupiter Asset Management owns five stocks in Singapore, all with strong governance and balance sheets, observes investment manager of Asian equities Sam Konrad.“We see DBS as not just the best bank in Singapore but one of the best banks in the world,” he says. “ST Engineering is a very high-quality defence company in a sector with strong structural tailwinds, while Singtel gives us exposure to the telco markets of India, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as growth from data centres.”CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust owns some of the highest-profile office and retail assets in Singapore. The firm also owns Genting Singapore, an integrated resort with one of the two casino licences in the country, which it views as a way to play increased tourism and leisure spending in the region.Broad-based Sector Strength in 2026Almost all of Singapore’s equity sectors are “firing on all cylinders” for investors in 2026, reckons Robert St Clair, head of investment strategy at Fullerton.“Equity market alpha has broadened and deepened, with significant contributions from industrials (benefiting from robust external demand and productivity gains), financials (gaining from strong loan growth and non-interest income) and communications and utilities, where cost controls have been important,” he says.Defence is another sector that could still see good opportunities for growth due to current geopolitical uncertainties, adds Carmen Lee, head of equity research at OCBC.“With Singapore’s smart nation focus, we expect AI-related investments to be a strong long-term mega trend that will benefit companies that are either offering AI-related services or using AI to grow their businesses or reduce costs,” she says. “Core defensive industries in telecommunications and renewable energy are likely to remain preferred holdings.”Adeline Gao, research analyst at FSM Global, observes that the banking sector is expected to see net interest margin stabilisation this year, while wealth management remains a key growth driver supported by safe-haven inflows amid global uncertainty.“Beyond financials, Singapore’s semiconductor supply chain players are positioned to benefit from the ongoing global ‘giga cycle’, supporting both revenue growth and order visibility,” she says. “In addition, industrial names with exposure to defence and strong order backlogs are expected to deliver sustained earnings growth, supported by rising global defence spending and increased procurement activity.” This article was written by Paul Golden at www.financemagnates.com.

Broadridge Financial Solutions reported a sharp rise in activity on its distributed ledger-based repo platform in April, as volumes continued to expand. The company said its Distributed Ledger Repo processed an average of $368 billion in daily transactions during the month, bringing total volumes to nearly $8 trillion. The daily average was up 268% year on year and rose nearly 4% from March.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!).The results come amid Broadridge’s broader expansion into trading infrastructure and regulatory technology. It has agreed to acquire CQG, a provider of futures and options trading, execution management and market connectivity technology. The company has also launched a UK regulatory technology platform to help firms prepare for the Financial Conduct Authority’s Consumer Composite Investments regime, which will replace PRIIPs templates by June 2027.Tokenisation Drives Institutional Repo GrowthThe figures point to continued uptake among institutional users, with Broadridge linking the growth to increased use of tokenized real-asset settlement and broader adoption of distributed ledger technology in funding and collateral markets.Horacio Barakat, Global Head of Digital Innovation at Broadridge, said DLR is showing that tokenization can operate at scale within core market infrastructure. He said the platform is “expanding into new liquidity management use cases” and “integrating digital and traditional assets within a single framework,” while maintaining requirements for regulated markets.$BR Broadridge's Distributed Ledger Repo Achieves 268% Year Over Year Growth in Aprilhttps://t.co/9D20tC4HnF— Lycanbull (@Lycanbull) May 4, 2026Platform Combines On-Chain Off-Chain ProcessesDLR supports settlement of repo transactions on distributed ledger infrastructure, enabling intraday and sponsored repo activity and allowing collateral to move in real time between counterparties. The system combines on-chain and off-chain processes within existing trading and post-trade environments, aiming to improve capital efficiency without requiring parallel workflows.Broadridge also made a strategic investment in HQLAX in April, a provider of digital collateral mobility solutions, as part of its effort for collateral management and improve asset movement across securities finance markets. This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Prediction markets are increasingly being built on a small number of liquid venues, but accessed through a growing number of interfaces. Wallets, exchanges, and fintech apps are emerging as the main entry points, shifting competition toward distribution and user experience.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)According to Alvin Kan, this split between liquidity and access may define the next phase of the sector. Platforms like Bitget are focusing on access and usability, rather than building their own markets. The assumption is that adoption will depend more on how markets are accessed than where they are hosted. When Liquidity Meets Accessibility and User Experience The difference between using a native platform like Polymarket and accessing markets through a wallet lies in how users access and interpret them, Kan explains. “Platforms like Polymarket are effective at liquidity and price discovery, but they typically require users to navigate multiple steps and interpret raw probabilities independently. Bitget Wallet adds a layer focused on accessibility and usability,” he says. From an access standpoint, users can move from funding to execution within a single mobile interface, aiming to reduce friction. From an interpretation standpoint, AI-assisted analysis helps aggregate data, news, and on-chain signals into more structured insights. Kan describes this as a shift in the category, from building markets to making them easier to access and understand at scale. Integrations vs. Building Its Own Markets Rather than launching its own prediction market, Bitget Wallet chose to integrate with existing infrastructure, as what appears to matter most to users is access to deep, liquid, and diverse markets, Kan explains. “Building a prediction market from scratch requires significant time to bootstrap liquidity, and without that, pricing and participation tend to remain limited. Integrating with an established platform like Polymarket allows access to meaningful markets from the outset,” he says. However, this approach relies on external infrastructure for liquidity and market structure, limiting control over areas such as listings and monetisation. According to Kan, this trade-off is a deliberate choice, as the wallet focuses on improving access, usability, and distribution rather than rebuilding the market layer. How to Simplify the Complexity Prediction markets require users to understand probabilities, outcomes, and risk, which can be difficult without earlier experience. Within a wallet, this is combined with additional steps such as funding, transaction signing, and position management. According to Kan, making a complex product accessible is a main challenge. “The goal is to simplify this into a single, coherent user journey, from discovering markets to understanding them, to executing trades,” he says. “At the same time, it is critical to maintain clarity around risk and outcomes, so simplification does not come at the expense of transparency.” Compliance Tied to the Access Layer Kan points out that access is managed based on local regulatory requirements. This means that certain jurisdictions may have restrictions on prediction market participation. “As a self-custodial wallet, Bitget Wallet does not custody user assets or operate the underlying markets. Instead, it provides access to on-chain protocols while ensuring users are informed of applicable limitations and are expected to comply with local regulations.” This is consistent with a broader Web3 model, where infrastructure and interface layers are distinct, but compliance considerations remain relevant at the point of access. Where Users Will Access Prediction Markets Over Time Kan expects a hybrid model to emerge. “Dedicated platforms like Polymarket will remain central to liquidity and price discovery, particularly for more active or experienced users,” he says. However, broader adoption is likely to come through more familiar environments such as wallets and exchanges. Users are less likely to navigate separate platforms for each interaction and more likely to engage through environments where their assets are already held. “Over time, we expect liquidity to concentrate, while access becomes more distributed. Wallets are well-positioned to serve as that entry point, making prediction markets more accessible without changing where the underlying markets operate.” This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

If you spend any time in conversations about AI and financial services, you'll notice they tend to follow a pattern. Someone mentions faster execution. Someone else raises smarter signals. Personalisation at scale comes up. Frictionless everything. Everyone nods. It's not that any of it is wrong. It's that it skips the part that actually matters.I've been in financial services long enough to know that the interesting questions about any new technology are rarely about what it can do. They're about what happens when it lands in the real world, in the hands of people with very different levels of experience, making decisions under genuine uncertainty. That's the conversation we need to be having about AI right now. And I don't think we're quite there yet.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)What's Already in the RoomLet's be clear about one thing: AI isn't coming to trading. It's already here. It's been here for a while. It's just unevenly distributed and not always well understood. At the institutional end, this isn't news. Algorithmic and AI-driven execution, real-time sentiment analysis, and high-frequency pattern recognition have been standard practice for years. What's newer is the application of large language models to unstructured data: Earnings call transcripts, regulatory filings, and news flow.The ability to process and synthesise that kind of material faster than any human team is genuinely changing how institutional research and risk assessment work. That's a meaningful shift. For retail, the change has been more visible but perhaps less examined. AI-powered charting tools, personalised market summaries, automated alerts, in-app education: these have become fairly standard across most major platforms. But what's less visible, and arguably more consequential, is what's happening in the background - onboarding decision automation, suitability assessments, detection of unusual trading patterns that might indicate a problem. That's where AI is doing some of its most important work, quietly, without much fanfare.What's ComingThe next wave is less about execution and more about judgment. Agentic AI is what I watch most closely. The ability of AI systems to take sequences of actions on their own, to research, assess and act without needing a human prompt at every step, is already being tested in institutional settings. For retail, the implications are significant and not yet fully worked through. An AI system that monitors a portfolio and flags when something has changed materially is one thing. An AI that decides what to do about it is quite another. That distinction matters, and the industry needs to think carefully about where it draws the line.Personalisation is the other big one. The combination of behavioural data, trading history and AI modelling is producing systems that can genuinely adapt to individual users in ways that simply weren't possible before. For financial education, which I care about a lot, this is genuinely exciting. The ability to deliver the right context to the right person at the right moment, rather than generic content that may or may not land, could change how people engage with markets in a real and lasting way.Risk management is moving from detection to prediction, too. Identifying the patterns that tend to precede bad outcomes, rather than just flagging them after the fact. For anyone serious about client protection, that's one of the most valuable things on the horizon.The Bit that Keeps Me Up at NightThe same capabilities that make AI genuinely useful in the hands of a well-run, well-governed platform also make it genuinely dangerous in the hands of one that isn't. An AI optimised for engagement rather than outcomes could learn, very efficiently, how to keep people trading, even when that is not in their best interests. It will surface content that stimulates rather than informs. It will personalise in ways that exploit the biases it identifies rather than counteract them. AI doesn't change the incentive; it just makes the execution more precise. Whether AI accelerates the good version of what platforms can do, or the bad version, comes down entirely to intent and governance. That's it. We discussed governance at length at the House of Lords this week. The question isn't whether AI can increase the volume of information available to people. It's whether it improves the quality of the decisions they make with that information. Those are genuinely different problems. The governance frameworks being built right now, in regulation, in business practice, in how platforms are designed, will determine which one gets solved. The FCA's Consumer Duty is a step in the right direction. Requiring firms to demonstrate good outcomes rather than just disclose risks creates real accountability for how AI gets used. But regulation sets the floor. What happens above it is down to us. The firms that earn trust over the long term will be the ones that treat governance as a design principle, not a compliance exercise, and build AI that makes people better at decisions. Not just faster at making them. This article was written by Rupert Osborne at www.financemagnates.com.

Bitcoin (BTC) is surging at $79,810 on Monday, May 4, 2026, after touching $80,393 in early Singapore hours, the cryptocurrency's highest print since Jan. 31, 2026. The move pushed BTC above the $80,000 psychological level for the first time in three months and reclaimed the bull market support band that had capped every recovery attempt since November 2025. Asian equity benchmarks neared record highs in the same session, and Ether traded higher in sympathy. The rally followed President Donald Trump's announcement that the United States had responded to Iran's 14-point peace proposal and would begin escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, sending U.S. crude futures lower by nearly 5% and easing the macro headwind that had weighed on risk assets through the first quarter.Follow me on X for real-time Bitcoin analysis: @ChmielDkWhy Bitcoin Is Surging Today?Iran De-escalation, Oil Drop, and the $80K Psychological BreakThe catalyst stack is geopolitical first, technical second. Brent crude fell to $107 per barrel from a four-year high after Iran sent its updated proposal to mediators in Pakistan on May 1, and the U.S. response signaled a path away from a full Strait of Hormuz closure that had kept oil-linked inflation expectations elevated for two months. Risk assets reopened the conversation about Federal Reserve policy as soon as the oil tape moved."Markets are consolidating in a cautious tone as Middle East tensions drive oil-linked inflation risks, keeping the US Dollar supported and central bank expectations tilted hawkish while limiting conviction across risk assets," said Joel Kruger, Market Analyst at LMAX Group. Kruger's read frames the move as a relief rally rather than a decisive trend break, with the dollar trajectory still the gating variable for risk assets.The same dynamic played out in the FinanceMagnates.com April analysis on the Iran ceasefire and short squeeze setup, which tracked $471 million in single-day spot ETF inflows on April 6 and a $427 million short squeeze as the precursor conditions to the $80,000 test now unfolding. Three further drivers compound the move:Trump-Iran de-escalation: U.S. crude futures fell roughly 5%, with Brent at $107 from a four-year high near $130Strait of Hormuz commercial escort: removes the immediate tail-risk premium on oil and dollarBull market support band reclaim: first BTC close above the band in six monthsCME gap fill thesis: $79K-$84K gap pulls price toward the upper consolidation bandAverage ETF cost basis at $83K: mechanical magnet if the breakout holdsBitcoin ETF Flows and On-Chain Signals: The Institutional Bid UnderneathSpot Bitcoin ETF demand explains the timing of the breakout. April closed with $2.44 billion in net inflows, the strongest institutional month since October 2025, while May-to-date net inflows have already cleared $629 million per fund-level tracking. Cumulative net inflows since the January 2024 launch stand at $58.5 billion, with BlackRock's IBIT holding roughly 812,000 BTC and commanding 62% market share. Morgan Stanley's MSBT, which launched April 8, drew over $100 million in its first six trading days.The on-chain ledger reinforces the flow story. Wallets holding 1,000 BTC or more have added 270,000 BTC over the last 30 days, the largest single-month accumulation since 2013, while exchange reserves have fallen to a 7-year low last seen in December 2017. Both signals point to long-term holder absorption rather than retail-driven momentum.The risk gauge sits in the recent ETF tape. April 29 saw $89 million in net IBIT outflows, the largest single-day sell-off of the month and the end of a nine-day consecutive inflow streak. As the FinanceMagnates.com eToro CEO Bitcoin price prediction analysis detailed, weekly ETF inflows of $1.1 billion in mid-April were already tracking the strongest pace since January, and a sustained reversal would put the breakout thesis on hold.Bitcoin Technical Analysis: $75K Floor, $82K Ceiling, $92K-$98K If Breakout HoldsMy daily chart shows Bitcoin testing the upper boundary of a four-month consolidation range that runs from roughly $75,000 to just under $82,000. The $75,000 floor is reinforced by November 2025 lows, by the mid-March local top now flipped to support, and by the rising 50-day moving average converging into the same zone. The 200-day moving average sits just above the consolidation top at roughly $82,000, creating a confluence of resistance that has rejected every previous test since January.Today's $80,393 print breaks the consolidation top from the November range but stops short of the 200 EMA. As I wrote in my $74K target analysis two weeks ago, accumulation at $74K-$76K levels was the setup; today's session is the first confirmation that buyers showed up.As I wrote during the March bounce coverage, the bounce off $63,000 lacked the institutional-flow profile that this one has.In 15 years covering crypto and forex markets as Damian Chmiel, I've watched the 200-day EMA decide every multi-month BTC consolidation since 2022. The next daily close above $82,000 is the only confirmation that matters on my framework; everything before that is a wick."Bitcoin update. The price nicely held that $74k-76k zone and BTC is now trading above $80k. I personally hate early week breakouts but now that we have this breakout, today's low is going to be key to hold moving forward," wrote Crypto Mechanic on X. Bitcoin updateThe price nicely held that $74k-76k zone and $BTC is now trading above $80k.I personally hate early week breakouts but now that we have this breakout, today’s low is going to be key to hold moving forward. We can keep this low as our invalidation for further… https://t.co/mxqv3LwRU1 pic.twitter.com/2gAtefP8ua— Crypto Mechanic (@CryptomechanicX) May 4, 2026The trader's framing matches my read: today's daily low becomes the breakout invalidation level, and a daily close back below it puts BTC inside the consolidation band again.If BTC fails to clear $82,000 on a daily close, my base case is a corrective retest of $75,000. A break of $75,000 opens $66,000 as the next stop, with $61,000 to $62,600 as the deeper structural floor. A clean break above $82,000 unlocks the $92,000 to $98,000 zone last traded five months ago.Bitcoin Price Predictions: Bull and Bear ScenariosExternal targets remain wide. As I covered in my April $240K bull-case analysis, Q1 2026 ETF inflows reached $18.7 billion despite a 23% price drop, and institutional conviction never disappeared. The FinanceMagnates.com Standard Chartered and Bernstein revision report still puts year-end 2026 consensus at $150,000."Bitcoin broke above $80k. Highest in 3 months, key psychological level, middle of massive CME gap, above Bull Market Support Band for first time in 6 months, above key on-chain levels," posted Nic on X. Bitcoin broke above $80k!Here's why that's important:- Highest in 3 months- Key psychological level- Middle of massive CME gap ($79k - 84k)- Above Bull Market Support Band for first time in 6 months- Above key on-chain levels (True market mean, Short-term holder realised… pic.twitter.com/KawYtnqcdX— Nic (@nicrypto) May 4, 2026The trader flagged $83,000 as the average ETF cost basis and $84,500 as the closed CME gap target. Both sit inside my consolidation top zone, which means neither would confirm a directional trend on my framework; the 200 EMA does that work.Bitcoin Price Prediction FAQWhy is Bitcoin price going up today?Bitcoin is up over 2% to $79,810 on Monday, May 4, 2026, on three converging catalysts: Trump's response to Iran's 14-point peace proposal cooled oil-linked inflation expectations, Brent crude fell to $107 from a four-year high, and BTC reclaimed the bull market support band for the first time in six months. ETF flows turned positive in late April after a brief reversal, with $629 million in MTD inflows.How high can Bitcoin go in May 2026?My daily chart targets the $92,000 to $98,000 zone on a clean daily close above $82,000, the December 2025 to January 2026 highs cluster. Below that, the immediate technical magnets are $83,000 (average ETF cost basis) and $84,500 (closed CME gap). The 24/7 Wall St consensus pegs the May range at $73,500 to $83,500, with $85,000 to $88,000 unlocked only on a confirmed $80,000 monthly close.What does Bitcoin need to break above $80,000 sustainably?A daily close above the 200-day moving average at roughly $82,000 is the only confirmation that matters on my framework. Anything below that level keeps BTC inside the consolidation band that has defined trading since November 2025. The supporting conditions are continued spot ETF inflows above $300 million weekly, no Iran ceasefire collapse, and a softer dollar tone from the incoming Fed Chair this month.Where would Bitcoin go if the $80,000 breakout fails?A failed daily close above $82,000 sends BTC back to test the $75,000 floor, where the 50-day moving average and the November 2025 lows form the strongest confluence on the chart. A break of $75,000 opens $66,000 as the next stop, the early April 2026 swing low. Below $66,000, the deeper structural floor sits at $61,000 to $62,600, the lower consolidation boundary.What are Bitcoin price predictions for 2026?Year-end 2026 institutional targets span $130,000 (Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas, on the lower end) to $225,000 (Bit Mining's Wei Yang, on the bullish side). Consensus clusters at $150,000, the figure Standard Chartered and Bernstein both adopted in their December 2025 revisions. Grayscale projects a new all-time high above $126,198 by mid-2026, contingent on improving macro conditions and sustained ETF inflows. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Institutional FX trading volumes pulled back across major venues in April, with most platforms giving up a meaningful share of the gains they had posted a month earlier, as a US-Iran ceasefire and a softer dollar tone cooled the safe-haven activity that had powered first-quarter readings.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)FXSpotStream April ADV Falls to $142.3 BillionFXSpotStream, the multibank liquidity aggregation service, reported total average daily volume (ADV) of $142.3 billion for April, down roughly 18% from the $173.60 billion peak it set in March. Spot ADV came in at $100 billion, with the "other products" category contributing $42 billion.The platform still tracked above its year-ago readings. FXSpotStream had reported $122 billion in ADV for April 2025, putting this April roughly 17% higher year-over-year, even after the monthly slide.Cboe FX Surrenders Most of March GainCboe's spot FX platform processed total volumes of $1.18 trillion across 22 trading days, with ADV of $53.85 billion. That sits well below March's $74.47 billion daily print, a reading the company at the time described as a record on the back of a 43% year-on-year jump.The April number is also lower than the same month a year earlier, when Cboe's daily average reached $61.9 billion as Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement on April 2, 2025 set off a heavy round of dollar selling and pulled traders into the venue.The retreat lands at a notable moment for the exchange. Cboe Global Markets reported first-quarter earnings on May 1, with revenue up 29% year-on-year to $728.9 million on the back of derivatives, equities and FX activity, even as it confirmed plans to cut headcount by about 20%.April 2026 Institutional FX Volumes at a GlanceIran Ceasefire Unwinds Safe-Haven Dollar BidApril's calmer FX backdrop traces back to a US-Iran two-week ceasefire announced on April 8, which triggered a sharp reversal in the dollar and oil. Brent crude fell below $100 a barrel for the first time since the conflict began in late February, removing the inflation pressure that had been propping up the safe-haven bid.That setup was a near mirror image of March, when escalating Middle East tensions, a roughly 3% Bloomberg Dollar Index gain and oil pushing toward $120 had channeled flow into spot FX venues. With the geopolitical risk premium fading through much of April, traders had less reason to reposition aggressively.The contrast with April 2025 also runs the other way. A year ago, Trump's tariff rollout on April 2 had driven record activity across both retail brokers and institutional platforms, with FXSpotStream notching a 33% year-on-year rise and Cboe its strongest April on record at the time.360T and Euronext FX Slide as Calendar Holds SteadyDeutsche Börse's 360T processed total volumes of $858 billion in April with ADV of $39 billion, down from $48.93 billion in March. The April figure is essentially flat against the $39.58 billion the platform reported in April 2025, a notable softening given how much the broader institutional FX backdrop has improved over the past year.Euronext FX took a sharper hit. The platform recorded total volumes of $646.2 billion with ADV of $28.1 billion, down nearly 30% from March's $39.71 billion and roughly 24% below the $37.21 billion daily average it posted in April 2025. The gap with 360T, which had narrowed to $9 billion per session in March, widened back to about $11 billion in April.Both platforms ran across the same 22 trading days as Cboe and FXSpotStream, so the calendar offers no easy explanation for the slide.Tokyo Yen Pairs Buck the Trend on Turkish Lira SurgeThe Tokyo Financial Exchange's Click 365 platform was the lone outlier. The venue reported 1,999,422 contracts traded in April, up 0.8% from March, with ADV of 90,885 contracts. Year-on-year, however, the platform was still down 11.8%, reflecting tough April 2025 comparables when USD/JPY trading surged 61.6% month-on-month on tariff-driven yen volatility.The standout story sits in the exotic crosses. Turkish lira to yen volume reached 612,981 contracts, up 28.5% from March and a striking 220.4% year-on-year, putting it ahead of USD/JPY as the platform's most actively traded pair. USD/JPY itself came in at 501,430 contracts, up 4.2% month-on-month but down 41.9% from a year earlier. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has reminded digital asset firms that they have less than two months to lodge an Australian Financial Services (AFS) license application or risk falling foul of the country's financial services laws.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)The Clock Is Ticking on Australia's Crypto License SweepThe regulator said today (Monday) that providers offering services tied to digital asset financial products must decide whether they need a new AFS license, or a variation to an existing one, and apply by June 30, 2026. After that date, ASIC's sector-wide no-action position falls away, exposing unlicensed firms to civil and criminal penalties that can reach up to 10% of annual turnover.Companies seeking an Australian Market Licence or a Clearing and Settlement facility license face an additional step. They must notify ASIC in writing of their intention to apply and hold a pre-application meeting before the same June 30 deadline.ASIC's Information Sheet 225, refreshed last year, now classifies stablecoins, wrapped tokens, tokenised securities and digital asset wallets as financial products under the Corporations Act.That definition pulls a much wider slice of the local crypto industry into the AFS licensing perimeter than the previous interpretation, which centered on platforms trading conventional digital tokens.What the No-Action Window Actually BuysThe no-action letter, published in October 2025, gave providers a runway to digest the updated guidance and either apply for fresh authorizations or vary existing ones. ASIC has said the position is not a safe harbor against private litigation or non-ASIC enforcement, and it expires for everyone on the same date.Some firms can comply by becoming an authorized representative of an existing AFS licensee rather than securing their own license, depending on the services they provide. ASIC has also kept in place earlier relief instruments covering the distribution of certain stablecoins and wrapped tokens. Those carve-outs currently apply to a single issuer, Catena Digital, which issues the AUDM stablecoin.The licensing pipeline has already started to swell. ASIC granted 290 new AFS licenses in the financial year to June 2025 while cancelling or suspending 215 others, with applications from digital asset operators rising notably, Commissioner Alan Kirkland said at the time.How Australia's Approach Compares to Global PeersAustralia is moving toward a destination several other major jurisdictions have already reached, though by a different route. The European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation took full effect in December 2024, requiring exchanges, wallet providers and stablecoin issuers to obtain a MiCA license to operate across the bloc. Penalties for non-compliance under MiCA can reach 12.5% of annual turnover, slightly above Australia's threshold.In Asia, Hong Kong opened its stablecoin licensing regime in April and granted its first approvals to HSBC and Anchorpoint. Japan moved its crypto sector under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act earlier this year and banned insider trading in digital assets. Singapore continues to license payment service providers under its 2019 Payment Services Act.Enforcement Track Record Adds PressureRecent enforcement gives the deadline real teeth. The Federal Court of Australia fined Binance Australia Derivatives AU$10 million in March after the company admitted misclassifying more than 85% of its local clients. In December 2024, Bit Trade, the local operator of Kraken, paid AU$8 million over a leveraged margin extension product the court found breached design and distribution obligations.ASIC has also flagged offshore venues offering high-leverage products to Australians, including a public warning against Bitget over its 125x crypto futures. The regulator has signalled that the same scrutiny will follow firms that miss the AFS license window.A Second Deadline Comes in 2027The June 30 cutoff is not the end of the road. The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026, which cleared parliament on April 1, received Royal Assent on April 8 and commences April 9, 2027. It introduces dedicated authorizations for digital asset platforms and tokenized custody platforms, both supervised by ASIC.Many firms that secure an AFS license under the current INFO 225 guidance will need to add DAP or TCP authorizations once the new regime starts. ASIC has published a roadmap covering its consultation timetable and the operational standards it expects to set during the 18-month implementation period."Licensing firms improves investor protections and provides greater certainty to providers to operate under the law," ASIC said in its statement. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Sky Links Capital said it expects client trading volume in gold spot to climb 30% and gold futures to rise 27.5% in the first half of 2026 versus the second half of 2025, the broker disclosed in a platform update today (Monday). The Dubai-based firm did not provide the underlying dollar figures behind those percentages, leaving the scale of the activity unclear.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)Sky Links Capital Forecasts 30% Gold Volume Jump for H1 2026The broker, founded in mid-2024 by former BDSwiss MENA chief executive Daniel Takieddine, also projects gold spot growth of 25% in the second quarter of 2026 versus the first quarter, and gold futures growth of 30% over the same period. The figures come from internal platform data and current run-rate assumptions, the company said, with the second quarter only one month old."Gold volume is a useful proxy for how clients behave when risk is front of mind," said Daniel Takieddine, co-founder and chief executive of Sky Links Capital Group."In periods of heightened volatility, trading activity often concentrates in a small number of highly liquid markets."Sky Links Capital described gold spot as the largest share of activity on its platform, followed by gold futures and EUR/USD. For historical context, the firm said gold spot volume rose 18.8% between the first and second halves of 2025. None of those figures arrived with the absolute volume base they refer to.Competitors Disclose Trillions in Q1 VolumesThe lack of absolute numbers stands out against a wave of broker disclosures over the past two weeks, most measured in trillions of dollars. CFI Financial Group reported $2.3 trillion in trading volume for the first quarter of 2026, up 11% quarter on quarter and 81% year on year, with 2025 full-year volume reaching $6.4 trillion. EC Markets posted $5.13 trillion for the same period, while Capital.com reported $1.27 trillion.CFD broker ACCM also leaned on gold to drive its Q1 numbers, posting $2.14 trillion in total volume with gold accounting for 91% of CFD activity. Within ACCM's data, gold trading reached $1.09 trillion in March alone, with the broker disclosing both the share and the dollar figure. Capital.com offered similar granularity, noting January was its busiest month with around $502 billion in volume and that gold accounted for 59% of the month's activity.Other brokers have also put numbers on the table. Hantec Markets reported Q1 volume of $1.2 trillion, while Startrader said it processed $3.1 trillion in the first three months of the year. Gold Backdrop Has Cooled Since the January PeakThe metal driving these volume disclosures has been one of the most volatile assets of 2026 so far. Spot gold pushed to a record intraday level above $5,500 per ounce in late January, with the World Gold Council placing the historical high at $5,405 and an intraday peak near $5,589 on January 28. Prices have since pulled back toward the $4,600 area amid hawkish Federal Reserve signaling and dollar strength, as reported by FinanceMagnates.com last week.Despite the correction, gold remains the dominant retail trading instrument across CFD brokers. Industry data has shown gold contracts accounting for as much as 80% to 90% of metals CFD volumes at some firms during the rally, a concentration that has reshaped how brokers manage liquidity and risk on a single instrument.Equity Desk ActivationAlongside the volume update, Sky Links Capital said it has activated a Dedicated Equity Desk for professional and sophisticated investors, offering execution in cash equities and equity CFDs subject to instrument availability and applicable rules. The firm holds a Category 5 license from the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority, secured in early 2025, alongside entities registered in Mauritius and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Takieddine launched the broker in mid-2024 after leading BDSwiss in the MENA region, and incorporated a Dubai International Financial Centre holding company last year."Sustained engagement comes from clarity and reliability, especially when markets are noisy," said Apollo Irungbam, head of marketing at Sky Links Capital. "Clients want a stable operating model, plain-language support, and execution workflows that match how they trade across markets."The broader retail FX and CFD industry now has 7.42 million active accounts, according to FM Intelligence data, with named-broker volume comparisons available across the group. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

FundedHive founder and chief executive Thomas Heinfart called the prop trading industry's consistency rule FundedHive CEO Calls Consistency Rule “a Payout Trap” in Pointed Industry Critiquea and said only a single-digit percentage of his traders stay funded long term, in remarks published this week by ResponsibleTrading.com.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)"The one rule we would remove from the industry is the consistency rule, because in most cases it is not a real risk-management tool. It is a payout trap," Heinfart said. The rule, applied in different versions across the sector, typically caps the share of total profit that can come from a single trading day, requiring traders to keep trading until results look more evenly distributed before they can withdraw.Heinfart said FundedHive operates "zero consistency rules on any of our challenges," alongside no IP restrictions, and that the firm permits gold trading and news trading. He framed the issue as a question of business model rather than trader leniency. "The biggest mistake many failed firms made was that they were not built as risk-management businesses. They were built as marketing machines," he added.Industry Pushback Against Consistency Rules Is Not NewMyFundedFX introduced a 50% consistency guideline in July 2024 and reversed it two weeks later after sustained client pushback. A PipFarm survey of around 500 active prop traders, exclusively shared with FinanceMagnates.com the following month, found 53% of respondents listed consistency rules among the features they most wanted to avoid in a prop firm offering, second only to trailing drawdown.Consistency-style mechanics still appear in different forms across the sector's largest firms. FundedNext, FundingPips, and Hola Prime all build their funded-stage rules around minimum trading days and structures that reward steady performance, with FundedNext requiring a minimum of two trading days on its Stellar 1-Step program and FundingPips applying a three-day minimum on its 1-step path.Heinfart drew a distinction between rules in general and how rules are used. "The honest answer is that prop firm challenges are supposed to be difficult, because real capital exposure cannot be given to traders without proof of risk control," he said. "The problem is not that rules exist. The problem is when rules are hidden, vague, changed retroactively, or used manually to avoid paying traders."Trust Concerns Sit at the Heart of the SectorThe sector has spent the past 18 months absorbing trust-related shocks. The Funded Trader suspended payouts in March 2024 citing an internal audit and was still working through the backlog more than a year later. FundingTicks faced trader backlash in December 2025 over what clients called retroactive changes to profit splits and trade-holding rules. Hola Prime more recently hired Deloitte to audit five months of withdrawals, with the Big Four firm reporting that 98.35% of payouts cleared within an hour and none were rejected.Heinfart said FundedHive has not changed rules retroactively on existing funded accounts. "This is one of the most important trust principles in our company," he said. He also told ResponsibleTrading.com that the firm's payouts execute through smart contracts and that manual denial is not possible once eligibility is confirmed, with withdrawals typically processed in under 60 seconds, according to the company. Those claims have not been independently audited.Pass Rates Stay Low Across the IndustryAsked about FPFX Technology data showing only 7% of challenge buyers ever receive a payout, Heinfart said "the 7% figure does not surprise us" and called it a realistic number for traditional two-step models. He said FundedHive's faster one-step and instant-funding products produce withdrawal ratios in the 20% to 30% range, though those figures are self-reported.Asked what share of his traders he believed had what it takes to stay funded long-term, defined as remaining eligible across multiple payout cycles, Heinfart was more candid. "Honestly it is a single-digit percentage. Probably under 10%," he said. The Funded Trader's own client statistics, shared earlier this year, suggested only 1% to 2% of its clients ultimately make money on the platform.Heinfart's advice for traders trying to maximize the chances of getting paid played to the same theme. "Stop trying to 'beat the challenge' and trade as if you are already managing real A-book exposure, because the traders who get paid are usually not the ones taking the biggest shots, they are the ones who stay eligible, controlled, and consistent," he said.RegulationOn regulation, Heinfart said the industry could not assume it would stay outside the perimeter forever. "We do not believe serious prop trading should be treated as gambling. But we also do not believe the whole industry can hide behind the word 'evaluation' and pretend regulation never applies," he said. The remarks come as ESMA, the FCA, and the CFTC continue to study how prop trading firms should be classified, with the CFTC's case against My Forex Funds dismissed in May 2025.Asked which competitor he respects most, Heinfart named FTMO, the Czech firm that acquired OANDA in 2025. He said the company "proved something important: a prop firm can become a serious global company when it builds brand trust, technology, operational discipline, and long-term infrastructure instead of only selling hype." This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.