Once again, the Retail FX and CFD trading industry headlines this week were dominated by prop trading firms and the changing relationship between props and the online brokers they use, as well as the companies that build the trading platforms used by prop trading steady clients.
But there was much more…
Which FCA, CySEC and UAE licensed retail FX and CFD broker was acquired this week in a management buyout?
Which long-running lawsuit brought by OANDA against competitor StoneX (operator of the Forex.com and City Index brands) was dismissed by an Illinois court?
Some of the most read and commented FX/CFD industry news that appeared in the last seven days on FNG include:
Exclusive: HYCM control is being sold through a management buyout. Exclusive FNG… FNG has learned that ownership of Retail FX and CFDs brokerage brand HYCM is changing hands, in a management buyout that is still in process. Buying control of HYCM are Roger Bach and Stavros Lambouris, two long-time senior executives of the HYCM Group. The brokerage was known as Henyep and as HY Markets, which was fully rebranded as HYCM in 2016,
Eightcap says ‘business as usual’, remains excited about the future of the support industry. Australia-based Retail FX and CFDs broker Eightcap has issued a statement, saying previous reports (including here on FNG) that it is reducing brokerage services across all trading firms are misleading and that it remains excited about the future of CFDs. Forex and Prop industries.
Funding Pips Brand Company Discontinues Services. Following the recent service outages experienced by Dubai-based trading firm Funded Engineer and Hungary-based True Forex Funds, another Dubai-based firm called Funding Pips has also effectively shut down. In a statement posted on its website, Funding Pips says that Cyprus-based MT4/MT5 developer MetaQuotes has abruptly stopped its services due to active accounts in the US. The notice stated that Funding Pips’ partner broker (edited by: BlackBull Markets) did not terminate the partnership, but was actually forced (by MetaQuotes) to let them go.
Funded Engineer delays restart, switches to Blueberry Markets broker. Exclusive FNG… FNG has learned that Dubai-based commercial products company Funded Engineer is delaying the restart of its services after its software licenses were terminated by technology provider FPFX Technologies last week. FNG has also learned that Funded Engineer – in addition to the so-called change to its own internal technology and platform – is changing the broker it uses for all client trades, from Purple Trading Seychelles to Australia-based Blueberry Markets through its offshore arm her. Blueberry Markets (V) based in Vanuatu.
Court dismisses OANDA’s patent infringement claims against StoneX. The Northern District Court of Illinois dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit brought by OANDA against StoneX. The decision was signed by the Honorable John J. Tharp, Jr. on February 14, 2024. Plaintiff OANDA Corporation and Defendant StoneX Group, Inc. are both providers of online forex trading and information services. OANDA has sued StoneX for patent infringement under 35 USC § 1 et seq., alleging that StoneX’s trading platform infringes three of OANDA’s patents. The Court found that OANDA’s arguments were not convincing.
Top FX industry executive moves reported on FNG this week included:
❑ Exclusive: Isabella Mannucci leaves Trade Nation for LaTAM BizDev position at ATC Brokers.
❑ Exclusive: ATFX MENA hires ThinkMarkets/Amana alum Aditya Singh as Director of Institutional BD and Product.
❑ Exclusive: TRAction hires former 1Market/UFX executive Melina Theodorou in Law.
❑ Options Technology appoints Marlena Efstratopoulou as Chief Information Security Officer.
❑ NatWest appoints Paul Thwaite as Group Chief Executive.