FTMO Acquires OANDA
We’re within the second month of 2025, and the FX panorama is already present process a seismic shift. Proprietary buying and selling powerhouse FTMO acquired retail brokerage large OANDA, a uncommon transfer in an trade the place such acquisitions are removed from the norm.
Since 1996, OANDA has been thought of one of many leaders and pioneers in on-line buying and selling, together with CFDs. In 2018, it was acquired by CVC Capital Companions, a fund managing almost $200 billion.
What was as soon as one of many prime three brokerage corporations worldwide was reportedly weakened by the fund’s administration. Coupled with rising competitors, this resulted within the agency’s gradual decline. Trade specialists now view the takeover as an indication of broader developments forward because the rising prop buying and selling house continues to evolve.
Final yr, stories emerged that OANDA was a possible acquisition goal. The agency, a distinguished model within the foreign exchange and contracts for variations (CFDs) brokerage house, was put up on the market by its proprietor, CVC Capital Companions, an Amsterdam-listed buyout agency. It supplied buying and selling companies in international change, equities, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.
Curiously, FTMO had substantial money earlier than the acquisition. On the finish of 2023, the prop buying and selling large reportedly had over CZK 1.94 billion (over USD 81.5 million) in money, a rise of about 275 % in comparison with the earlier yr. Earlier, Finance Magnates reported that the prop buying and selling large generated virtually CZK 5 billion (over $213 million) in income in 2023, a 20 % enhance.
MetaTrader Will increase Charges
Away from acquisitions, MetaQuotes Software program, the dominant supplier of buying and selling platform know-how, carried out a major value enhance for its flagship MetaTrader merchandise, affecting brokers worldwide. Trade sources confirmed to Finance Magnates that the rise ranged between 20% and 25%, translating into extra 1000’s of {dollars} in month-to-month expenditures within the more and more aggressive contracts for variations (CFD) trade.
Notably, the corporate’s 20–25% value hike, efficient January 1, pushes the month-to-month price for a complete MetaTrader package deal to roughly greater than $50,000 for brokers utilizing each MT4 and MT5 platforms, Finance Magnates RU realized. MetaQuotes justified the rise in a shopper memo, citing rising operational prices and investments in service high quality.
A screenshot of MetaQuotes’ discover despatched to its shoppers
CFI Posts Document $1.12 Trillion Buying and selling Quantity
In monetary information, CFI Monetary Group reported its highest-ever quarterly buying and selling quantity of $1.12 trillion, up from $1.03 trillion within the third quarter, as the net buying and selling supplier expanded its geographic footprint.
In response to figures launched this week, the Dubai-based firm’s second-half quantity reached $2.15 trillion, a leap of greater than 140% in comparison with the identical interval a yr earlier. CFI additionally reported a 27% quarter-over-quarter enhance in lively shoppers and a 39% rise in shopper deposits throughout This fall.
NAGA Achieves Money Break-Even
The NAGA Group AG, the supplier of the all-in-one monetary SuperApp NAGA, reported preliminary figures for the monetary yr 2024, aligning with its expectations. The corporate centered on finishing the advanced reverse merger between the previous CAPEX Group and The Naga Group.
The merger was finalized in August 2024, marking the beginning of the mixing course of. This included migrating clients to a single know-how platform and optimizing human sources.
“Merchants Gravitate In direction of Established Names, We Should Construct Belief”: Ultima Markets’ Yiu
In the meantime, Finance Magnates lately talked to Ernest Yiu, Vice President of Advertising at Ultima Markets, in regards to the dealer’s plans and challenges. “One of many largest challenges we confronted as a brand new model was constructing belief and recognition in a aggressive market,” Ernest Yiu informed Finance Magnates.
“Merchants usually gravitate in the direction of established names out of behavior, which implies we needed to work more durable to show our reliability, transparency, and dedication to offering distinctive service,” he added.
We’re proud to hitch the UN @globalcompact🌍 Hear from our Board Advisor on why this step issues and the way we’re driving company sustainability ahead.
Watch full video right here: https://t.co/kG2nWHCy40#UNGlobalCompact #Sustainability #CorporateResponsibility pic.twitter.com/MWrtlWJV7K
— Ultima Markets (@UltimaMarkets) December 17, 2024
Binary Choices Reappear in Israel
The Israel Securities Authority, which oversees the nation’s monetary market, has issued a public warning in opposition to a binary choices buying and selling platform, Pocket Possibility, which targets merchants within the nation.
Pocket Possibility’s web site exhibits that it’s operated by an entity registered in Costa Rica. It additionally states that it “doesn’t present service to residents of the EEA international locations, USA, Israel, UK and Japan.” Binary choices are derivatives that enable merchants to invest on whether or not the worth of the underlying asset will go up or down inside a specified timeframe, starting from a couple of seconds to a number of days.
CFTC Targets Crypto.com for Tremendous Bowl Trades
Miles away, the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee launched an investigation into Tremendous Bowl-related occasion contracts supplied by Crypto.com and Kalshi, questioning their compliance with derivatives rules as the marketplace for sports-based buying and selling merchandise expands quickly.
This growth pressured Robinhood to droop providing Tremendous Bowl occasion contracts solely a day after itemizing them, reportedly on the request of the commodities regulator. The CFTC’s investigation facilities on whether or not these sports-focused occasion contracts qualify as gaming below current rules
Fintech corporations spent huge on Tremendous Bowl adverts in 2024, and this yr, the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley backs Ramp in a strategic play for the longer term.
The Tremendous Bowl is not only a battle of soccer titans, on this case the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s a high-stakes promoting showdown the place manufacturers combat for visibility, affect, and cultural cachet. This yr, fintech unicorn Papaya International is coming into the sector, making a daring assertion with its debut Tremendous Bowl advert.
Goodbye to Low cost On-line Procuring—Trump Closes de Minimis Loophole
Lastly, within the world political scene, Trump shut down the de minimis exemption, a loophole that enabled the duty-free import of low-cost items, driving up costs and inflicting delays for internet buyers. As soon as upon a time, internet buyers within the US reveled within the de minimis exemption—a pleasant loophole permitting packages valued below $800 to skip into the U.S. with out paying tariffs and be shipped on to the shopper.
This nifty rule lets retailers like Shein and Temu flood American doorsteps with inexpensive goodies straight from China.The loophole was initially meant to ease the burden on customs processing and permit small-scale transactions to go by way of easily, however as e-commerce exploded, it turned a large channel for low-cost imports.
FTMO Acquires OANDA
We’re within the second month of 2025, and the FX panorama is already present process a seismic shift. Proprietary buying and selling powerhouse FTMO acquired retail brokerage large OANDA, a uncommon transfer in an trade the place such acquisitions are removed from the norm.
Since 1996, OANDA has been thought of one of many leaders and pioneers in on-line buying and selling, together with CFDs. In 2018, it was acquired by CVC Capital Companions, a fund managing almost $200 billion.
What was as soon as one of many prime three brokerage corporations worldwide was reportedly weakened by the fund’s administration. Coupled with rising competitors, this resulted within the agency’s gradual decline. Trade specialists now view the takeover as an indication of broader developments forward because the rising prop buying and selling house continues to evolve.
Final yr, stories emerged that OANDA was a possible acquisition goal. The agency, a distinguished model within the foreign exchange and contracts for variations (CFDs) brokerage house, was put up on the market by its proprietor, CVC Capital Companions, an Amsterdam-listed buyout agency. It supplied buying and selling companies in international change, equities, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.
Curiously, FTMO had substantial money earlier than the acquisition. On the finish of 2023, the prop buying and selling large reportedly had over CZK 1.94 billion (over USD 81.5 million) in money, a rise of about 275 % in comparison with the earlier yr. Earlier, Finance Magnates reported that the prop buying and selling large generated virtually CZK 5 billion (over $213 million) in income in 2023, a 20 % enhance.
MetaTrader Will increase Charges
Away from acquisitions, MetaQuotes Software program, the dominant supplier of buying and selling platform know-how, carried out a major value enhance for its flagship MetaTrader merchandise, affecting brokers worldwide. Trade sources confirmed to Finance Magnates that the rise ranged between 20% and 25%, translating into extra 1000’s of {dollars} in month-to-month expenditures within the more and more aggressive contracts for variations (CFD) trade.
Notably, the corporate’s 20–25% value hike, efficient January 1, pushes the month-to-month price for a complete MetaTrader package deal to roughly greater than $50,000 for brokers utilizing each MT4 and MT5 platforms, Finance Magnates RU realized. MetaQuotes justified the rise in a shopper memo, citing rising operational prices and investments in service high quality.
A screenshot of MetaQuotes’ discover despatched to its shoppers
CFI Posts Document $1.12 Trillion Buying and selling Quantity
In monetary information, CFI Monetary Group reported its highest-ever quarterly buying and selling quantity of $1.12 trillion, up from $1.03 trillion within the third quarter, as the net buying and selling supplier expanded its geographic footprint.
In response to figures launched this week, the Dubai-based firm’s second-half quantity reached $2.15 trillion, a leap of greater than 140% in comparison with the identical interval a yr earlier. CFI additionally reported a 27% quarter-over-quarter enhance in lively shoppers and a 39% rise in shopper deposits throughout This fall.
NAGA Achieves Money Break-Even
The NAGA Group AG, the supplier of the all-in-one monetary SuperApp NAGA, reported preliminary figures for the monetary yr 2024, aligning with its expectations. The corporate centered on finishing the advanced reverse merger between the previous CAPEX Group and The Naga Group.
The merger was finalized in August 2024, marking the beginning of the mixing course of. This included migrating clients to a single know-how platform and optimizing human sources.
“Merchants Gravitate In direction of Established Names, We Should Construct Belief”: Ultima Markets’ Yiu
In the meantime, Finance Magnates lately talked to Ernest Yiu, Vice President of Advertising at Ultima Markets, in regards to the dealer’s plans and challenges. “One of many largest challenges we confronted as a brand new model was constructing belief and recognition in a aggressive market,” Ernest Yiu informed Finance Magnates.
“Merchants usually gravitate in the direction of established names out of behavior, which implies we needed to work more durable to show our reliability, transparency, and dedication to offering distinctive service,” he added.
We’re proud to hitch the UN @globalcompact🌍 Hear from our Board Advisor on why this step issues and the way we’re driving company sustainability ahead.
Watch full video right here: https://t.co/kG2nWHCy40#UNGlobalCompact #Sustainability #CorporateResponsibility pic.twitter.com/MWrtlWJV7K
— Ultima Markets (@UltimaMarkets) December 17, 2024
Binary Choices Reappear in Israel
The Israel Securities Authority, which oversees the nation’s monetary market, has issued a public warning in opposition to a binary choices buying and selling platform, Pocket Possibility, which targets merchants within the nation.
Pocket Possibility’s web site exhibits that it’s operated by an entity registered in Costa Rica. It additionally states that it “doesn’t present service to residents of the EEA international locations, USA, Israel, UK and Japan.” Binary choices are derivatives that enable merchants to invest on whether or not the worth of the underlying asset will go up or down inside a specified timeframe, starting from a couple of seconds to a number of days.
CFTC Targets Crypto.com for Tremendous Bowl Trades
Miles away, the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee launched an investigation into Tremendous Bowl-related occasion contracts supplied by Crypto.com and Kalshi, questioning their compliance with derivatives rules as the marketplace for sports-based buying and selling merchandise expands quickly.
This growth pressured Robinhood to droop providing Tremendous Bowl occasion contracts solely a day after itemizing them, reportedly on the request of the commodities regulator. The CFTC’s investigation facilities on whether or not these sports-focused occasion contracts qualify as gaming below current rules
Fintech corporations spent huge on Tremendous Bowl adverts in 2024, and this yr, the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley backs Ramp in a strategic play for the longer term.
The Tremendous Bowl is not only a battle of soccer titans, on this case the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s a high-stakes promoting showdown the place manufacturers combat for visibility, affect, and cultural cachet. This yr, fintech unicorn Papaya International is coming into the sector, making a daring assertion with its debut Tremendous Bowl advert.
Goodbye to Low cost On-line Procuring—Trump Closes de Minimis Loophole
Lastly, within the world political scene, Trump shut down the de minimis exemption, a loophole that enabled the duty-free import of low-cost items, driving up costs and inflicting delays for internet buyers. As soon as upon a time, internet buyers within the US reveled within the de minimis exemption—a pleasant loophole permitting packages valued below $800 to skip into the U.S. with out paying tariffs and be shipped on to the shopper.
This nifty rule lets retailers like Shein and Temu flood American doorsteps with inexpensive goodies straight from China.The loophole was initially meant to ease the burden on customs processing and permit small-scale transactions to go by way of easily, however as e-commerce exploded, it turned a large channel for low-cost imports.
