Plus500 has a new shareholder

Starting off our weekly news recap, America's asset management firm Capital Group, with $2.2 trillion worth of assets under management, is now one of Plus500's investors with a 5.44% stake in the London-listed retail broker, according to the latest filing.

Capital Group is Plus500's third-largest shareholder, behind BlackRock and JP Morgan, which held 6.7 percent and 5.5 percent of the company’s voting rights, respectively, by the end of March 2025.

Another major shareholder in the broker is The Vanguard Group, which controls 5.41 per cent of Plus500 shares.

iFOREX postpones IPO

At the same time, iFOREX pushed back its planned initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange, citing the need to wrap up a compliance inspection in the British Virgin Islands.

Notably, in recent months, the long-awaited IPO of Israeli company eToro, set to debut on Wall Street, was also delayed. According to iFOREX, the process is nearly finished, and the firm anticipates finalizing the inspection soon, clearing the way for the IPO.

Tracking eToro post IPO, the company published its financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2025. It was the firm’s first quarterly report following the listing, presented as a publicly listed company.

The fintech giant posted an 8% increase in net contribution year-over-year, reaching $217 million, up from $201 million in the same period last year. This growth was boosted by heightened trading volumes across its platform.

Eightcap secured Dubai license

Elsewhere, Melbourne-based Eightcap, a forex and contracts for differences (CFDs) broker, secured Dubai's regulatory licence that allows it to offer financial consultation and operate as an introducing broker.

Details of Eightcap's license on SCA's registry
Details of Eightcap's license on SCA's registry

Several other retail brokers, including EC Markets and Taurex, have recently received a Category 5 licence from the Dubai-based regulators.

Scope Prime launches partnership program

Also, this week, Scope Prime, a liquidity brand under the Rostro Group, launched a Partnership Programme targeting retail-facing brokers with local distribution networks.

ZXCM provides institutional brokerage services and trading infrastructure. Under the partnership, Scope Prime will offer ZXCM both liquidity and support for client onboarding.

Executive moves

Relating to the executive moves, Cboe Global Markets has appointed Ben Gough as Global Head of FX Liquidity Management, marking a significant hire for the derivatives and securities exchange operator's foreign exchange division.

At the same time, the UK’s Insolvency Service also made an executive change, bringing its first dedicated crypto intelligence specialist in response to a sharp rise in bankruptcy and criminal cases involving digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

CySEC withdraws Itrade Global's licence

In matters of regulations, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) withdrew Itrade Global's operational licence. The company operated two forex and contracts for differences (CFDs) broker brands, TradedWell and InvestFW.

The licence withdrawal followed “the company’s decision to expressly renounce it,” the regulator clarified in its notice. In 2023, it was fined €1 million for multiple violations connected to a tied agent in Spain.

UK banks get the green light to test AI

In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority partnered with the chip-maker Nvidia to establish a testing environment where financial institutions can safely trial artificial intelligence applications.

Although several tech companies connected to the AI industry, such as Arm Holdings, Imagination Technologies, and Graphcore, are based locally, the FCA ultimately chose to partner with a U.S.-based firm.

Jessica Rusu, Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer
Jessica Rusu, Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer, Source: FCA

“This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so,” said Jessica Rusu, the FCA's chief data, intelligence and information officer.

“We'll help firms harness AI to benefit our markets and consumers, while supporting economic growth.” She mentioned the plans to start the program already in April.

According to a recent survey, traders are blending traditional strategies with new tools like artificial intelligence (AI), and social influence is also growing.

More than a third, 36.6% of respondents, are already using AI tools to assist with trading, and an additional 28% plan to adopt such tools soon.

And even as AI booms, experts are warning of a possible negative impact on the job market.

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski warned that AI will kill jobs and trigger a recession, right before talking to customers on an AI hotline.

Binance launched operations in Syria

Lastly, in the crypto space, Binance launched operations in Syria, following the easing of sanctions by the United States and the European Union.

Previously, Binance restricted access in Syria. The company said the recent policy changes now allow Syrian users to register and trade. This move made Binance one of the first major crypto platforms to enter the Syrian market.

And in the stablecoin market, Paul Golden weighed in on how Société Générale's decision to launch a stablecoin is pushing big banks to enter the digital asset sector.

Source: Finance Magnates