Why was Far East focused online broker fined a whopping $60 million by Chinese regulators, sending parent company UP Fintech’s stock tumbling?
What senior management changes have taken place at Australia based CFDs broker Eightcap – including a new CEO, and the departure of another longtime senior executive?
How is Kraken pricing trader evaluations at its newly launched Kraken Prop unit?
Why is Polish CFDs broker XTB rebranding its X Open Hub institutional arm? And how will X Open Hub now be known?
Some of the most read and commented-on FX/CFD industry news stories to appear over the past seven days on FNG included:
Top FX and CFDs industry news stories this week
Tiger Brokers shares plunge 28% on illegal China activities and $60M fine. Shares of UP Fintech Holding Ltd (NASDAQ:TIGR), which operates the Tiger Brokers online trading brand, fell by 28% after the company revealed that it was the subject of an investigation by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), China’s securities regulator. The CSRC issued a fine of RMB 308.1 million (USD $45 million) against UP Fintech / Tiger Brokers, and confiscated what it called “illegal income” of RMB 103.1 million ($15 million), for a total penalty of about $60 million.
Payward gets into selling trader evaluation challenges with Kraken Prop. Once the domain of small, aggressive startups, Prop Trading is going mainstream, with larger established brokers and financial firms starting to launch their own prop brands. Now, it is crypto giant Kraken’s turn, with Kraken Prop. Crypto exchange operator Kraken, part of Payward Inc, has announced that it is launching Kraken Prop: a crypto prop trading program that gives skilled traders access to serious capital, with up to 90% of the profits going straight to them. The move follows Kraken’s acquisition of Breakout, a retail crypto prop trading firm, late last year.
cTrader releases Advanced Take Profit on all cTrader apps. Multi-asset trading platform cTrader has announced the release of advanced take profit on all cTrader apps. With this feature, traders gain flexibility in setting take profits directly from mobile apps: they can add up to five of them and lock in partial profits when the market moves in their favour. This gives traders control over exit price, volume and timing at different stages of the trade.
Exclusive: Raja Banks’ Dominion Markets gets UAE CMA license. FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned that yet another offshore CFDs broker has received a UAE CMA Category Five license, with the latest recipient being Dominion Markets. Dominion Markets has been operating since 2020, formally domiciled in Comoros Union and licensed offshore in Mauritius, but managed mainly from Dubai. The company was established and is owned by online trading guru Raja Zahoor (pictured above), also known by his Instagram and YouTube handle as Raja Banks.
iSAM launches Radar Lite risk management platform for growing brokers. London based prime-of-prime broker and liquidity solutions provider iSAM Securities has announced the launch of Radar Lite, a leaner, more cost-effective version of its Radar risk management platform, designed for growing brokers looking for sharper risk visibility without heavy onboarding or enterprise-level spend.
X Open Hub rebrands as XTB Institutional. Poland based CFDs broker XTB SA (WSE:XTB) has announced that its liquidity and broker technology arm, X Open Hub, will be rebranding as XTB Institutional. The new XTB Institutional website will be launched soon, bringing a refreshed look and a clearer way to explore the group’s institutional offering. The X Open Hub / XTB Institutional business generated PLN 26.2 million (USD $7.2 million) of Revenue in Q1 2026, by far its best quarter ever.
Top FX industry executive moves this week
❑ Exclusive: Eightcap names Bryn Newell CEO, UK head Ollie Rosewell departs.
❑ Markets CRM CEO Kirill Chernikov returns to Spotware.
❑ Andrew Lane takes over as CEO of MarketReader.
❑ Exclusive: UAE CFDs broker KIRA hires Sophie Stabler as Head of Global Partnerships.
❑ ATFX names Dany Mawas as CEO Africa.
❑ Exclusive: Ox Securities’ Operating Director Calvin Mangalino departs.
❑ Empire FX hires Linda Nkatha Muriuki as Head of Sales.
