XTB's CEO Eyes Super App as 80% of New Clients Pick Stocks, ETFs

XTB has spent nearly two decades building its position as one of the leading contracts for difference (CFD) brokers. In recent years, however, the company has been doing everything to shed its CFD-only image, seeking clients in increasingly broader financial circles.

XTB's CEO has his eyes set on transforming the company into an all-in-one financial super app, as 80% of new clients choose stocks and ETFs.Coinbase has acquired the Cyprus unit of BUX (formerly Stryk), which now operates as Coinbase Financial Services Europe. The license permits the offering of CFDs.The European branch of FTX has been acquired by Backpack, but FTX claims the acquisition was not approved by the court. Backpack insists the deal is complete.Authorities in Kazakhstan have blocked more than 3,500 cryptocurrency exchanges operating illegally, following joint efforts by the National Security Committee and the Ministry of Culture and Information.Bitfinex has moved its derivatives business to El Salvador after securing a Digital Asset Service Providers (DASP) license in the country. The crypto derivatives giant previously offered derivatives from its base in the Seychelles.The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) has fined Saxo Bank €1.6 million for regulatory breaches by BinckBank, which has since been merged with the forex and CFDs broker. Saxo chose not to contest the fine.LCG UK expects to return to profitability in H2 2024 despite reporting an annual loss of over £6 million in 2023, as the company's latest Companies House filing reveals. The anticipated turnaround is attributed to management’s decision in mid-2023 to operate solely as an introducing broker for IG Group.Acuity Trading has launched TradeSignals, an AI-powered trading signal platform that combines traditional technical analysis with advanced sentiment analysis for crypto and forex markets. The new automated system is integrated into Acuity's AnalysisIQ product suite.CFI Financial Group will integrate the PAMM system and various plugins from Tools for Brokers (TFB) into its brokerage platform. The partnership aims to enhance CFI's trading workflows.PAMM, short for Percentage Allocation Management Module, is a trading system that enables investors to allocate funds to professional traders who manage the funds on their behalf. It is widely used in forex and CFD trading. Profits or losses from the manager's trading are distributed among investors based on the percentage of their contributions.Spread betting for UK-based investors has been launched by Tradu, offering leveraged trading in a tax-efficient manner. Spread betting allows speculation on market movements without owning the underlying assets. Tradu's Spread Tracker aims to provide tight spreads compared to competitors.Pro traders at prop firm Axe Trader were eager to trade, but on December 11th, they found an unusual image on the firm's Discord channel - their CEO in the hospital after a heart attack. The announcement stated: "A temporary pause in our operations, effective immediately."

While a medical emergency is a relatively rare case, there is no shortage of reasons for halting operations, delays - or even outright non-payment - in the prop trading space. This sector has been growing aggressively in recent years. Entry into this unregulated niche is easy. Anyone with a few thousand dollars can set up an operational platform within days, leaving marketing as the primary challenge.The prop trading industry has grown rapidly, with new entities appearing frequently. This expansion raises questions about the ease of entry into the market, the integrity of its operations, and the implications of its technological foundations. Traditionally, setting up a prop firm was seen as a venture requiring significant capital, trading expertise, and operational efficiency. However, recent trends suggest this perception may not reflect reality. With the support of the right technology vendor, it is now possible to launch a prop firm with a modest investment of around $5,000 and a percentage of the firm's net revenue.A Man’s £598m Bitcoin could have been lost forever after a court blocked his attempt to recover it from a landfill. In 2013, James Howells discarded a hard drive containing the digital fortune, but his bid to excavate the site was dismissed by a High Court judge. Over a decade later, Howells is left frustrated and accusing the legal system of injustice.