Decentralized derivatives and synthetic asset trading protocol Synthetix has launched trading on the Optimistic Ethereum layer-two scaling platform. The long-awaited launch was announced by the Synthetix protocol exchange Kwenta on Friday. It enables the exchange to offer faster transactions and lower fees using optimistic rollup technology. Initially, there will be just four synthetic assets available for trading on layer two — sUSD, sETH, sBTC and sLINK. The data collected from this alpha launch and testing phase will enable the protocol to optimize synth trading on layer two and prepare for the beta launch, the announcement stated. Trading on layer two …

A decentralized finance project providing binary options style trading has just completed a $2.5 million seed round. Binary options are financial instruments that allow traders to speculate on the price movement of the underlying market or cryptocurrency. There are two possible outcomes which is why they are considered binary. At launch, Thales will support markets for more than 60 different assets including cryptocurrencies, commodities, equities, and index products, before expanding into sports markets. At the time of writing, there was no mention of the specific launch date. The strategic investment round for the Thales platform was led by Framework Ventures …

The Commodity and Futures Exchange Commission (CFTC) has charged executives of American and Israeli firms for an alleged $15 million scam involving cryptocurrencies and binary options. Court documents filed on May 5 mention two major scams, the first involving binary options, which was carried out between October 2013 and November 2016, and the second involving digital assets, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), which was carried out between November 2013 and August 2018. The CFTC charged Israel-based Tal Valariola and Itay Barak of Digital Platinum Limited for aiding the United States-based firm All In Publishing (AIP) to create and …

Payment giants MasterCard and VISA will soon group cryptocurrency and Initial Coin Offering (ICO) jurisdictions in a new “high risk” category, financial trading news site Finance Magnates reported Friday, October 12. According to the Broker Complaint Registry, some details of the shortly upcoming classification by MasterCard had already become public in May of this year. The registry notes that binary options, CFDs, forex, cryptocurrency options, and ICOs will fall under a new category of “High-Risk Securities Merchants” starting on Oct. 12, 2018, and will be subject to additional monitoring. According to Finance Magnates, the grouping means that chargebacks could now …

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a suit against two defendants for the allegedly fraudulent solicitation of Bitcoin (BTC), according to an official press release published on Friday, September 28. The CFTC’s complaint — filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas — charges the two defendants with running two fraudulent businesses and misleading the public to invest in leveraged or margined foreign currency contracts, such as forex, binary options, and diamonds. The first defendant, who goes by the name Morgan Hunt, is reportedly from Arlington, Texas, and owns the company Diamonds Trading …