China’s foreign exchange regulator has warned that emerging markets need to muscle in on cryptocurrency-enabled illegal cross-border capital flows. Sun Tianqi, the chief accountant of China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), made the remarks at a forum today in Shanghai, according to an Oct. 28 report from Reuters. China has shuttered over 2,000 forex trading platforms Tianqi called for global regulators to cooperate on countering illegitimate cross-border transactions, underscoring the risks that fintech innovation poses to foreign exchange control. He revealed that the Chinese state had closed over 2,000 forex trading platforms, yet reportedly did not elaborate further. Back …

China is looking into the application of blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to cross-border financing, Reuters reports on Oct. 27. Blockchain in risk management Lu Lei, the deputy head of the Chinese regulator State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), reportedly said that there are plans to use blockchain and AI in cross border financing, with particular attention devoted to risk management applications. Lei noted that SAFE promotes the application of fintech and AI to international finance and macro-prudential management. His urge to innovate is in line with the remarks of China’s President Xi Jinping, who recently called for the country …

Russia may build a large financial center on the island of Bolshoy Ussuriysky, according to a report by the state-run TASS news agency on June 8. Leonid Petukhov, who heads the Far Eastern Agency for Attracting Investments and Supporting Exports, said the island could become an offshore destination for cryptocurrencies, crypto exchanges and forex markets. Bolshoy Ussuriysky lies on the border between Russia and China, with western parts of the long-disputed territory transferred to Beijing following a 2004 agreement. Petukhov made his statements while speaking to TASS at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Russia has already built two offshore …

An Israeli judge has ruled that bitcoin (BTC) is an asset and not a currency, local news site Globes reported on May 21. The judgment is significant because it means profits made by selling the cryptocurrency will now be liable to capital gains tax, Globes notes. Noam Copel, who founded the blockchain startup DAV, had bought BTC in 2011 and sold two years later — making a profit of $2.9 million at today’s rates. During the court case, he had argued that bitcoin should be regarded as a foreign currency, as fluctuations in exchange rates are not taxed. But the …

The French stock markets regulator AMF has seen over a 14,000% surge in enquiries related to fraudulent crypto offers in 2018 as opposed to 2016, the agency wrote in a new annual report released May 7. In the report, the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) specified that the number of enquiries associated with crypto-related scams online has surged to over 2,600 in 2018 from only 18 similar enquiries back in 2016. With that, the amount of fraudulent online offers in other industries such as foreign exchange (forex) and binary options have significantly decreased, the AMF noted. As such, fraudulent offers …

London-based banking giant HSBC has revealed its blockchain-powered platform cut costs for foreign exchange (forex) trade settlement by a quarter, Reuters reported on Feb. 14. According to Mark Williamson — chief operating officer of forex cash trading and risk management at HSBC — the bank processes anywhere between 3,500 and 5,000 trades a day using its proprietary blockchain solution “FX Everywhere.” These trades, worth $350 billion, demonstrate “[w]e’re going at a pace now [...] this is not a one-off proof of concept or just one or two trades.” Williamson notably did not disclose the overall volume or value of forex …

A cross-market platform called LH-Crypto says its service gives traders the opportunity to transact across a plethora of cryptocurrencies and 200 other financial instruments — including forex on fiat currencies, precious metals, shares and commodities. Its beta version also enables users to participate in margin trading — a feature that it says helps distinguish its ecosystem from crypto exchanges. Not without risks, margin trading via LH-Crypto means members can make deals using sums 100 times larger than their account balance. Traders can receive funds in cryptocurrencies or fiat — and if they top up their account using traditional currencies, this …

The Italian securities regulator, Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB), has added crypto company Togacoin to its scam blacklist on Jan. 28. The regulator released its warning against Togacoin alongside similar warnings concerning binary options company Smart Choice Zone and forex exchange Fx Breeze. The three firms have been added to the CONSOB’s warning list because of failing to obtain authorization to operate in Italy. Togacoin’s website features a “Revenue Calculator” that promises a return of 239% in one year, a 654% return in three years and a 33-page white paper. The website also outlines the company’s …

The Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) has added 23 unauthorized forex and cryptocurrency entities to its warning list on Jan. 14. Among the companies added to the list is Blonde Bear OÜ, also referred to as Black Parrot Ltd., which claims to be a forex and cryptocurrency exchange operator but reportedly operates in Spain without a license. The company, which operated on the trade111.com and tradex1.com domains, has also been flagged by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority for operating in Poland without the required license. Another company added to the CNMV’s warning list is Dax300, also known as Brown …

What should I do to get the most out of my crypto bot? As we’ve mentioned, doing your homework and backtesting strategies can be a helpful indication of whether certain trades will succeed or fail. That said, it’s worth remembering that past performance isn’t always an accurate reflection of what will happen in the future. It’s always worth keeping an open mind about the coins you invest in, and keeping track of the latest developments in the market. That’s something Cointelegraph’s comprehensive price analysis – published on a regular basis – can help you with. Finally, remember that it’s crucial …

Forex exchange (FX) settlement giant CLS will launch its IBM blockchain-powered netting service within “a matter of days,” according to Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Alan Manquard. The CSO made the announcement at the IBM Think Tank conference in London Nov. 14, as reported by tech news source Computer Business Review (CBR). CLS Group, which reportedly settles on average $5 trillion in payment instructions daily, is a U.S. FX settlement service supplier with high-profile members that include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Barclays, and Citigroup. A netting service entails offsetting and determining the value of multiple positions or payments that are due to …

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 …