Sadly, ransomware is hitting its stride in 2021, and is showing no signs of slowing down. While there have been multiple media reports about the rising threat of ransomware, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, recently provided proof that an increase is underway. The report, “Financial… Read More >>
tZero’s ATS to Offer Clearing & Settlement
FINRA Gives tZero ATS the Green Light The tZero ATS, an alternative trading system/broker-dealer subsidiary of blockchain technology vendor tZero, reports that it has achieved what it says is a milestone development — the approval to offer settlement and clearing services for securities transactions for itself and its broker-dealer affiliates, officials say. The Financial… Read More >>
BofA Global Research Launches Coverage of Digital Assets
BofA Research Publishes Crypto Primer Bank of America reports the publication of an instruction and information book entitled “Digital Assets Primer: Only the first inning,” marking the start of the bank’s cryptocurrency research coverage. The bank’s head of global cryptocurrency and digital asset strategy, Alkesh Shah, led the primer’s publication, according to a BofA… Read More >>
Justice Department, SEC Focus on Stopping Crypto Crime
Two powerful extensions of the U.S. federal government – the Department of Justice and the SEC – are gearing up to counter the fraud, scams, and abuse that are the dark side of cryptocurrencies and emerging digital assets. Lisa O. Monaco, deputy Attorney General for Justice, launched the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) this week… Read More >>
Will Crypto Yield Fool’s Gold & New Op Risks?
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are calling for some brakes to be put upon the mad rush to cryptocurrencies and digital assets because of the threats they might pose to the global financial infrastructure and the operational woes they could present. Michael Hsu, the acting… Read More >>
SEC Sought ISITC’s Advice on T+1: Q&A
(FTF News recently spoke with Lisa Iagatta, the ISITC chair for the past three years, as ISITC’s Virtual Fall Forum 2021, held earlier this month, was winding down. Iagatta touched on the T+1 shorter settlement cycle push, led by the DTCC, SIFMA, and the ICI, and looked back at her time at the helm, which… Read More >>
CME Group Offers Clearing for Sustainable Derivatives
Clearing Service to Launch Next Week CME Group is claiming a first for derivatives trading with the September 27 launch of the Sustainable Clearing service intended to help firms “track and report on how their hedging activities are advancing their sustainability goals,” officials announce. “This service will allow clients to demonstrate commitment to ESG-positive business… Read More >>
DTCC Moves Ahead with DLT-Based Settlement Platform
The DTCC is moving ahead with its alternative securities settlement platform —the Project Ion initiative — based upon distributed ledger technology (DLT) after “a successful prototype pilot” with market participants, officials say. The prototype pilot showed that DLT could support the shorter settlement cycles of trading day plus one (T+1) and settlement on the trading… Read More >>
ASX Identifies the Causes for its 2020 Outage
The equity market of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) suffered an outage last November following the implementation of a new version of the Nasdaq equity market trading system. Shortly thereafter, ASX officials commissioned an independent review to provide an explanation for trading interruption. Released last week, the preliminary results of the review indicate the updated… Read More >>
State Street Adopts Hybrid Model & Closes NYC Offices
State Street to Exit Midtown Manhattan The Boston-based State Street will be closing its midtown Manhattan offices and embracing a hybrid working model in response to staff members that have been working remotely in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a prepared statement from the custodian banking giant. “Like most other companies, we… Read More >>
