Sen. Warren Urges SEC to Consider Crypto Regs Wall Street critic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is asking Gary Gensler, the chair of the SEC, via a recent letter, to investigate the ways that cryptocurrency exchanges “may be undermining the SEC’s mission” as a regulator of securities trading markets. The letter from Warren, who is… Read More >>
Bitcoin-Based Futures Are Risky Business: Regulators
An investor bulletin from the SEC and the CFTC is warning investors to be fully aware of the risks that come with Bitcoin-based futures given the many pitfalls that come with cryptocurrency trading. The “Funds Trading in Bitcoin Futures” bulletin from earlier this month targets “investors considering a fund with exposure to the Bitcoin futures… Read More >>
Broadridge’s DLR Handles $31B in Repos Daily
Post-trade systems and services provider Broadridge Financial Solutions officially launched on June 7 its distributed ledger repo (DLR) platform for bilateral repo trades that executed $31 billion in average daily volume during its first week. The blockchain-based transaction platform helps market participants “agree, execute and settle repo transactions,” officials say. Broadridge is hoping that the… Read More >>
‘State Street Digital’ to Offer Crypto Asset Services
Nadine Chakar Tapped to Head New Division The financing of digital assets will be a key focus for a new division of custodian State Street Corp. The just-launched State Street Digital is tasked with building upon the firm’s current digital capabilities, and then expanding into cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currency, blockchain, and tokenization, officials say…. Read More >>
The 2021 FTF Awards Winners Unveiled!
Financial Technologies Forum (FTF) is pleased to announce that operational excellence and major achievements in financial technology innovation surged in 2020 as evidenced by the winners of the 2021 FTF News Technology Innovation Awards competition. The winners of the FTF Awards competition, now in its tenth year, are being announced today, June 7, and they… Read More >>
Northern Trust Bolsters Recs Visualization Tool
Northern Trust Enhances Recs Dashboard Custodian bank Northern Trust has updated its Rec Dashboard workflow tool so that it helps clients with collaboration and scalability for real-time transparency into the reconciliations process, officials say. The Rec Dashboard offers views of “breaks and reconciliations in trade activity between asset managers and other institutions,” officials say. “Rec… Read More >>
FIX Group Helps Mold Digital Asset Trading Standards
FIX Trading Community Partners with Global DCA The FIX Trading Community, a standards body for transacting securities via the electronic Financial Information eXchange (FIX) protocol, will be working with the Global Digital Asset and Cryptocurrency Association (Global DCA) to create standards for trading digital assets, officials confirm. Both groups “recognize that their complementary efforts can… Read More >>
Wall Street Resists Full Embrace of DLT: Report
Blockchains based upon distributed ledger technology (DLT) have the capacity to undo the “complexity, opacity and fragmentation of capital markets,” but they lack a clear path to wider acceptance, are competing against other disruptive technologies for funding, and represent a threat to traditional industry institutions, according to a new report from World Economic Forum (WEF)…. Read More >>
Gensler’s SEC Will Face ESG, Crypto & Investor Woes
By a vote of 53 to 45, Gary Gensler, a former CFTC chairman, won confirmation by the U.S. Senate to become the next chair of the SEC, ushering in what many expect will be a new era of regulation requiring adherence to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reforms. The Senate vote, which got the support… Read More >>
Credit Suisse & Instinet Use Blockchain for T+0 Settlement
Instinet & Credit Suisse Use Paxos Settlement Service Instinet and Credit Suisse used blockchain technology from Paxos Trust Company to settle U.S. listed equities trades on a same-day, T+0 settlement, cycle via the Paxos Settlement Service, the market infrastructure provider confirms. “The trades occurred [March 4, 2021] at 11 AM ET and 3 PM ET… Read More >>