Ethereum futures in the future

The largest options and futures exchange in the US, CBOE, is planning to begin offering Ethereum futures by the end of 2018. The Chicago exchange was one of the first venues to start selling Bitcoin futures, back in December 2017.

Join the iFX EXPO Asia and discover your gateway to the Asian Markets

Ethereum was recently classified as not-a-security by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US’ main financial regulator, but CBOE now needs authorisation from another one, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. The firm intends to base the Ethereum contracts on market prices as reported by an American cryptocurrency exchange called Gemini.

Exclusive sources told Finance Magnates last year that CBOE had been planning this release even before launching its Bitcoin futures contracts.

Ethereum has a market capitalisation of $30.1 billion as of press time.

British banks block bicycle business after boss buys Bitcoin

A British business owner was surprised to find that his company’s accounts with HSBC and Barclays were blocked after he made transactions with Bitcoin through his personal account. Scott Snaith made trades with a Finnish Bitcoin exchange called LocalBitcoins, and then found that he could not access the accounts of his electric bicycle retail business 50cycles.

HSBC re-opened his account after he complainde to the UK’s Financial Ombudsman service, but Barclays told him to seek legal advice.

Barclays hosts the UK account of American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase – Snaith commented: “The message is clear: your funds are not yours.”

Pepperstone partners with risk management company

Foreign exchange brokerage Pepperstone signed a partnership with automated risk management specialist Chasing Returns. The latter offers software called PlayMaker which advises users on how to trade in a disciplined manner.

Pepperstone customers in the EU will be able to make use of this software for free until the end of 2018.

Suggested articles Swissquote Joins oneZero EcoSystem to Bolster Liquidity OfferingGo to article >>

Looking at eToro’s football deals

Foreign exchange and cryptocurrency brokerage eToro became a sponsor of seven English Premier League football teams last week, including Tottenham Hotspur. eToro will be paying the teams in Bitcoin in return for publicity, and it will also be providing them with wallets in which to store it.

Football in the UK is an industry worth billions of pounds, so this deal is groundbreaking for a cryptocurrency company. In this analysis Finance Magnates examines the benefits that the two parties hope for.

Interview with CEO of Coinbase UK

Coinbase, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, opened a UK branch in March. Zeeshan Feroz heads the operation.

In an exclusive interview with Finance Magnates, Feroz talks about how Coinbase is different to other exchanges, the pros and cons of decentralised exchanges, regulation in the US and the UK, and why the cryptocurrency industry business isn’t a zero-sum game.

Interview with CEO of AxiCorp

AxiCorp is an Australian foreign exchange brokerage that recently purchased a Middle Eastern foreign exchange brokerage called One Finance Markets.

In an exclusive interview with Finance Magnates, CEO Rajesh Yohannan talks about being in acquisition mode, regulation in the EU and Asia, and why it so important to get into the Chinese market.

Lowest of the low

Binary options brokerages are notorious for scamming their customers and stealing their money, which is why these companies have been completely banned in many jurisdictions, including the European Union.

But it gets worse – there are outfits that specifically target victims of binary options scams. Called recovery rooms, these are websites that promise to retrieve stolen money for these people, for a fee.

Needless to say, these are also scammers that will steal your money. These outfits routinely pretend to have licences, but are often very difficult to track down. They target people who have already proved their gullibility and are desperate because they have lost large amounts of money.

What can be done to combat these people? Read this analysis and find out.