FX week in review: TikTok Forex/CFDs/crypto ban, LMAX $1B valuation, Plus500 results

It was one of the busiest weeks of the year in the Forex Industry News realm, with all of the key stories appearing first or exclusively here on FNG.

Why did TikTok add Forex, CFDs, and crypto trading to its banned list for Branded Content?

Who bought a 30% stake in institutional FX and crypto execution venue LMAX – at a $1 billion valuation!?

How did Plus500 do in Q2-2021, as compared to previous quarters?

Who acquired trading platform provider Tradesocio?

Why did Playtech call off its shareholder vote, which is required if it is to close the agreed-upon $101 million sale of its Financials division (Finalto, Markets.com)?

Which FX brokers got new licenses in the UAE and South Africa?

These were just some of the storylines covered this week at FNG – and we didn’t even mention yet senior executive moves at Capital Index, OANDA, Capital.com and ETX Capital. Some of the top FX industry news stories to appear over the past seven days on FNG included:

TikTok bans Forex, CFDs, and crypto trading from Branded Content. Popular video sharing and social networking site TikTok has updated its creator policies around Branded Content, which now outlaws TikTok creators from posting Branded Content on “Financial Services and Products”. That definition includes (and seems to be mainly aimed at) forex trading, crypto trading, and CFD trading, alongside a longer list such as credit cards, buy now pay later services, bail bonds, and debt consolidation services. TikTok creators can still post their own content on financial services, such as views on trading forex and crypto or specific shares and indices. The ban just applies to Branded Content.

J.C. Flowers buys 30% stake in LMAX at $1 billion valuation. Institutional FX and crypto execution venue LMAX Group has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell a 30% stake in the company to J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC, a leading private investment firm dedicated to investing globally in the financial services industry, for cash consideration of $300 million valuing LMAX Group at $1 billion. This is a secondary share sale by LMAX Group employees, with the company not receiving any cash from the transaction. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval. LMAX reported Gross Profit of $60.5 million and EBITDA of $39.2 million for the first six months of 2021, with both figures significantly increased from last year.

Plus500 Q2 revenues down 30% QoQ to $143M, launches share dealing platform. Leading FX and CFDs brokerage group Plus500 (LON:PLUS) issued a half year trading update, indicating that its business slowed significantly in Q2-2021 in terms of both revenues and new client acquisitions in what the company called a “stable market environment”. Plus500 reported that Group revenue in H1 2021 was $346.2m, (H1 2020: $564.2m, H1 2019: $148.0m), including $143.0m in Q2 2021 (Q2 2020: $247.6m, Q2 2019: $94.1m). The company added that Customer Income –  revenue from customer spreads and overnight charges – reached $379.2m in H1 2021 (H1 2020: $556.9m, H1 2019: $175.0m), including $157.7m in Q2 2021 (Q2 2020: $323.4m, Q2 2019: $93.0m).

Bambu acquires UAE/Singapore trading platform provider Tradesocio. Singapore based robo advisor solution provider Bambu has announced the acquisition of Tradesocio, a WealthTech company with 65 employees, specialising in investment management and trading technologies with offices in Singapore, India, and Dubai. The partes said that this acquisition significantly strengthens the combined business’ competitiveness globally. Tradesocio is run by UAE based CEO Wael Salem, formerly a senior executive at Retail FX brokers FXCC, FXCBS, and One Financial Markets. Its clients and partners have included FXCM, Saxo Bank, MetaQuotes, and Interactive Brokers.

Playtech cancels Finalto/Markets.com sale shareholder vote. Well that was fast. Less than a week after it proposed to delay (by two weeks) a shareholder vote on the planned $101 million sale of its Financials division to Zvika Barinboim’s investor group, online gaming tech provider Playtech (LON:PTEC) has now announced that it is cancelling that vote altogether. Instead, Playtech indicated that it will be releasing a new supplementary circular to shareholders, which will include an update to shareholders on the Finalto sale process, including a review of the indicative, non-binding conditional (and competing / higher) offer made for the Financials division by TT Bond Partners’ Gopher Investments, run by Hong Kong based banker Jonathan Bond.

Top FX industry executive moves reported at FNG this week included:

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