CME Group said its regulated cryptocurrency futures and options will be available for trading 24 hours a day, seven days a week, pending regulatory review.While CME does not offer direct retail access, the move may have indirect implications for retail traders. Those who access CME products through brokers or futures commission merchants could see smaller weekend price gaps and closer alignment with spot cryptocurrency markets. The change may also improve hedging flexibility outside standard trading hours.CME Launches 24/7 Crypto Futures TradingThe exchange will begin continuous trading on Friday, May 29, at 4:00 p.m. CT. Products will trade on CME Globex with at least a two-hour maintenance window over the weekend.Trades executed from Friday evening through Sunday evening will carry a trade date of the following business day. Clearing, settlement, and regulatory reporting will also be processed the next business day.Tim McCourt, Global Head of Equities, FX and Alternative Products at CME Group, said demand has increased. He stated that “Client demand for risk management in the digital asset market is at an all-time high,” and that this drove “a record $3 trillion in notional volume across our Cryptocurrency futures and options in 2025.” He added that continuous access allows clients to manage exposure “at any time.”Derivatives Trading Shows Rising Activity LevelsCME reported record activity in its cryptocurrency derivatives in 2026. Average daily volume reached 407,200 contracts year-to-date, up 46% year-over-year. Average daily open interest rose 7% to 335,400 contracts, while futures average daily volume increased 47% to 403,900 contracts.The exchange operates futures and options markets across multiple asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products, metals, and cryptocurrencies. It also provides clearing through CME Clearing and offers fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on EBS. This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Marcus Bacchi-Howard has shared on LinkedIn that he is joining Equals Money as Head of Digital Assets.Equals Money Hires Experienced Digital Assets ExecutiveBacchi-Howard has extensive experience in digital asset sales and trading. He most recently worked as a business development consultant at NewQube Capital for seven months. Before that, he was Head of Sales and Managing Director at One Trading for one year.He also held institutional sales roles at Gemini for ten months and at Binance for one year and seven months. Earlier in his career, Bacchi-Howard served as Director of Institutional Sales at BEQUANT for one year and three months, COO at Helix Securities for ten months, and as a Delta 1 Trader at ED&F Man for more than ten years. He also worked as a Delta 1 Trader at MF Global for ten months and in prime brokerage client services at Morgan Stanley for over seven years.Bacchi-Howard’s career spans more than two decades in financial services, with most of his roles based in London.Payment Networks Adopt Stablecoin InfrastructureFinancial firms have integrated stablecoins into payment and settlement processes. Platforms such as LMAX offer tools for real-time transfers across foreign exchange, crypto, and stablecoin markets. These tools target wallets, custodians, and payment providers to facilitate faster liquidity movements.Institutional firms have adopted stablecoins and white-label crypto payment platforms to enhance payments infrastructure. Providers such as B2BinPay are expanding services to support automated and tokenized settlement across multiple digital asset networks.Mainstream financial institutions are exploring stablecoin issuance for transaction and settlement purposes. Fidelity Investments has prepared for a stablecoin launch to support broker and institutional operations, reflecting broader adoption trends.Payment networks are incorporating stablecoins into traditional banking systems. Visa has initiated U.S. programs to allow stablecoin usage for payments, demonstrating interaction between digital assets and conventional payment infrastructure. This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Tradeweb Markets and Kalshi entered a partnership that aims to bring prediction markets and event contracts into the core workflows of institutional investors. Tradeweb has also taken a minority stake in Kalshi as part of the deal.According to the global operator of electronic marketplaces, the collaboration combines Tradeweb’s electronic trading platform and global institutional client base with Kalshi’s event-driven markets and data.Electronic trading platform Tradeweb signed a deal to bring Kalshi’s prediction markets to more institutional investors https://t.co/kGtTIb7NKT— Bloomberg (@business) February 19, 2026Partnership and InvestmentTradeweb plans to use its reach to expand institutional access to prediction market data and trading. The firm's CEO, Billy Hult, said prediction markets are becoming part of the trading landscape and can help institutions assess macro risk and allocate capital.“Prediction markets are increasingly becoming a key part of the trading landscape, and have the potential to become an indicator for institutions to dynamically assess macro risk and allocate capital more effectively.”You may also find interesting: Inside the Prediction Markets: Working Their Way Into Wall Street and BeyondThe first stage of the partnership will focus on data. Tradeweb and Kalshi will integrate Kalshi’s real-time event probabilities and market data into Tradeweb’s rates and credit marketplaces. The firms will also co-develop analytics that combine Kalshi’s event probabilities with Tradeweb’s pricing, liquidity, and macro data. The aim is to give institutional investors new tools for forecasting, risk management, and pricing that incorporate event-based signals, such as the probability of policy decisions or economic releases.Event-Contract Trading PlansBeyond data and analytics, Tradeweb and Kalshi will explore creating an institutional-focused portal for trading event contracts. Tradeweb would act as the front-end access point, while Kalshi would provide the underlying prediction markets platform.The deal follows a similar arrangement with Jump Trading. The proprietary investment firm is set to acquire a minority equity stakes in prediction-market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket in exchange for providing liquidity, according to Bloomberg. The investment strengthens the Chicago-based firm’s connection to a fast-growing segment of the derivatives market centered on event-based contracts. The agreement with Kalshi includes a predetermined equity allocation, sources familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity because the discussions are private. Jump’s stake in Polymarket, meanwhile, will reportedly be determined by the scale of trading capacity the firm ultimately contributes to the platform’s U.S. operations. This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

South Korean prosecutors said they recovered 320.88 Bitcoin this week after the cryptocurrency was returned to an official wallet. At the time of writing, the coins were worth about $21.3 million, according to The Chosun Daily.320 Bitcoin Recovered, Suspect Still SoughtThe Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office said the Bitcoin, stolen in August 2025, was discovered missing during a routine inspection on Jan. 23. Authorities attributed the theft to a phishing attack after access credentials were exposed. The returned funds were later moved to a secure domestic exchange wallet. Prosecutors requested local exchanges to freeze the hacker’s wallet, limiting the ability to liquidate the assets, but did not provide a reason for the return. “We will do our best to arrest the suspect regardless of the recovery of the bitcoin,” the office told Digital Asset Works.? JUST IN: South Korean prosecutors have recovered $21M in stolen Bitcoin after a hacker returned the funds when authorities blocked related exchange transactions. The hacker’s identity is still unknown. pic.twitter.com/brAXiVKfcZ— The Daily Block (@thedailyblock) February 19, 2026Seoul Police Lose 22 Bitcoin, Probe ContinuesThe recovery follows a separate incident in Seoul, where 22 Bitcoin, worth about $1.5 million, vanished from police custody. The coins had been voluntarily submitted in November 2021 and were transferred externally, though the cold wallet itself was not stolen. The Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency is investigating the missing 22 Bitcoin.High-Value Hacks Dominate Crypto Theft TrendsCrypto theft reached $3.4 billion in 2025, driven largely by a few high-value breaches, according to Chainalysis. North Korea-linked actors were responsible for at least $2 billion in stolen cryptocurrency. While large exchange and custodial hacks accounted for most losses, thefts from individual wallets also rose, affecting tens of thousands of users. The report highlighted evolving attack methods, including social engineering and impersonation, and noted that a small number of incidents continued to drive the majority of stolen funds. Analysts say these trends underscore persistent security risks across the crypto ecosystem. This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Over the past fortnight, Kraken has posted roughly 50 Cyprus-linked vacancies on LinkedIn, signalling that the European playbook of the American crypto exchange is shifting from acquisition to execution.The hiring blitz follows Kraken’s 2025 purchase of CFD broker Greenfield Wealth, a deal that delivered a Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) licence and, with it, a passport into Europe’s MiFID regime.Senior Roles Dominate, with a Focus on Engineering A closer look under the bonnet shows that roughly 70% of the vacancies target senior or managerial talent. The Regulatory MiFID Officer role stands out, alongside heavyweight hires such as the Global Head of Middle Office and a Senior AI/ML Engineer.While pay is not stated in the listings, the top-heavy mix of will require significant investment. According to web3.career, a crypto and blockchain job board, the average yearly salary of a legal expert in the space is US$170,000, while senior positions in AI/ML engineering can fetch salaries between US$146,000 and US$277,000. The largest share of vacancies – nearly half – sits in software engineering and technical functions, so product and platform development appear to be priorities. Product and design roles form the next tier, followed by compliance, legal and risk. Operations, finance and marketing roles are present but less prominent. The Lines Between Exchanges and CFD Brokers Are Evolving A growing chorus of crypto exchanges has moved to acquire MiFID licences. In 2025 alone, Coinbase bought the Cyprus unit of BUX, which had offered CFDs under the Stryk brand, while Crypto.com purchased AllNew Investment, the operator of LegacyFX, another CFD provider.The calculation is straightforward: MiFID opens the door to derivatives – futures, options and potentially CFDs – whereas the EU’s MiCA framework is focused primarily on spot trading and custody. As Kris Marszalek, co-founder and chief executive of Crypto.com, said at the time, securing MiFID alongside MiCA “further solidifies” the exchange's ability to offer a comprehensive regulated product suite across the European Economic Area.Kraken, though, appears to be among the first of this cohort to embark on a hiring push of this breadth.At the same time, established brokers are rolling out spot crypto, often via white-label solutions. Pepperstone, which built its own crypto exchange internally, recently joined the trend by offering physical crypto to its Australian clients. For Pepperstone’s Group CEO Tamas Szabo, while the lines between brokers and exchanges are evolving, "client priorities remain constant: cost, execution quality, trust and, increasingly, user experience.” This article was written by Adonis Adoni at www.financemagnates.com.

Conventional wisdom in brokerage marketing holds that more website traffic means more business. A dataset from the newly launched fmintelligence portal puts that assumption to rest.Across 47 retail forex and CFD brokers, the correlation between organic web traffic and actual trading volumes comes in at just 0.09 - statistically, almost nothing. The data, which pairs January 2026 traffic figures with recent average monthly CFD volumes, suggests that the two metrics are essentially measuring different things entirely.Traffic Is Booming, Just Not EvenlyThe sector's total organic traffic hit 40.2 million visits in January 2026, up 36.5% from 29.4 million a year earlier. On the surface, that looks like broad-based growth. Dig in, and the picture is more divided: 57% of brokers gained visitors year-over-year, while 36% shed them. The top five brokers alone now account for almost 74% of all organic visits, up from 69% in January 2025.OANDA leads the traffic rankings, eToro follows and Capital.com posted the most visible climb of any large broker.All of this is happening at a time when the number of active CFD accounts jumped by nearly one million in a single quarter, reaching almost 7 million by the end of 2025, according to Finance Magnates Intelligence data.Volume Leaders Live in a Different WorldHowever, swap the ranking criteria from traffic to trading volume, and the leaderboard barely overlaps.IC Markets tops the volume table with $1.76 trillion in average monthly activity, yet ranks fifth by web traffic. OANDA, by contrast, pulls in 14.6 million visitors to generate $430 billion in volume. CMC Markets and Plus500 tell another story worth noting. Both saw traffic fall, according to Finance Magnates Intelligence data, yet both held onto substantial trading volumes positioning among top 10 brokers. Client retention, it turns out, doesn't depend on Google rankings.The Full Picture Is on fmintelligenceThis is only part of what the data shows. The full analysis - covering all 47 brokers, traffic-to-volume efficiency ratios, business model breakdowns, and year-over-year growth patterns across broker size tiers, is available on the newly launched fmintelligence portal. Registration is free, and the platform gives access to broker volume data, traffic metrics, and in-depth industry research that goes well beyond what any single article can cover.We've recently also written about how much total CFD trading volume MetaTrader 5 holds, we analyzed India, and we examined how regional internet traffic is shifting among retail traders This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

iFOREX Financial Trading Holdings Ltd. has priced its initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange at 195 pence per share, setting the company's market capitalization at roughly £43.3 million. Trading under the ticker IFRX is expected to begin on February 25.The IPO caps a drawn-out path to the public markets. iFOREX had originally planned to list in late June 2025 before pulling the plug on those plans, citing a routine compliance inspection in the British Virgin Islands that needed more time to complete. The company only confirmed the process had restarted two days ago, describing it as being at an "advanced stage."iForex Placing Draws Oversubscribed DemandThe offering consists entirely of 4,487,179 new ordinary shares, with no existing shareholders selling down their stakes. At 195p, the raise totals £8.75 million, around 20.2 percent of the company's share capital following admission. The placing was oversubscribed, according to the company, suggesting demand from institutional investors exceeded the available allocation.Getting here has been anything but straightforward, and the broader IPO environment for financial firms has not made things easier. Just last week, prime broker Clear Street pulled its own listing after a 40% valuation cut, spooked by software sector selloffs and crypto market volatility.Shore Capital and Corporate Limited is acting as sponsor, while Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited is serving as sole bookrunner for the listing. Both are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.Founder Keeps a Firm GripEyal Carmon, iFOREX's founder, is not selling shares in this offering and will remain the majority shareholder after listing. He has entered into a relationship agreement that takes effect on admission and will continue advising the business through a consultancy arrangement with Recap Ltd., a company he wholly owns. The directors, proposed directors, and certain senior employees holding shares through an employee ownership trust have agreed to a 12-month lock-up, followed by a subsequent 12-month orderly market period."Today marks a pivotal moment in iFOREX's evolution as we prepare to list on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange," CEO Itai Sadeh framed the listing as a platform for growth. "The oversubscribed placing reflects investor confidence in our strategy, solid fundamentals and scalable operating model."If the listing goes ahead as planned, iFOREX would join a short list of publicly traded online brokers, a list that has barely changed since 2016, despite years of speculation about which firm might go next. Since then, only eToro has joined the list, last year, but FX and CFD brokers have historically avoided public markets, citing regulatory complexity, earnings volatility, and the difficulty of explaining their business models to generalist investors. iFOREX is betting that a London listing changes that calculus, at least for itself.Profit Fell Sharply Even as Revenue Held SteadyThe IPO arrives at a time when iFOREX's financials have been under pressure. An earlier FinanceMagnates.com analysis showed the broker lost around 20% of its clients and saw profits drop by 75% over two years ahead of the original listing attempt. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the company reported trading income of $50.1 million and adjusted pre-tax profits of $7.6 million, while net profit fell 31% to just above $5 million.The full prospectus, published today, includes new data. The first half of 2025 showed revenue recovering, $27.6 million versus $22.6 million in H1 2024, helped in part by Trump's crypto endorsements in February 2025 and the tariff-driven market volatility in April. But operating profit collapsed to just $420,000 in H1 2025, compared to $4.6 million in the same period a year earlier, as selling and marketing costs ballooned to $21.3 million - up 36% year-on-year.The prospectus is candid about what happened in the third quarter of 2025. Revenue fell to roughly $7.7 million with an adjusted EBITDA loss of approximately $3.1 million. The company attributes the miss to three factors: unusually low global market volatility, disruption caused by the IPO delay (which meant increased prior marketing spend didn't translate into the brand benefit of being listed), and a short-term revenue initiative the company itself describes as "ineffective" and which was "promptly reversed."The business recovered in Q4 2025, generating approximately $13.5 million in revenue and $2 million in adjusted EBITDA. For the full year 2025, the company expects revenue of around $49 million, broadly flat with 2024.LSE Main MarketListing on the Main Market, rather than the smaller AIM segment, subjects iFOREX to the full weight of FCA oversight and UK premium listing standards, which could help with institutional credibility but also increase disclosure obligations and compliance costs. The company is also in the process of obtaining a UK financial services license.The prospectus, now approved by the FCA, is available on the National Storage Mechanism and the company's investor relations page. Potential investors are advised to rely solely on that document, including its risk factors, before making any investment decision. The company notes that the offering is directed only at qualified investors in the UK and EEA, and is not available to investors in the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, or Japan. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

More than $4 billion was stolen in 255 crypto hacks in 2025, according to Global Ledger. The data reveals a major shift: criminals now use slower laundering techniques, posing new, ongoing risks for financial institutions. Hackers now rapidly move funds at the moment of attack, but intentionally delay laundering—spreading it over days or even weeks. This creates delayed exposure, complicating detection and risk management for brokers and exchanges. The findings come after another year of elevated crypto crime. Chainalysis data showed that funds stolen through hacks surged in 2024 compared to prior years, marking the fourth consecutive year in which annual losses exceeded $1 billion.New Laundering Pattern The 2025 report from Global Ledger analyses the full lifecycle of stolen funds and highlights what it describes as a two-speed playbook. Hackers often move funds within 2 seconds of an exploit, with 76% of transfers occurring before public disclosure, reducing the window for intervention. However, the subsequent laundering slows, with attackers employing multi-stage techniques such as cross-chain bridges and privacy tools. It now takes an average of over 9 days to reach the cash-out point. The $2 Billion “Sleeper” Exposure Nearly $2 billion in stolen 2025 funds remains parked in attacker-linked wallets. This creates a sleeper threat as illicit assets may reenter regulated venues later, heightening compliance challenges. For brokers and exchanges, point-in-time address screening may miss emerging threats. Illicit funds might resurface long after the original attack, evading detection by static systems. The Changing Toolkit The report also notes shifts in laundering infrastructure as over $2.01 billion in stolen funds were routed through bridges, fragmenting transaction trails.Meanwhile, Tornado Cash saw renewed usage following the lifting of sanctions in March 2025. In the second half of the year, the mixer was used in nearly 75% of hacks involving mixers. For compliance teams, operational risks are intensifying. Longer laundering timelines and complex pathways demand more robust, continuous monitoring—outdated blacklists are no longer sufficient. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

Plus500 recently revealed that its non-over-the-counter (non-OTC) revenue for 2025 exceeded $100 million and now accounts for about 14 per cent of the group’s total revenue. This surge came from no non-OTC revenue just a couple of years ago.The growing revenue clearly shows how the contracts for difference (CFD) broker is expanding its footprint beyond its core revenue stream, which is still CFD.CFD Brokers Push for Non-OTC RevenueThe trend to push non-CFD offerings is seen among other brokers as well. According to a recent Acuiti survey conducted for CME Group, four out of five firms that do not yet offer listed derivatives are either planning to or actively considering doing so.IG Group, which has been offering non-OTC trading revenue for years, is also witnessing strong growth in its figures in recent years.The reason behind Plus500’s and IG’s push into non-OTC revenue is the same: their entry into the US futures and options market.IG first entered the US market by acquiring tastytrade for $1 billion in mid-2021, a platform with a large user base. Under the new owner, the US-focused platform also grew strongly: its revenue doubled to over £200 million compared to the pre-acquisition pro forma figure of £100.6 million.The performance of tastytrade also helped IG boost its non-OTC revenue, which the company reports as revenue from exchange-traded derivatives (ETD) and stock trading investments. The London-listed broker generated £191 million from non-OTC streams in the last fiscal year, compared to £63.1 million in the year prior to its tastytrade acquisition.The ETD stream was also boosted by IG’s launch of Spectrum Markets in Europe, but the platform was closed last year. IG, meanwhile, entered the non-OTC market after the global financial crisis through its acquisition of HedgeStreet, which was later rebranded as Nadex.Read more: How Does Shifting to Futures and Options Affect Broker Revenue?Following the US PlaybookPlus500, on the other hand, operated largely as a pure-play CFD provider. It began diversifying into non-OTC products with the 2021 rollout of Plus500 Invest, a futures and share-dealing platform in some European markets. It later expanded its non-OTC offering with the acquisition of Cunningham Commodities, which gave it access to the US futures markets. It now offers retail services there under the Plus500 Futures brand.Despite entering non-OTC markets after the COVID-19 pandemic, the broker started to report its non-OTC revenue only in 2024, when it generated $76.8 million from this stream, about 10 per cent of its total revenue. It can be assumed that, before non-OTC revenues appeared on the company's financials, business from those streams was negligible.Plus500 is now also eyeing the regulated Indian derivatives market. It closed the $20 million acquisition of a local derivatives broker earlier this month, but did not share details of its plan for the most populous country. Notably, India is the largest derivatives market in terms of average daily turnover.Meanwhile, retail demand for futures and options trading in the US is also growing. In 2024, total US options volume jumped 10.6 per cent. By Q3 2025, Cboe said overall listed-options activity was running at record levels (59 million contracts per day through September 2025) and linked part of the surge to rising retail engagement.Non-OTC, but in Non-US MarketsCMC Markets is among the early entrants in the non-OTC markets. Its expansion beyond CFDs dates back to 2008, when it entered Australian stockbroking following the acquisition of Andrew West & Co, which became CMC Stockbroking.Lord Peter Cruddas-led platform has maintained a double-digit share from its non-OTC revenue for years. In the last fiscal year, non-OTC streams, which are mainly investing services for this platform, brought in £44.4 million, 13.1 per cent of its total revenue. This share improved to 14.1 per cent in the first six months of the ongoing fiscal year.Related: CMC Markets Joins Other CFD Brokers with “Super App” Ambition, Floats a 3-Phase PlanFor Switzerland’s Swissquote, however, securities trading is core, generating almost 86 per cent of its total revenue in 2024.Meanwhile, like Plus500, Poland’s XTB, which remained CFD-focused for years, is now slowly expanding into non-OTC products, including stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). However, only 1.6 per cent of its total 2024 revenue came from non-OTC streams, although this was up from 0.7 per cent.The push by Plus500 and IG Group towards non-OTC futures trading shows two things: the need for these brokers to diversify beyond CFDs, and the strong demand in the US retail futures trading market.FinanceMagnates.com also recently pointed out that moving from OTC CFDs to exchange-traded futures and options changes how brokers generate revenue and what risks they face. Although CFDs are high-margin products because the broker controls pricing and internalisation of trades, they are heavily scrutinised by regulators.However, revenue from non-OTC products is driven mainly by commissions and exchange fee mark-ups rather than by client trading losses. Margins per contract are typically thinner but more predictable. Brokers do not control spreads in the same way as in OTC products because prices are formed in a central order book.Despite the growing popularity of non-OTC markets, big CFD brokers are also expanding into institutional services, as many operate as prime brokers and liquidity providers. Plus500 is even directly and indirectly entering new markets, such as prediction markets and prop trading. This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at roughly $66,900 on February 19, 2026, less than half the all-time high of $126,198 set just four months ago. Yet despite one of the sharpest drawdowns in recent memory, some of the market's most prominent voices are doubling down on bullish long-term calls. According to my technical analysis, Bitcoin has settled into a new consolidation corridor between $60,000 and $71,000-$72,000, with both the 50-period EMA and the 200 EMA sitting far above current price levels - a clear sign that the broader trend remains firmly bearish. Based on my over a decade of experience as an analyst and trader, these accumulation zones are precisely where the next major directional move begins to take shape. In this article, I examine why the Bitcoin price prediction of $1 million has re-entered the conversation, analyze the BTC chart, and present the newest Bitcoin price predictions from institutional analysts.Follow me on X for more Bitcoin market analysis: @ChmielDkBitcoin Price Today: The NumbersBitcoin opened February 19, 2026 at $66,420, reaching an intraday high of $66,930 before settling around $66,900 - up a modest 0.74% on the day. That quiet session masks a brutal recent history. From the ATH of $126,198 in October 2025, BTC has shed nearly 47% in value. The 24-hour trading volume currently stands at $33.33 billion, while Bitcoin's total market capitalization has dropped below the psychological $2 trillion threshold to approximately $1.34 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap data.The slide accelerated after Bitcoin began 2026 oscillating between $82,000 and $98,000 - a tight range that held for the first two months of the year. That structure collapsed. The question now is whether the new, lower range holds, or whether the next leg down has already begun.Bitcoin Price Technical AnalysisAccording to my technical analysis, after a very dynamic start to 2026, Bitcoin has found a new consolidation range. Where the market previously moved sideways between $82,000 and $98,000 for roughly two months, the new channel is materially lower - bounded by $60,000 support on the downside and $71,000-$72,000 resistance on the upside. As I can see on the chart, these are the lowest price levels since October 2024.The overall trend context remains clearly bearish. The 50-period moving average is located at $79,000 - a considerable distance from current price. The 200 EMA sits at $93,000. Only a recovery and sustained close above that 200 EMA level would signal that the Bitcoin chart is genuinely returning to a bullish trend structure.Key technical levels as I see them right now:Current price: $66,900Resistance zone: $70,000-$72,000 (upper range boundary, recent rejection area)50 MA: $79,000 (distant bearish overhang)200 EMA: $93,000 (major trend reversal threshold)Support: $60,000 (lower range boundary)Downside target on breakdown: $52,000 (September 2024 lows)As shown on my chart, what this environment offers traders is swing trading within the range - buying near tests of $60,000 support, selling into tests of $70,000-$72,000 resistance, and waiting to see what Bitcoin does next. If we break convincingly below $60,000, I would target $52,000 - the September 2024 floor. A breakout above $72,000, however, would demand close attention. The character of that move will determine whether the bull market is truly resuming or whether resistance simply shifted higher.Why Is Bitcoin Falling?The trigger was a violent deleveraging event on February 6, which sent implied volatility spiking and wiped out billions in leveraged positions before a rapid - and deceptive - recovery."The retreat in implied volatility since the February 6 spike is often read as stabilisation. I would characterise it differently," said Adam Saville Brown, Head of Commercial at Tesseract Group. As he described the mechanics, "What we are seeing is the mechanical aftermath of a significant deleveraging event, not a market that has found equilibrium."The numbers are stark. Open interest across major exchanges contracted by roughly 22% in a single week. Over $2.5 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated. Funding rates have turned negative for the first time since 2023 - a signal that speculative excess has been fully purged.Spot Bitcoin ETF flows compound the picture. The ETF complex has flipped to net negative flows for 2026. Fund-level allocators - many of whom entered at an average cost basis around $81,000 - are mechanically de-risking as drawdown thresholds are triggered. That selling is visible, predictable, and structural. Yet at the same time, wallets holding more than 1,000 BTC have accumulated approximately 53,000 BTC over the past two weeks - the largest accumulation wave since November, representing roughly $4 billion in capital deployment. The market is not doing one thing. It is splitting between those managing quarterly benchmarks and those using the dislocation to build structural positions.On the macro front, CPI cooling to 2.4% and the Federal Reserve in pause mode compresses real yields - historically supportive for risk assets including Bitcoin. But uncertainty around the incoming Fed chair has placed a policy overhang over institutional decision-making."The volatility spike observed on February 6 has now subsided, with Deribit pricing BTC implied volatility at 52. While this remains elevated relative to the 12-month average, it is still toward the lower end of the 35-65 range where volatility has oscillated over the past two years," said Paul Howard, Senior Director at Wincent. As he added regarding the near-term setup, "This aligns with our broader thesis that we do not expect an aggressive move higher or lower in the near term. Instead, markets appear to be awaiting clearer catalysts."Eric Trump: "I've Never Been More Bullish on Bitcoin"Against a backdrop of carnage, Eric Trump - son of US President Donald Trump and co-founder of World Liberty Financial - delivered one of the most emphatic public endorsements of Bitcoin since the crash began. In a February 18 CNBC interview, he declared he has "never been more bullish on Bitcoin" in his life and predicted BTC will ultimately reach $1 million."We still are, I'm a huge proponent of Bitcoin. I do think it hits a million dollars. I think it's one of the greatest performing asset classes. I mean, go back two years, Bitcoin was at $16,000, you know, where is it at right now?" Trump said.JUST IN: ?? Eric Trump says Bitcoin will reach $1 million. "I've never been more bullish on Bitcoin in my life." pic.twitter.com/niJH5ILfh9— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) February 18, 2026As he anchored the case in historical data, "If you look at the last 10 years, Bitcoin has gone up 70 per cent a year on average. Year over year for the last decade - name an asset class that has performed better than Bitcoin."Trump pointed to the relentless march of institutional adoption as the structural driver. Fidelity, Charles Schwab, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs - all are now allocating cryptocurrency to private wealth clients. "Before they were telling them to put exactly zero into cryptocurrency. Then it was 2 per cent, now all of a sudden it's 5-6 per cent, and that number keeps on climbing," he said. His message to investors uncomfortable with volatility was blunt: "If you do not want volatility, go invest in some Munis, go have a great time, go invest in some Treasuries. You are going to have volatility with something that has tremendous upside."The sentiment mirrors that of Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy - which holds one of the world's largest corporate Bitcoin reserves. When Bitcoin fell over 31% from its ATH to $86,800 back in November 2025, Saylor framed the swings as a feature rather than a bug. "Volatility is the vitality of Bitcoin," he said. As he put it to CoinDCX, "In a world where Bitcoin offered steady, predictable returns, Warren Buffett would own all of it and there wouldn't be an opportunity for us."Bitcoin Price Prediction: What Analysts Say for 2026Most institutional forecasts were built before the current crash deepened - which makes them useful anchors for what a recovery scenario might look like.The bull case rests on three pillars: accelerating institutional adoption, a Fed pivot compressing real yields, and the structural supply squeeze driven by post-halving dynamics and continued ETF accumulation. Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas estimated earlier this year that Bitcoin ETF inflows in 2026 could range between $20 billion and $70 billion - with the upper end conditional on Bitcoin pushing toward the $130,000-$140,000 range.But the derivatives market tells a more cautious short-term story. As Saville Brown of Tesseract Group noted, "Negative funding and a crowded short base create the conditions for a sharp reversal if a catalyst emerges. The leverage flush cleared the board. What happens next depends on whether the macro uncertainty lifts before the operators finish accumulating."FAQWhat is Bitcoin's price today, February 19, 2026?Bitcoin is trading at approximately $66,900, up roughly 0.7% on the day. That remains nearly 47% below its all-time high of $126,198 set in October 2025.Can Bitcoin really hit $1 million?Eric Trump and long-term advocates argue yes, citing Bitcoin's decade-long average annual return of 70% and rapidly rising institutional allocation rates. Most analyst forecasts for 2026, however, are significantly more measured - ranging from $130,000 to $225,000 by year-end.What is the Bitcoin price prediction for the end of 2026?Analyst targets range from $130,000 (Bloomberg/Balchunas) to $225,000 (Bit Mining's Wei Yang), with Grayscale calling for a new all-time high by mid-2026. These forecasts assume macro conditions improve and ETF flows return to positive territory.What are the key Bitcoin support and resistance levels right now?Critical support sits at $60,000, with a confirmed breakdown targeting $52,000 (the September 2024 floor). Resistance is clustered between $70,000 and $72,000. A recovery above the 200 EMA at $93,000 would be the first genuine signal that a new bull trend is underway. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

The5ers has become the latest prop firm to enter the futures arena with the launch of its new futures prop offerings. Several other contracts for difference (CFD) prop firms have also entered the futures prop sector, including big names such as FundedNext.CFD Props See Value in FuturesThe primary goal of most CFD prop firms expanding into futures prop offerings is to capture the lucrative US market. After the so-called crackdown by MetaQuotes on CFD props onboarding US-based traders, futures prop platforms filled the gap in that country. Now, brands such as TopStep, Apex, and MyFundedFutures lead the US futures prop space.The5ers’ futures prop offerings will be available to traders worldwide, meaning it will onboard US-based traders as well.As FinanceMagnates.com reported earlier, The5ers re-entered the US market with its CFD prop offerings late last year and is offering services there on the cTrader platform. Notably, only FTMO is offering prop services in the US on MetaTrader 5.[#highlighted-links#] Addressing the Gaps in the MarketThe5ers will offer its futures prop products on the Black Arrow trading platform initially, but has plans to add additional platforms in the future.“We realised that attracting traders from different backgrounds and disciplines means we need to find common ground for everyone,” said Gil Ben Hur, founder of The5ers.However, The5ers’ entry into the futures prop market did not come as a surprise, as the company had hinted at its move months earlier.Despite the launch, the futures offerings are still in beta, as the company wants to “ensure stability and optimal user experience.”The futures platform stressed that it will allow traders to hold overnight positions in popular markets such as gold, silver, and the NASDAQ. It will also allow traders to trade the news. This comes as several other platforms have been introducing tight rules for traders.Fundingticks, the futures prop unit of FundingPips, even introduced some harsh rules last December retrospectively, attracting backlash from the trading community. Although the company removed the retrospective effect of the rules, it eventually decided to wind down operations.Meanwhile, the founders of The5ers have also followed industry trends by entering the CFD brokerage market with the Cyprus-regulated TSG brand. This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

BMLL, the independent provider of historical order book data and analytics, is joining forces with Features Analytics. The deal gives the company that hunts down market manipulation and abuse an access to BMLL's layers of market data order book records spanning global equities, ETFs, futures and US equity options. The aim is to build a new class of surveillance benchmarking products.The core idea is blunt: most firms running trade surveillance today don't really know how well their systems are performing. They set parameters, watch alerts pile up, and spend significant time chasing false positives. BMLL and Features Analytics are betting that a data-rich benchmarking layer can change that.A New Way to Measure Whether Surveillance Actually WorksThe collaboration centers on giving financial institutions the ability to measure their own surveillance stacks, not just in absolute terms, but against changing market conditions and competing solutions. Firms would be able to run like-for-like comparisons of market abuse detection rates across different systems using the same underlying order book reconstruction, producing documentation that regulators can follow and challenge if needed.That last point matters. Regulators increasingly want to see not just that a firm flagged suspicious activity, but how it reached that conclusion. Explainability has become a compliance requirement in many jurisdictions, and rebuilding the exact state of an order book at a given moment is the cleanest way to produce that kind of evidence trail."Market integrity and surveillance are a natural application layer on top of high-quality historical order book data," said Paul Humphrey, CEO of BMLL. "This partnership reflects our focus on enabling sophisticated workflows on top of BMLL data, now extending beyond market quality into market integrity and surveillance benchmarking use cases."It's a challenge that extends beyond equities. LSEG recently launched a cross-venue market abuse detection platform targeting MiFID instruments and FX, combining client trade data with public feeds and news to cut false positives.False Positives Remain a Costly Problem for Compliance TeamsLegacy surveillance systems are known for generating enormous volumes of alerts, a large proportion of which turn out to be noise. Manually reviewing those alerts ties up compliance teams and drives up operational costs - a persistent headache for banks, brokers and exchanges. Features Analytics has positioned eyeDES as a solution specifically designed to reduce that burden, claiming its algorithms can cut false positives by more than 90% compared to rule-based systems. "Our mission is to help financial institutions stay ahead of regulatory requirements with our unique eyeDES AI technology and tools that deliver measurable coverage and accurate detection of market abuse,” Cristina Soviany, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Features Analytics, said.The company traces the platform's AI methodology back to cancer detection research, which required similar precision in distinguishing genuine signals from background noise.BMLL has been steadily broadening its partnerships in recent months, from cutting ETF spreads by 16% in a joint test with Ultumus to giving Saudi institutional investors Python-native access to historical order book data via Wamid.BMLL's Activate Program Lowers the Entry Barrier for PartnersThe partnership was structured through BMLL's Activate: Data Credits Program, which lets qualified partners build and test products on BMLL's order book infrastructure with no upfront data license costs. Features Analytics received a credit allowance covering access to BMLL's Python research sandbox and Data Feed, with a clear path to full commercial deployment once the build phase wraps up.It's a model BMLL has been refining as it broadens the ecosystem of products built on top of its data. In early 2025, BMLL and Pico launched an end-to-end solution combining real-time and historical data to help quantitative analysts move from research to production, while a partnership with Ultumus cut ETF spreads by 16% in initial tests by combining ETF index data with granular order book analytics. More recently, BMLL launched its Trades Plus execution analytics dataset, built with direct client input to simplify transaction cost analysis and best execution workflows. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

After more than 20 years in traditional finance, my perspective on blockchain has shifted from curiosity to operational assessment. What began as exposure to a new asset class evolved into a closer examination of whether blockchain infrastructure can meet the standards CFOs are accountable for every day.From that vantage point, one pattern is clear. Fortune 500 CFOs are approaching blockchain thoughtfully. Many are observing how the space develops, tracking customer interest, and watching how peers engage. This measured posture reflects the discipline that defines modern finance leadership.At the same time, the role of the CFO is expanding. Today’s finance leaders are not only stewards of capital and risk. They are architects of operating systems. Modern finance leadership now encompasses automation, AI-driven analytics, and an emerging understanding of digital assets and crypto-native infrastructure. Blockchain is becoming part of the broader financial environment, and CFOs have an opportunity to help shape how it integrates into enterprise operations.The credibility checklist Fortune 500 CFOs expectEnterprise engagement with blockchain begins with familiar criteria.Operational assurance comes first. Certified validator infrastructure, including SOC 2–compliant environments, demonstrates that security controls, access management, and internal processes are designed to meet institutional standards. These signals of maturity help finance teams evaluate blockchain participation using the same benchmarks applied to other critical systems.Clear custody pathways are equally foundational. CFOs look for transparency around where assets are held, how signing authority is governed, and how responsibilities are allocated between internal teams and external providers. Blockchain participation increasingly supports models that separate ownership, custody, and operations in ways that align naturally with corporate control frameworks.Capital controls and accounting integration complete the foundation. Treasury teams need the ability to track balances, rewards, and exposures using reporting structures that support audit, disclosure, and internal review. When blockchain activity integrates cleanly into existing financial systems, it becomes part of standard operations.Alongside infrastructure, know-how matters. Practical experience, both internally and through trusted partners, enables finance teams to evaluate blockchain systems based on how they perform in real-world conditions. Institutional confidence is built through exposure, repetition, and operational understanding.How enterprise understanding continues to advanceEnterprise engagement with blockchain is shaped by context.The ecosystem is dynamic, with new protocols, applications, and models emerging regularly. For CFOs and board-level executives, this creates an environment rich with learning opportunities. As more institutional-grade tools, educational resources, and implementation frameworks become available, blockchain participation is increasingly evaluated through an enterprise lens.User experience and education are also evolving. Interfaces designed for finance leaders now emphasize clarity, reporting, and governance rather than technical novelty. This shift makes it easier for CFOs to assess blockchain activity in the same way they assess other financial systems.Regulatory coordination continues to develop in parallel. As frameworks mature across jurisdictions, institutions are engaging from a position of growing operational understanding. CFOs are well positioned to contribute to these conversations, informed by hands-on experience rather than abstraction.What works in enterprise environments todaySeveral participation models have already aligned well with Fortune 500 operating requirements.Staking-as-a-Service delivered through white-labeled interfaces allows enterprises to participate in blockchain networks without building internal validator teams. These models provide oversight through familiar dashboards and reporting environments, keeping activity aligned with internal governance structures.Modular reward structures add clarity. Protocol-defined rewards, visible on-chain and governed by explicit rules, allow finance teams to understand how returns are generated and under what conditions. This transparency supports treasury planning and internal review.Dedicated validator partners often complete the model. Institutional-grade operators provide uptime commitments, performance metrics, and disciplined operating practices designed to meet enterprise standards. When validator operations are treated as infrastructure rather than experimentation, participation becomes repeatable, auditable, and scalable.These approaches show how blockchain can be integrated using the same operational rigor applied to other enterprise systems.A message to enterprise CFOsFor CFOs evaluating blockchain today, progress does not require sweeping change. It benefits from focus.Beginning with one token, one network, and one validator relationship allows finance teams to gain practical exposure to on-chain operations, reward mechanics, and reporting flows in a controlled setting. This approach supports learning without unnecessary complexity.Selecting experienced partners accelerates that learning. The right crypto partners translate blockchain mechanics into familiar concepts around controls, performance, and accountability. This collaboration strengthens internal understanding while preserving CFO ownership of decisions.Most importantly, enterprise finance leaders have an opportunity to define their own path. CFOs have always built internal frameworks ahead of full market standardization. Blockchain follows the same pattern. Organizations that engage deliberately develop internal standards, refine governance, and build confidence through experience.The focus is on preparing financial operations for an environment where settlement, coordination, and value transfer continue to become more digital and programmable.The call to action is constructive and clear. CFOs can move from observation to informed participation by building internal understanding, partnering with institutional-grade infrastructure providers, and defining governance on their own terms. Those who take this approach will not simply adapt to the future of finance. They will help shape it.About the Author Betsabe Botaitis is Chief Financial Officer at P2P.org, where she oversees financial strategy, governance, and operational controls for institutional crypto infrastructure. She brings more than a decade of experience across finance, accounting, and risk management, with a focus on scaling global businesses in regulated environments. Her background spans traditional finance and digital assets, supporting organizations through periods of rapid growth and increasing regulatory complexity. This article was written by FM Contributors at www.financemagnates.com.

The noise on the floor of the iFX EXPO in Dubai is usually a good indicator of where the money is moving. In 2026, the Dubai World Trade Centre was packed with the usual array of liquidity providers and platform developers. Yet the most interesting conversations were not about new asset classes. They were about infrastructure. Specifically, they were about the cost of doing business.Brokers have spent the last decade absorbing higher operational costs. Regulatory overheads have increased while marketing costs have risen. The one area where costs should have dropped is technology. Software usually gets cheaper as it scales, yet in the FX industry, the opposite happens. CRM providers adopted pricing models that acted like a tax on growth.Techysquad IT Infrastructure Co LLC took home a major industry award this year, proving that cost-effective technology and operational efficiency go hand-in-hand. Built from the ground up, Techysquad’s CRM solution offers brokers the scalability and cost-effectiveness they seek.Beyond generic infrastructureMost brokers start with a generic CRM because it seems like the safe choice. These systems are broad and cover basic needs. The friction begins when a broker tries to scale. A generic CRM treats every user the same and does not distinguish between a back-office administrator and a high-volume Introducing Broker (IB).Techysquad took a different engineering path. They built an IB-focused CRM from the ground up. This was not a generic tool with a forex plugin. It was designed for the specific workflows of a brokerage.The platform offers specific advantages across three core areas:Operational efficiencyRapid Deployment: The expert team completes full setup in approximately 30 minutes, eliminating the weeks of downtime associated with traditional CRM migrations.24/7 Support: Markets operate around the clock, and so does the support team. Brokers in any time zone receive immediate assistance for urgent operational needs.Platform Integration: The system integrates natively with MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradeLocker, and numerous other trading platforms, allowing brokers to maintain their existing trading infrastructure.Financial controlFixed Monthly Pricing: Expenses remain predictable with no hidden fees or fluctuating costs based on trading volume.Zero Per-Lot Charges: Brokers keep 100% of their spread revenue. The technology provider does not take a cut of trading volume.Unlimited Scalability: There are no restrictions on registered users, staff accounts, or IBs. A brokerage scales from five employees to fifty without triggering price increases.IB and compliance managementMulti-Tier IB System: The platform supports complex, multi-level partner programmes with real-time commission tracking and performance monitoring for both brokers and their IBs.Automated KYC and AML Compliance: Streamlined onboarding processes reduce labour hours while maintaining regulatory standards. Automated reporting tracks review and approval status across all client accounts.Advanced Copy Trading Tools: PAMM accounts and copier functionality execute trades in milliseconds, giving brokers a competitive edge in attracting both novice and experienced traders.Breaking the pricing lockThe most significant aspect of the Techysquad offering is financial. It is rare to see a technology vendor willingly leave money on the table. Most CRM providers charge per user. They charge per lot. They charge for every additional admin account.This creates an irrational incentive. The broker brings in more volume and works harder to sign up IBs. The technology provider then takes a larger slice of that revenue. The broker takes the risk while the vendor takes the profit.Techysquad removed these variables. The pricing is fixed, and the broker pays a monthly fee. This allows a brokerage to forecast expenses with total accuracy. Consider the impact of scaling. A broker starts with five staff members and grows to fifty. Under a traditional model, the monthly software bill explodes. With Techysquad, the price remains flat.Customisation without the penaltyTechnology stacks are rarely static. A broker inevitably needs to change a workflow or integrate a new payment gateway. In the current market, vendors treat these requests as premium consulting projects. A simple request to change a dashboard layout often comes with a significant invoice.This approach stifles innovation. Brokers stop asking for improvements because they cannot afford the customisation fees. Operational efficiency hits a wall.Techysquad includes customisation at no additional cost. This is a radical departure from the norm. If a broker needs a specific adjustment to fit their compliance workflow, the team builds it. There is no negotiation over hourly rates. This policy removes the friction between the tech team and the business team. It encourages brokers to optimise their setup rather than settling for a default configuration.A signal to the marketThe UF AWARDS MEA 2026 title highlights a desire for transparency. Brokers want to know what they are paying for. They want to know that their technology partner is not skimming off the top of their trading volume.For more information on how Techysquad helps brokers scale, visit Techysquad.com. This article was written by FM Contributors at www.financemagnates.com.

The XRP Ledger has activated a new “Permissioned DEX” amendment that allows regulated institutions to trade on-chain in controlled environments. The change introduces gated trading venues where only approved entities can place and take orders, addressing strict compliance requirements around customer checks and transaction monitoring.Permissioned DEX to XRPLThe amendment, known as XLS-81, creates permissioned versions of XRPL’s built-in decentralized exchange. These venues keep the same trading mechanics as the native DEX but add control over who can participate. Domain operators can restrict which users may post offers and which may accept them, aligning access with rules such as know-your-customer and anti-money laundering procedures.?JUST IN: XRPL ACTIVATES MEMBERS-ONLY DEX FOR WALL STREETThe $XRP Ledger has activated XLS-81, introducing a “Permissioned DEX” that allows only approved participants to trade on-chain.Unlike traditional decentralized exchanges that are open to all, this new model restricts… pic.twitter.com/9tDtBoWhgX— BSCN (@BSCNews) February 18, 2026The feature targets banks, brokers and other regulated firms that want on-chain settlement and liquidity but cannot engage with fully open DeFi markets. For these institutions, the ability to gate participation forms a basic requirement rather than an optional safeguard.The rollout follows the recent launch of XLS-85, or Token Escrow, which expands XRPL’s existing escrow functionality beyond XRP. The upgrade enables conditional settlement for all trustline-based tokens and Multi-Purpose Tokens on the ledger, including stablecoins like RLUSD and tokenized real-world assets.Token Escrow Extends Conditional SettlementCombined, XLS-81 and XLS-85 provide a toolkit for regulated finance on XRP Ledger. Institutions can use token escrow to manage conditions around transfers while using permissioned DEX venues to trade those assets in controlled markets.You may also like: Why Crypto Is Falling Today? Bitcoin, XRP Price, Ethereum And Dogecoin AnalysisThe changes have limited impact on day-to-day retail activity but indicate a clear institutional-first direction, with XRPL focusing on regulated tokenized funds, stablecoin FX rails and secondary markets for tokenized assets.XRP trades around $1.45–$1.48 and holds the fourth spot by market value, with a market cap above $88 billion and a weekly gain above 5 percent, which indicates relative strength versus most major coins that show flatter weekly moves.Read more: Ripple Provides $150 Million as LMAX Expands RLUSD for CFDs and Cross-Asset TradingOn the daily chart, short-term momentum remains positive as price holds above recent intraday lows near $1.45, while immediate resistance appears near the recent 24‑hour high around $1.49 and then the psychological $1.50–$1.55 zone.Broader XRP Technical AnalysisBroader technical readings show mixed signals, with one set of intraday indicators flagging overbought conditions: an RSI reading near 70 or above on shorter time frames points to stretched upside and raises the risk of a pause or pullback in the near term. Across the wider market, the top five cryptocurrencies by market cap all trade in negative territory over the last twenty‑four hours, with Bitcoin down around 2.3 percent, Ethereum dropping about 2.5 percent, and BNB declining roughly 1.5 percent. Weekly changes remain modest for Bitcoin, Ethereum and BNB, each under 1 percent, while XRP outperforms with a move above 5 percent over seven days, showing stronger relative momentum. This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

A new generation of self-directed investors, especially Gen Z, is entering 2026 with a stronger appetite for risk, according to new research from UK wealth manager Charles Stanley Direct. These findings show a shift toward aggressive, self-directed trading in the retail market. The UK study finds over a third (36%) of self-directed investors now seek high or very high investment risk. The trend is clear among the youngest: Half (50%) of Gen Z want to take on more risk, and 60% are taking on more risk than usual. The UK data matches global research. A recent Coinbase study finds that younger investors trade more frequently, use leverage, and allocate about 25% of their portfolios to non-traditional assets such as crypto and derivatives. This data shows younger investors want more dynamic, constant market access and seek higher-growth or higher-volatility products. The Surprising Role of Financial Advice The Charles Stanley report shows another pattern. Investors with professional advice are almost three times more likely to seek high risk than those without advice (56% versus 19%). Advice here seems to build confidence, helping investors structure and justify complex or aggressive strategies rather than restraining risk-taking. “DIY investors have started the year in a positive frame of mind and showing signs of optimism as they adopt risk-seeking behaviour,” said Rob Morgan, Chief Investment Analyst at Charles Stanley Direct. “This is most notable among younger investors, who naturally have more time on their side and are keen go-getters.” For brokers and fintechs, the findings suggest demand for higher-risk and alternative products, including crypto-linked instruments and event-focused contracts, signals a lasting shift in investor preferences. How firms address this could determine whether they attract and keep younger clients. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

The Dutch Gaming Authority has ordered Adventure One, which operates under the brand name Polymarket, to cease offering games of chance in the Netherlands because it has not obtained a Dutch gambling license.The warning follows regulatory action in the United States. Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Council directed Kalshi, Polymarket, and Crypto.com to halt offering sports-related contracts. The regulator also ordered the platforms to void existing contracts and issue refunds. The council said the companies lacked state gambling licenses and posed a public risk. Federal registration with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission does not exempt them from state rules. Noncompliance could lead to fines or criminal action.Dutch Regulator Targets Polymarket Election BetsPolymarket must stop its activities immediately. The Ksa said that if the company continues, it could face a penalty of €420,000 per week, up to a maximum of €840,000. A turnover-related fine may also be applied later, the authority reported.Polymarket has argued that its prediction markets are not games of chance. The Ksa disagrees. The regulator said contact with the company over its activities has not led to any visible change, and the offer remains available.Ella Seijsener, Director of Permits and Supervision at the Ksa, said that “prediction markets are on the rise, also in the Netherlands” but added that the type of business “offers bets that are not allowed in our market anyway, not even by licensees.” She noted the social risks, including “the possible influence of elections.” She said the authority considers such platforms to be illegal gambling and emphasized that companies without a Ksa license “have nothing to do with our market,” including new types of gambling platforms.Prediction Markets Reach Record $702 MillionPrediction markets have seen rapid growth in recent months. In January this year, they reached a record single-day volume of $701.7 million. Kalshi accounted for $465.9 million, while Polymarket and Opinion handled roughly $100 million combined. Kalshi reported a total of $23.8 billion in trading volume for 2025. Some trades on Polymarket, including large political wagers, have raised concerns about potential insider activity. Access to these platforms is now restricted in over 30 countries, including the US and UK. This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Alexis Droussiotis has announced his departure from the role of Head of Match-Trader Platform at Match-Trade Technologies after more than two and a half years in the position.“With the arrival of 2026, I decided that it’s time to close this amazing chapter and step down from my role as Head of Platform at Match-Trade Technologies. Next up is taking time to recenter, recalibrate priorities and build on the strengths and perspectives developed along the way,” Droussiotis mentioned on LinkedIn.Exit from Match-TraderDroussiotis joined Match-Trade Technologies in 2023 and worked in Limassol, Cyprus, on-site as Head of Match-Trader Platform. In the role, he supported business development and operational initiatives that targeted platform growth and adoption.He built relationships with clients, partners and technology vendors and coordinated work between sales, product, marketing and technical teams. He also focused on internal workflow improvements, scalability efforts and wider commercial planning and platform positioning.Other recent executive moves: NinjaTrader Taps Ex-IG Exec Christopher Tripp as General Manager, InternationalCommenting about what is next, he said: “It wouldn’t be a meaningful break if I didn’t take advantage of this time to focus on my family. Travel has always been central to how we reconnect as a family and broaden our children’s view of the world, so I truly can’t wait to explore China next month with my wife and two boys. At long last for pleasure instead of business.”Previous Roles at PrimeXMBefore Match-Trader, Droussiotis spent more than six years at PrimeXM in Cyprus. He earlier served as Director for Operations and Business Support and as Chief Information Officer.Match-Trader has experienced strong growth in the recent past. In August 2025, the company reported a 290 percent increase in server clients using the Match-Trader platform since January 2024. The platform first appeared in 2015 for institutional clients and was later rolled out to retail brokers around 2019–2020.Read more: Match-Trader Developer Says Server Clients Jump 290% Since January 2024The company was early in identifying new market opportunities and began licensing the Match-Trader platform to proprietary trading firms. Over time, several prop trading brands, ranging from established names to smaller startups, have adopted the technology as part of their platform offerings.A significant factor that drove this growth was MetaQuotes’ crackdown in early 2024 on prop trading firms using MetaTrader 4 and 5 to serve US residents. The restriction prompted many firms to seek alternative platforms, boosting Match-Trader’s adoption among prop trading companies. This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

Pepperstone, a leading global online broker, highlights the success of its participation at last week's iFX EXPO Dubai 2026, held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, where it welcomed thousands of industry participants at Booth #1 for two days of meetings, partner engagement and brand experiences. A centerpiece of Pepperstone’s presence was the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team 2025 show car featuring the 2026 livery, which became a major attraction on the exhibition floor and generated sustained footfall and conversation at the Pepperstone stand. Throughout the event, the team met with brokers, fintech providers, and institutional partners, using the Expo as an opportunity to strengthen relationships and explore how the MENA trading ecosystem continues to evolve. “iFX EXPO Dubai is one of the most significant moments on the regional calendar as it brings so many key players together in one place, and this year was exceptional,” said Marc Boever, Head of Sales EMEA at Pepperstone. “The volume of engagement at our booth was a strong reflection of the momentum across the region. The Aston Martin Show car created a great focal point for the Pepperstone experience, and the energy around the brand activation provided an ideal setting to connect, exchange ideas and build on relationships that matter.” With the show car as a visual drawcard, it became one of the Expo’s most photographed stops and a memorable way to engage with the Pepperstone brand. Visitors to the 2026 iFX EXPO leave with valuable new insight and information that will help shape the next phase of industry growth. The event delivered strong outcomes across business development, with a full schedule of conversations spanning technology, execution, market access and the broader expectations that traders and partners now bring to their broker relationships.About PepperstonePepperstone is a multi-regulated forex and CFDs broker providing trading services with forex, stocks, commodities and other asset classes. The company was founded in 2010 in Melbourne, Australia, by a team of experienced traders with a shared commitment to improving the online trading experience. Trusted by over 400,000 traders around the globe, and regulated by ASIC, SCB, CMA, CySEC, FCA, BaFin and DFSA, the company processes an average of US$12.55bn of trades every day, becoming one of the world’s largest forex brokers and earning multiple prestigious awards from Investment Trends, Deloitte and Compare Forex Brokers. For more information, visit https://pepperstone.com Media Contact:Your Mind Media hello@yourmindmedia.com www.yourmindmedia.com This article was written by FM Contributors at www.financemagnates.com.

For decades, 4pm on America’s eastern seaboard marked a civilised pause. The closing bell rang, screens dimmed and traders retreated to digest the day’s gyrations. Strategies were refined, notes updated, perhaps even families acknowledged.That rhythm, though, is unravelling. According to data shared exclusively with Finance Magantes, at Capital.com, between 25% and 40% of retail clients traded during pre-and post-market sessions over the past three months. Yet only 4% to 5% ventured into overnight trading. On eToro, where 24/5 trading access has been expanded to S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 stocks, roughly one-third of stock trading in December 2025 took place during the after-hours session. In June 2024, Vlad Tenev, Robinhood's CEO, announced on X that one year after launching its “24 Hour Market,” which offers trading 24 hours a day, five days a week, overnight activity had generated more than US$20 billion in total trading volume. The company did not publish a consolidated annual figure; however, based on reported peak activity, a reasonable estimate would place total trading volume above US$1 trillion, implying overnight flows still accounted for roughly 2% of the whole. Even so, Robinhood noted that on its busiest days, as much as 25% of daily trading occurred outside traditional market hours.Robinhood has surpassed $20B in overnight trading volume since launching Robinhood 24 Hour Market last year. ? pic.twitter.com/qK8gNF797c— Vlad Tenev (@vladtenev) June 5, 2024How Market Hours Have ExtendedTraditionally, America’s equity market operated from 9:30am to 4pm Eastern Time, Monday to Friday. In 1991, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) became the first major exchange to introduce limited after-hours trading, initially extending activity until 5:15pm for institutional investors. At the time, fewer than a million computers were connected to the internet and the Soviet Union had just dissolved. Markets, like geopolitics, were just becoming more open.Today, 24/5 trading offers four distinct trading windows: the traditional session; pre-market (4am-9:30am); post-market or after-hours (4pm-8pm); and overnight (8pm-4am). It should be noted that Robinhood defines “overnight” as between 8 pm and 7am, for Capital.com is 9pm to 2am, and for eToro is 8pm to 4am. Stocks, ETFs and CFDs can now be traded throughout the working week. Yet access during extended hours remains constrained to selected instruments. Retail Traders Are Extending Habits, Not HorizonsWhile retail traders appear to be testing extended hours, it does not necessarily change their appetite. According to eToro, there is little divergence between what clients trade during core hours and what they trade outside them. On Capital.com, which primarily offers CFDs, activity clusters around technology names, including Meta, Tesla, Nvidia and Oracle, alongside ETFs and crypto-related firms. What the Exchanges SeeExchange data tell a similar story. As of January 2025, extended-hours trading accounted for more than 11% of all US equity volume on the NYSE, with over 1.7 billion shares traded daily outside the core session, more than double the proportion recorded in early 2019. The exchange attributes much of this growth to retail participation.Interestingly, the distribution leans heavily toward pre-market hours, which in the first quarter of 2025, represented more than 55% of all extended-hours volume, having expanded fifteen-fold since 2019. Post-market growth, by contrast, has been comparatively modest.Why the Push, and the Problems It BringsA 2025 analysis by the World Federation of Exchanges identified three forces driving the expansion of trading hours: investors conditioned by always-on digital services and cryptocurrency markets; rising demand from international retail traders, particularly in Asia; and seeking faster responses to market-moving news, which explains the pre-market growth. But longer hours are not costless. Liquidity does not remain constant across a 24-hour cycle. Staffing exchanges continuously bring operational complications. And experience from foreign exchange and cryptocurrency markets suggests that activity continues to peak during traditional business hours. Overnight sessions tend to be thinner, spreads wider and volatility is less forgiving.Retail traders are well aware. On Reddit forum r/Trading, users routinely warn of broader bid-ask spreads and lower volumes outside core hours. Add to that uneven access, as extended-hours trading is restricted to selected instruments. The market may be open; it is not entirely available.Will Momentum Build for Longer Trading Hours?Thomas Peterffy, Chairman of Interactive Brokers – the global brokerage offers 24/5 trading on alternative venues – speaking at a Piper Sandler conference in 2025, suggested that overnight trading, then just 2.2% of the firm’s volume, could exceed 30% by 2030. In announcing its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025, eToro said it would expand to 24/7 trading, citing the success of its 24/5 expansion. The initial rollout will cover a selection of popular assets, with plans to broaden access across asset classes over time.Today, NYSE is proud to announce the development of a platform for trading and on-chain settlement of tokenized securities. NYSE’s new digital platform will enable tokenized trading experiences, including 24/7 operations, instant settlement, orders sized in dollar amounts, and…— NYSE ? (@NYSE) January 19, 2026At the same time, exchanges are also moving into the 24/7 territory. Both NYSE and Nasdaq are expected to allow nearly round-the-clock trading by the second half of 2026; the former is also preparing to launch a 24/7 trading platform for blockchain-based securities. Reflecting this trend, the LMAX Group added gold to its perpetual futures platform, enabling institutional clients to maintain XAU/USD exposure around the clock, including weekends when traditional markets are shut. The London-based cross-asset marketplace said that the move responds to a growing appetite for gold derivatives beyond standard hours. However, for now, most investor behaviour remains traditional. The majority of activity still clusters around the core session, where liquidity is deepest and spreads tightest, and extended-hours trading tends to spike only at particular moments. On Capital.com, around 80% of total equity volume is still executed during normal US hours.Markets may be open day and night, but whether the money will follow remains an open question. This article was written by Adonis Adoni at www.financemagnates.com.