Crypto exchange Bitfinex has introduced a new feature for its algorithmic trading toolkit, allowing users to test their trading strategies without putting actual funds at risk. Bitfinex users can now deploy Honey Framework in their paper-trading sub-accounts. A paper trade is a simulated trade that allows users to practice buying and selling financial assets without risking real money. Paolo Ardoino, Bitfinex’s CTO, says the paper trading feature is part of his company’s effort to democratize finance. He explained: “The launch of paper trading on the Honey Framework forms part of our commitment to making powerful trading tools more accessible to …

A DeFi-focused crypto platform has entered into a partnership with CoinMarketCap — enabling its users to access more comprehensive decentralized finance data. DEXTools says the collaboration with CMC is the latest milestone in its rapidly growing operation, which has already come a long way since launching early last year. “CMC has recognized our product and its quality and has chosen us to be a reliable partner to move forward and strengthen their position into the DeFi sector,” the platform said. As a result of the partnership, CoinMarketCap will be using the data provided by DEXTools’ API — and integrating the …

Bakkt has become the latest crypto firm to get a BitLicense. On Thursday, the New York Department of Financial Services announced that Bakkt had become the 29th BitLicensee. First granted to Paxos in 2015, the BitLicense is New York's program for regulating digital currency firms. With it, Bakkt will have new access to offer crypto trading in the financial center of the U.S. The NYDFS also took the opportunity to plug its other crypto initiatives, including a tech sprint that aims to find new ways of getting data from firms to regulators in real time. While New York's regulation has …

A fully regulated brokerage with more than 100,000 users globally has introduced a novel way of welcoming new customers to its platform. Quantfury says users who invite their friends to join the platform will receive stock or cryptocurrency as a reward — with a value of anywhere between $10 and $250 — and their friends will receive the same. According to the company, this could deliver some interesting opportunities that a user may not have contemplated before… such as owning Facebook or Google stock, or gaining exposure to Bitcoin or Ethereum. In a move to stand head and shoulders above …

American banking giant Goldman Sachs has officially confirmed its plans to revive a cryptocurrency trading desk amid increasing demand from investors. Matt McDermott, global head of digital assets for Goldman Sachs' global markets division, announced that the company will provide access to CME Bitcoin (BTC) futures on its upcoming crypto platform. In a Friday Exchanges at Goldman Sachs podcast, the executive also noted that Goldman Sachs will offer crypto services with non-deliverable forwards, or NDFs, which are cash-settled, and usually short-term, forward contracts. McDermott noted that initially Goldman Sachs’ crypto platform will be limited to these two products, stating: “We’re …

On March 5, Polkadot‘s DOT experienced a flash crash at Binance perpetual futures that resulted in the contract trading as low at $0.20. While this could have been an honest fat-finger trading mistake, a number of indicators point to a planned attack. While no hard evidence will likely ever emerge, the open interest increase just 24 hours ahead of the event indicates that an attacker could have generated an $8.3-million profit by manipulating Binance’s matching engine. As shown above, during the three-minute candle, $20.4 million worth of DOT contracts traded. Although the swift downside move was a 99.5% flash crash, …

Vietnamese financial authorities have warned the public about the risks of cryptocurrency investment, as the industry is not regulated in Vietnam, local news agency Thanh Nien reported Wednesday. The Ministry of Finance of Vietnam stated, “Vietnam has not adopted any legislation related to the issuance, trading, and exchange of virtual currencies and virtual assets.” The ministry stated that digital currencies are not part of Vietnamese securities laws and that there are only two exchanges, Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange and Hanoi Stock Exchange, that are allowed to trade securities in Vietnam. To address this gap, the ministry has established a …

Colombia’s oldest commercial banking institution, Banco de Bogotá, is reportedly exploring cryptocurrency-related services. According to a report by local news agency Portafolio, Banco de Bogotá announced Monday that it will participate in a pilot project directed by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, the country's top financial regulator. The project will be run within a regulatory sandbox — dubbed la Arenera — which was approved by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit in September 2020. Banco de Bogotá will explore the business model and potential risks associated with the management of crypto assets by allowing a select group of clients …

Without much fanfare, Heath Tarbert has announced his full departure from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission at the end of this week. In a tweet Wednesday morning, the former CFTC Chairman said that he would be fully resigning as of Friday. In December, he left his post as chairman, which the CFTC announced formally on its website, but he indicated that he intended to stay on at the commission for an indefinite length of time. Today's announcement did not clarify future plans. During his chairmanship, which began in 2019, Tarbert was a vocal advocate for cryptocurrency usage. He was, for …

A decentralized synthetic asset issuance protocol built on Substrate says it has secured $1.64 million from prominent blockchain venture capitalists. Shadows Network, a trading platform based on Polkadot, is wrapping up its strategic financing round — and says it is ready to step out from the shadows and into the DeFi world. The company’s goal is to democratize finance and enable investors to gain exposure to assets — including stocks, commodities, indices and more. By enabling anyone to trade on-chain assets from anywhere, the platform describes itself as “the backbone of Web 3.0 as a store of value.” Highlighting the …

Coinbase’s IPO announcement has been hailed as “a milestone for the crypto industry” by Fortune Magazine. Similar to the Netscape IPO announcement that signaled the legitimacy of the internet, Coinbase’s impending public offering signals to the public at large that cryptocurrency trading is legitimate, legal and secure in the eyes of the Securities and Exchange Commission. And now, investors have an opportunity to own stock on the largest crypto trading platform in the United States. As a result, many see an investment in Coinbase as an investment in the future of crypto trading. It is the highest volume U.S. crypto …

Mettalex, a spinoff project of Fetch.ai, announced Friday that it has officially launched a decentralized exchange for commodities trading, offering another compelling use case in how blockchain technology is disrupting traditional finance. The new exchange aims to disrupt the commodities market through blockchain applications and other emerging technologies, such as machine learning and the Internet of Things. Mettalex has been designed to improve upon existing automated market makers and blockchain oracles. The company has said its automated market markers act as a party to all trades and ensure that the platform is fully collateralized. Initially, the exchange will provide access …