This past week’s Forex Industry News had a very international expansion flavour to it, with a number known names gaining licenses, acquiring, and/or hiring senior personnel to expand into new markets and regions.

Which broker did Plus500 buy to enter the ultra-competitive Japanese online trading market?

Who did Invast Global hire in Cyprus, as it seeks to expand its services to local FX/CFD brokers?

Who did neobroker BUX hire to head its newly-established Cyprus CFDs operation?

And it was also a very active week of Executive Moves in the FX sector…

FNG Exclusive: Why did Jefferies FX Prime Broker heads Brandon Mulvihill and Anthony Mazzarese depart the firm together?

Who is Fullerton Markets’ new CEO?

Who is the latest hire at Rostro, which recently bought Scope Markets?

Answers to these questions, and a whole lot more, appeared first or exclusively this past week at FNG. Some of the most read and commented-on FX industry news stories to appear over the past seven days on FNG included:

Plus500 enters Japanese market via acquisition of EZ Invest Securities. Online trading company Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS) announces its entry into the Japanese market through the acquisition of EZ Invest Securities, Co., Ltd. EZ Invest is licenced as a Type 1 Financial Instruments Business Operator, regulated by Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) and a member of the Japan Securities Dealers Association (JSDA) and the Financial Futures Association of Japan (FFAJ). EZ Invest’s offering includes CFDs and OTC Foreign Exchange. This acquisition represents a major growth opportunity for Plus500 and further strengthens its strategic position as a global multi-asset fintech group, by diversifying the Group’s geographic footprint through an immediate presence in the substantial retail trading market in Japan.

BUX acquires Cyprus CIF, hires Jean-Raphael Nahas to head Cyprus CFD operations. Amsterdam based BUX, one of the fastest growing neo-brokers in Europe, has announced the appointment of Jean-Raphael Nahas as new Managing Director of its Cyprus CFD operations. This follows the hiring of veteran online brokerage executive Salim Sebbata as CEO of BUX CFD, in the summer of 2021. BUX recently completed the process of acquiring a licensed Cyprus Investment Firm, Hua Ren (Cyprus) Financial Ltd, which was set up in 2019 by China based investors but never formally launched operations. Now renamed BUX Europe Ltd, the new operation enables the company to further grow its CFD business in the EU in a post-Brexit environment. This also marks the completion of the migration of EU-resident CFD clients from the UK to the new entity BUX Europe.

Capitolis raises $110 million at $1.6 billion valuation. Institutional trading optimization company Capitolis has announced that it has raised a $110 million Series D funding round, at a $1.6 billion valuation, driven by the rapid emergence and market acceptance of its marketplace solutions. The fundraise is co-led by top fintech investors Canapi Ventures, 9Yards Capital, and SVB Capital. Existing investors in Capitolis include a16z, Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital, S Capital, Spark Capital, Citi, State Street and J.P. Morgan. To date, Capitolis has raised a total of $280 million.

Dukascopy card issuer stops support due to alleged Russia connections. Geneva, Switzerland based Retail FX and CFDs broker Dukascopy has issued a statement that it regrets to inform its card holders about the decision of “Issuer Company” to stop issuance and support of all client cards issued in frame of partnership with this company. The action of Issuer Company was taken without a preliminary note and with immediate effect in contradiction to what Dukascopy called normal business practice. Like a number of other Retail FX brokers, one of the marketing and retention tools Dukascopy had been promoting among its clients was to hold a Dukascopy branded debit or credit card, and thus access or withdraw funds (or deposit funds) virtually anywhere in the world.

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

❑ Exclusive: Jefferies FX Prime Broker heads Brandon Mulvihill and Anthony Mazzarese depart, start crypto venture.

❑ Exclusive: Rostro adds John Williams from Equiti Capital as CIO.

❑ Exclusive: Invast Global hires longtime FxPro exec Gavriil Doratis as Associate Director in Cyprus.

❑ BidX Markets hires Robert Brown as Head of Strategic Development.

❑ Abdulghani Khattab joins BDSwiss as Head of Marketing MENA Region.

❑ Fullerton Markets hires FXPrimus alum Rahul Sodhy as CEO.

❑ Dr. George Theocharides appointed as Chairman of CEMA.