Tokenized stocks surge in July
Interest in tokenized stocks rose sharply in July, with the
combined market capitalization of TSLA and SPY reaching $53.6 million,
according to a report by Binance. This marked a 220% increase compared to June.
The number of on-chain addresses associated with tokenized
stock assets grew significantly, rising from 1,600 to over 90,000 within a
month.
Tokenized stocks volumes experienced notable growth in July, Source: Binance
Binance noted that if just 1% of global equities were
tokenized, the sector could reach a market size of $1.3 trillion—over eight
times the peak value of the decentralized finance sector.
Tokenized equity platforms aim to blur the lines between crypto and traditional investing. Major crypto exchanges such as Kraken and
Bybit, along with retail trading platforms like Robinhood and eToro, have launched these services.
Moneta Markets secures FCA approval
Outside the tokenization race, CFD broker Moneta Markets secured a license from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority through its subsidiary,
VIBHS Financial Ltd.
The FCA license followed Moneta Markets’ recent entry into
sports sponsorship through a regional partnership with Spanish football club
Atlético de Madrid.
Is the tide turning for UK brokerage? In his weekly feature, Paul Golden observed that Moneta and Ultima Markets’ move comes after several
years of CFD brokers retreating from the UK.
The moves by both firms suggest a renewed interest in the UK
CFD space, which some view as a now more mature and stable market environment
compared to earlier in the decade.
This week in numbers: IG Group, Plus500, XTB, and CMC Markets
Publicly traded CFD brokers IG Group, Plus500, CMC Markets,
and XTB all reported strong results this week, largely fueled by growth in
active client numbers.
Metric
IG Markets Limited
IG Index Limited
IG Trading and Investments Limited
Net Trading Revenue
FY25
£384.9m
£228.3m
£27.2m
FY24
£343.0m
£211.7m
£20.4m
Change
+£41.9m (+12.2%)
+£16.6m (+7.8%)
+£6.8m (+33.3%)
Operating Profit
FY25
£140.5m
£127.2m
£23.8m
FY24
£106.1m
£102.3m
£20.5m
Change
+£34.4m (+32.4%)
+£24.9m (+24.3%)
+£3.3m (+16.1%)
Profit After Tax
FY25
£131.2m
£92.7m
£21.9m
FY24
£102.5m
£73.0m
£20.7m
Change
+£28.7m (+28.0%)
+£19.7m (+27.0%)
+£1.2m (+5.8%)
IG led in both client volume and profitability, posting the
highest average revenue per user (ARPU) at $3,240. Plus500 came in second with
an ARPU of $2,310, followed by CMC Markets at $1,350 and XTB at just $350.
For IG, the performance was further reinforced by strong subsidiary earnings. Three of its key units recorded higher profits in fiscal
year 2025, reversing the mixed results seen in the previous year.
The5ers Founder speaks to Financemagnates.com
In our exclusive interview with Gil Ben Hur, the founder and CEO of The5ers, we discussed execution among prop trading firms. In
his view, the two-step evaluation model used by many proprietary trading firms
was incompatible with A-book execution.
He made the remarks following the collapse of Funded
Unicorn, a prop trading firm that had promised greater transparency by
operating on an A-book model but shut down shortly after.
While most proprietary trading firms do not publicly
disclose their risk management approaches, some may still be operating A-book
setups.
Turning point for event contracts?
Interestingly, event contracts received a regulatory boost this week after
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission granted relief to Railbird Exchange
and its clearing partner from certain swap reporting obligations.
The decision marked a shift toward a more accommodating
regulatory stance in the U.S., which could support the growth of this emerging
asset class.
Financial industry reacts to GPT-5 launch
OpenAI launched GPT-5 this week, introducing its most advanced AI model to date. The rollout marked a significant shift, as the model
was made available to all ChatGPT users, including those on the free tier.
AI researcher Dave Wang described GPT-5 as a potential game-changer for finance and investing. He highlighted the model’s increased speed,
accuracy, and reasoning as features.
Finance Magnates Data Lab found that out of nearly 1,000 finance jobs, only one in three had “AI” in the title. These positions offered salaries that were, on average, 4% higher than those of other roles. However, over 70% of
finance job descriptions referenced AI tools or skills.
The observation emerged from a casual office discussion
about how AI was reshaping work and hiring trends.
Can you trust Vibe coding for trading tools?
Finally, Vibe coding has emerged as a new approach to software development, enabling fintech teams to build trading tools through fast,
visual, and AI-assisted methods.
It is used for tasks such as simulating KYC flows, mocking order-routing logic, and streamlining the development process.
Instead of starting with complex architecture or boilerplate
code, developers could construct data flows and logic through simple prompts or
drag-and-drop elements.
Tokenized stocks surge in July
Interest in tokenized stocks rose sharply in July, with the
combined market capitalization of TSLA and SPY reaching $53.6 million,
according to a report by Binance. This marked a 220% increase compared to June.
The number of on-chain addresses associated with tokenized
stock assets grew significantly, rising from 1,600 to over 90,000 within a
month.
Tokenized stocks volumes experienced notable growth in July, Source: Binance
Binance noted that if just 1% of global equities were
tokenized, the sector could reach a market size of $1.3 trillion—over eight
times the peak value of the decentralized finance sector.
Tokenized equity platforms aim to blur the lines between crypto and traditional investing. Major crypto exchanges such as Kraken and
Bybit, along with retail trading platforms like Robinhood and eToro, have launched these services.
Moneta Markets secures FCA approval
Outside the tokenization race, CFD broker Moneta Markets secured a license from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority through its subsidiary,
VIBHS Financial Ltd.
The FCA license followed Moneta Markets’ recent entry into
sports sponsorship through a regional partnership with Spanish football club
Atlético de Madrid.
Is the tide turning for UK brokerage? In his weekly feature, Paul Golden observed that Moneta and Ultima Markets’ move comes after several
years of CFD brokers retreating from the UK.
The moves by both firms suggest a renewed interest in the UK
CFD space, which some view as a now more mature and stable market environment
compared to earlier in the decade.
This week in numbers: IG Group, Plus500, XTB, and CMC Markets
Publicly traded CFD brokers IG Group, Plus500, CMC Markets,
and XTB all reported strong results this week, largely fueled by growth in
active client numbers.
Metric
IG Markets Limited
IG Index Limited
IG Trading and Investments Limited
Net Trading Revenue
FY25
£384.9m
£228.3m
£27.2m
FY24
£343.0m
£211.7m
£20.4m
Change
+£41.9m (+12.2%)
+£16.6m (+7.8%)
+£6.8m (+33.3%)
Operating Profit
FY25
£140.5m
£127.2m
£23.8m
FY24
£106.1m
£102.3m
£20.5m
Change
+£34.4m (+32.4%)
+£24.9m (+24.3%)
+£3.3m (+16.1%)
Profit After Tax
FY25
£131.2m
£92.7m
£21.9m
FY24
£102.5m
£73.0m
£20.7m
Change
+£28.7m (+28.0%)
+£19.7m (+27.0%)
+£1.2m (+5.8%)
IG led in both client volume and profitability, posting the
highest average revenue per user (ARPU) at $3,240. Plus500 came in second with
an ARPU of $2,310, followed by CMC Markets at $1,350 and XTB at just $350.
For IG, the performance was further reinforced by strong subsidiary earnings. Three of its key units recorded higher profits in fiscal
year 2025, reversing the mixed results seen in the previous year.
The5ers Founder speaks to Financemagnates.com
In our exclusive interview with Gil Ben Hur, the founder and CEO of The5ers, we discussed execution among prop trading firms. In
his view, the two-step evaluation model used by many proprietary trading firms
was incompatible with A-book execution.
He made the remarks following the collapse of Funded
Unicorn, a prop trading firm that had promised greater transparency by
operating on an A-book model but shut down shortly after.
While most proprietary trading firms do not publicly
disclose their risk management approaches, some may still be operating A-book
setups.
Turning point for event contracts?
Interestingly, event contracts received a regulatory boost this week after
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission granted relief to Railbird Exchange
and its clearing partner from certain swap reporting obligations.
The decision marked a shift toward a more accommodating
regulatory stance in the U.S., which could support the growth of this emerging
asset class.
Financial industry reacts to GPT-5 launch
OpenAI launched GPT-5 this week, introducing its most advanced AI model to date. The rollout marked a significant shift, as the model
was made available to all ChatGPT users, including those on the free tier.
AI researcher Dave Wang described GPT-5 as a potential game-changer for finance and investing. He highlighted the model’s increased speed,
accuracy, and reasoning as features.
Finance Magnates Data Lab found that out of nearly 1,000 finance jobs, only one in three had “AI” in the title. These positions offered salaries that were, on average, 4% higher than those of other roles. However, over 70% of
finance job descriptions referenced AI tools or skills.
The observation emerged from a casual office discussion
about how AI was reshaping work and hiring trends.
Can you trust Vibe coding for trading tools?
Finally, Vibe coding has emerged as a new approach to software development, enabling fintech teams to build trading tools through fast,
visual, and AI-assisted methods.
It is used for tasks such as simulating KYC flows, mocking order-routing logic, and streamlining the development process.
Instead of starting with complex architecture or boilerplate
code, developers could construct data flows and logic through simple prompts or
drag-and-drop elements.
