Derek Gobel, who served at BNP Paribas for more than 19 years, will now oversee HDR Global’s legal function and help the company move forward in a constantly evolving regulatory environment, according to a blog post on BitMEX on Sept. 11.
BitMEX parent firm HDR Global Trading has hired a former executive of French banking group BNP Paribas as the group’s general counsel.
A member of the Legal 500’s 2017 GC Powerlist in China and Hong Kong, Derek will bring 28 years of experience working on a multitude of legal issues, including his most recent position as regional general counsel for Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas.
28 years of legal expertise
BitMEX COO recently stepped down
The news comes amid a report claiming that BitMEX’s chief operating officer and veteran Hong Kong regulator Angelina Kwan left the company.
Kwan is known for covering enforcement and market supervision as part of her roles as director of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission as well as managing director and head of regulatory compliance for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.
Meanwhile, HDR Global Trading, the operator of the world’s single biggest Bitcoin derivatives provider BitMEX, has been actively encouraging initiatives in crypto space. In mid-July 2019, the firm granted $60,000 to Bitcoin Core contributor Michael Ford after previously donating to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to carry out crypto-related research in late May.
Binance.US Will Open User Registration Next Week
Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced that it will open registration and deposits on its platform for United States-based clients next week, Wednesday Sept. 18.
Seven days to launch
On Sept. 11, Binance announced in a blog post that Binance.US will open registration and begin accepting deposits of Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), XRP, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC) and Tether (USDT).
CEO at Binance.US Catherine Coley said that following the registration opening, customers will be able to sign up for an account and select the level of verification required to achieve their desired withdrawal limits. She further added:
“This kicks off our first phase as we gradually roll out access to our digital asset marketplace across America. After trading launches for this first phase, we will be continually adding to the selection of digital assets available for verified users to deposit and eventually trade on Binance.US.”
The platform will issue further announcements when certain cryptocurrency pairs go live for trading.
Binance.US platform will be led by BAM
Cointelegraph reported earlier that Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, indicated that operations of the U.S.-based platform will be led by BAM Trading Services, a California-based money services business. Despite the fact that BAM will lead the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume to service in the U.S. market, very little is known about this company.
BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes Says Traders Could Lose Weekends, Lunch Breaks
BitMEX CEO and co-founder Arthur Hayes says traditional traders may lose their lunch breaks and weekends as digital finance is going to change everything, including workplaces.
Cryptocurrencies trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week
In a Sept. 19 article by Bloomberg, Hayes noted that cryptocurrencies trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that this will end up affecting “everything from traditional equities, bonds and currency trading, to the way payments are processed and recorded.”
The CEO of BitMex made his remarks at the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore, where he added that “traders may even lose their lunch breaks and weekends as traditional assets absorb some characteristics of digital ones.” Hayes added:
“Some of the practices in our market are going to be mimicked in traditional trading … All these things about being somewhere and trading something and physically reconciling records is all going to go out the window. Once you get away from that and understand that everything will be digital in the next 10 years, you realize that Bitcoin isn’t such a strange idea.”
It remains to be seen how labor organizations, who were crucial in the passage and adoption of weekends, the forty-hour workweek and mandatory breaks, will respond if Hayes’s prediction comes to pass.
“Get Ready for Bitcoin $20K”
On Sept. 18, Hayes predicted that Bitcoin could soon shoot to $20,000 as a result of emergency measures from the United States Federal Reserve.
Hayes comments came right after the Federal reserve swooped in to decrease interest rates on some loans which reached more than 10%, or four times its target. More than $53 billion was pumped into the economy through quantitative easing (QE) measures.
“QE4eva is coming. Once the Fed gets religion again, get ready for #bitcoin $20,000”, Hayes tweeted.
