Revolut brings CFD tradingRevolut quietly rolled out contracts for difference (CFD) trading to “active traders” in 29 countries, including several across Europe. This follows an earlier pilot in just three EU markets — the Czech Republic, Denmark and Greece — and comes on the heels of the fintech giant securing a full UK banking license.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)Finance Magnates verified that European users can now find CFDs inside the Revolut app under the Investment tab, alongside the company’s separate CFD-focused platform, Revolut Invest. In Europe, these products are offered via Revolut’s Lithuanian entity, which operates under a MiFID II license, giving the firm a regulatory framework to market leveraged CFD products across multiple EU jurisdictions.Revolut’s latest numbers look strong. The fintech giant said it made a pretax profit of £1.7 billion last year, a 57% jump from £1.09 billion the year before. It credits the performance to adding more customers and earning money from a wider mix of products. Revenue climbed to £4.5 billion ($6 billion), up 46% from £3.1 billion in 2024 and above the £4.2 billion average forecast from Bloomberg analysts. BlackBull kicks off IPO roadshowIn the CFD space, firms are eying avenues for growth. Auckland-based BlackBull Markets is considering a dual listing on both the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX). According to the Australian Financial Review, the company has appointed Barrenjoey Capital Partners, UBS, and Forsyth Barr to organize a non-deal roadshow.The move comes after company founders presented to investors in Sydney this week, sources at the meeting said. In its investor presentation, BlackBull reported revenue of NZ$108 million (about A$90 million) over the past year, with EBITDA of NZ$55 million and net profit of NZ$38 million. The company’s materials also indicated an EBITDA margin above 50%, underscoring its strong profitability.Capital.com eyes MAS LicenseCapital.com is expanding, with plans to obtain licenses across several jurisdiction. It advertised for a senior Risk Manager role in Singapore. The broker also noted that is seeking aSouth African license in December and is exploring additional licenses inseveral other markets.Early this year, Capital.com entered the African market after securing a license from Kenya’s regulator, allowing it to operate as a local Dealing Online Foreign Exchange Broker and offer online forex and trading services to clients in the country.How Singapore’s VCC attracts European moneyElsewhere, Singapore is strengthening its position as Asia's leading fund domicile by promoting an onshore alternative to traditional offshore fund structures for managers and investors. A key part of this effort is the variable capital company (VCC), its main flexible corporate structure for investment funds. Introduced in January 2020, the VCC is regulated by both the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It can be used for open-ended or closed-ended funds and offers flexible share issuance and redemption, as well as capital-based dividends.XTB sells inactive South Africa unitNot everyone is expanding. XTB agreed to sell its South African subsidiary for 645,000 dollars, ending an eight‑year effort to enter the African market that never properly started. The broker said in its 2025 annual report that it signed a conditional deal on 17 February 2026 to sell 100% of XTB Africa PTY Ltd. to an unnamed buyer, and that the sale still needs approval from South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority. The report explains that the South African company received its FSCA licence in August 2021 but never began serving clients. XTB said it is selling the unit because it “did not commence operational activities” and did not give any further reasons.AETOS owners exit CFD business with Aussie saleAt the same time, the owners of AETOS sold their last remaining Australian operation to Dynamic Fintech Solutions, an Australian fintech firm, completing their exit from the CFDs business. Until the sale, the AETOS Australia unit was largely controlled by Chinese online entrepreneur Yongqiang Lu, but the new owner has now taken full control of its operations and assets. The parties did not disclose the financial details of the deal. However, the sale includes AETOS AU’s corporate entity, its Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence, and all related financial services and operational activities run under that entity.Prediction markets boom as trust push continuesIn the prediction markets, the industry has had a rough spell recently. One of the most disturbing episodes involved reports of traders placing big bets on the timing of a possible nuclear strike linked to the conflict between the US and Iran, which badly damaged the sector’s image. In response, platforms have rolled out different steps to rebuild trust and show they are not turning a blind eye to abuse.Tradermayne: Polymarket Just Partnered With Palantir And It Is A Massive Deal."This is a massive partnership here between Polymarket between Palantir. Obviously, the move towards more regulations. They're gonna be working with Palantir's ability to detect data integrity using… pic.twitter.com/9BVp6VUzEY— The Order Book (@OrderBookShow) March 17, 2026As previously reported by Finance Magnates, they are trying to prove that users cannot profit from insider information, whether it comes from military circles or casual locker-room chatter.IG eyes prediction marketsMeanwhile, IG Group is actively exploring prediction markets. During the recent earnings call, CEO Breon Corcoran said the company has discussed them before and described prediction markets as essentially a new label for what used to be binary options in Europe or products on European betting exchanges. He added that IG already has capability and intellectual property in this area but has not yet launched a product. The group is also using this work to sharpen its focus on crypto as part of a broader push to diversify revenue. IG’s Chief Financial Officer, Clifford Abrahams, noted on the call that while crypto revenue is still at an early stage, crypto trading brought in around 4 percent of group net trading revenue in 2025.US bill on sports prediction contracts clouds brokersDespite the prediction markets boom, regulations are tightening. A group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill that would bar federally regulated prediction markets from offering contracts tied to sports events, according to the Wall Street Journal. The move has raised new questions about how these sports-related contracts should be overseen and which regulators should be in charge. The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, and John Curtis, a Republican from Utah. It would change the law so that sports-related contracts are no longer under the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, shifting them instead to state-level oversight.IGA statement: The Indian Gaming Association welcomes the introduction of the “Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act” @RWW pic.twitter.com/IBKM0rHYiI— Suswati Basu (@suswatibasu) March 23, 2026Elsewhere, the latest move is the Indian Gaming Association’s support for a bipartisan Senate bill that would bar federally regulated platforms from offering contracts linked to sporting events and casino-style outcomes.What prop firms must do to survive 2026Between 80 and 100 prop trading firms shut down in 2024, andthat shake-out continued into 2025. Out of 376 prop firms tracked in oneindustry database, 84 were no longer active and another 30 showed no signs ofoperation, implying that roughly a third of the market disappeared in less thantwo years.The prop trading business has moved beyond its early “goldrush” phase into a more mature stage where growth demands a full strategyrather than quick wins. Firms can no longer rely on simply picking the cheapestadvertising channels or low cost-per-acquisition markets and instead need farmore groundwork across compliance, payments, marketing, and operations to growsustainably.Retail wants oil perps but crypto venues are behindA sharp oil rally in recent weeks has shown that major crypto exchanges are slow to launch new derivatives, according to TradingView Chief Growth Officer Rauan Khassan. He noted that only a few of the top‑10 crypto venues offered oil perpetuals even as prices were surging. As a result, newer platforms have been quicker to react. Khassan pointed out that venues such as Polymarket and Hyperliquid moved first to list oil‑linked perpetual products.Retail cools on AI stocks as gold soarsRetail investors are becoming more cautious about AI stocks and the so‑called Magnificent 7 tech names, while increasing their holdings in commodities to the highest level in almost three years, according to a quarterly survey by eToro. The poll covered 11,000 retail investors in 13 countries and was carried out between February 12 and 27. In the latest results, 43% of respondents said they expect AI‑related stocks to rise in 2026, down from 52% in the previous quarter. The share who think the Magnificent 7 will outperform the broader market also fell, to 40% from 47% in the prior survey.This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.