The trading industry saw a major ownership change this weekas AvaTrade agreed to acquire the majority of FXCM Group’s business and brandrights. The deal followed Trade Nation’s acquisition of FXCM’s UK client book,marking another step in the restructuring of one of the industry’s establishedretail forex brands.London's trading industry is coming home!Elsewhere, brokers continued to invest in tradinginfrastructure and overseas operations, while Nasdaq backed a European platformpursuing round-the-clock trading. The week also brought new funding for aproprietary trading firm, fresh payout figures from established prop firms, andrenewed discussion about how extended trading hours could change the industry.AvaTrade Agrees to Acquire Majority of FXCM BusinessAvaTradehas agreed to acquire the majority of FXCM Group’s business and brandrights, bringing the two established CFD brokers under the same corporategroup. The financial terms were not disclosed. Finance Magnates had reported inJune that AvaTrade was seeking to acquire Stratos, the parent of FXCM andTradu, from investment bank Jefferies.The transaction follows Jefferies’ decade-long control ofStratos after providing a liquidity rescue following the 2015 Swiss franccrisis. Rather than acquiring the entire business in one transaction, AvaTradeis taking the majority of its remaining operations.The agreement came daysafter Trade Nation acquired FXCM’s UK client book, leaving the brand’soperations divided between separate buyers.Trade Nation Acquires FXCM’s UK Client BookTrade Nation acquired FXCM’sUK client book for an undisclosed sum. Finance Magnates confirmed the dealon Tuesday. Matthew Wright, Trade Nation’s chief strategy officer and UKCEO, said the longevity of FXCM’s client base was among the factors thatattracted the company to the portfolio.Round-the-Clock Markets Raise Questions About Traders’Working HoursPaul Golden examines the expansion of 24-hourtrading and its effect on market infrastructure. CME Group reported thatits first six weekends of cryptocurrency futures and options trading generated$1 billion in volume, while average daily volume in crypto derivatives rose 44%year on year in the first half to 280,000 contracts.SEC Commissioner HesterPeirce has noted that many market participants view extended trading as aninevitable, if unwelcome, complication, citing thinner order books, widerspreads and increased price volatility. Golden writes that markets are movingtowards a structure where different types of liquidity dominate at differenttimes, highlighting the importance of knowing when and where liquidity isavailable.CME is winding down its plan for 24/7 markets over weekend staffing.@lighter_xyz founder & CEO @vnovakovski says that back in traditional finance, his friends looked forward to weekends while he just wanted the markets open.That impatience, he says, is part of why people love onchain finance: markets that never close have always been part of the ethos.— The Rollup (@therollupco) October 7, 2026Brokers Reassure Investors After IG Group’s Share PriceSlumpIG Group’s decision to cut its revenue outlook triggered asharp share-price decline on 2 October, with its stock falling as much as 27%during the session. Thesell-off also affected competitors, sending CMC Markets and Plus500 sharesdown by as much as 9% and 14%, respectively.Rival brokers subsequently sought to distinguish theirtrading performance from IG’s outlook, presenting their own businesses asoperating normally. Analysts viewed some of the market reaction as excessive,suggesting that part of the valuation discount could reverse if IG deliveredimproved results. However, the episode also highlighted competitive pressuresfacing online brokers, including rising advertising costs and competition fromRevolut, whose retail platform has attracted 68 million users.Most Axi Clients Move to MetaTrader 5 as Broker DeploysUltencyMorethan 60% of Axi’s customers now use MetaTrader 5, according to a case studypublished by MetaQuotes. The broker has migrated the majority of its clients toMetaTrader 5 and has also started deploying Ultency, MetaQuotes' order-matchingengine for MT5 brokers.The rollout adds another component to Axi’s tradinginfrastructure as it continues to develop its execution systems. Previously,Axi had used a competing order-management system from Your Bourse, which itadopted in 2025. MetaQuotes’ case study also noted that earlier users ofUltency were largely liquidity providers. Axi’s adoption therefore extends theengine’s use within a retail brokerage operation, alongside the migration ofmost of its customers to MT5.Trading 212 Invests £44 Million in Overseas SubsidiariesTrading212 Group invested £44 million in its overseas subsidiaries in 2025, with£21.1 million directed to its German operation, according to a Finance MagnatesIntelligence analysis of the group’s accounts. The German entity, acquired asFXFlat Bank for approximately €4 million, recorded £2.7 million in revenueduring the year.Despite the investment across international operations, theUK remained the group’s main revenue source, accounting for 80% of totalrevenue. The figures show how Trading 212 is allocating capital across itsoverseas business while retaining a strong dependence on its domesticoperation. Germany received nearly half of the subsidiary funding, making itthe largest destination for the group’s overseas investment during the year.Nasdaq Backs One Trading’s Plans for 24/7 EuropeanMarketsNasdaq Ventures has made an undisclosed strategic investmentin One Trading, supporting discussions on round-the-clocktrading infrastructure and potential joint initiatives. The partnershipwill explore ways to extend One Trading’s 24/7 capabilities into traditionalderivatives and broaden the products available through the platform.One Trading has been developing infrastructure forcontinuous trading, including leveraged perpetual products that resemblecontracts for difference. The Nasdaq partnership places the platform’stechnology in discussions about how conventional financial markets couldaccommodate trading beyond standard exchange hours. Both companies plan toassess potential areas of cooperation rather than announcing a completedintegration. The investment comes as market operators examine how digitalinfrastructure and tokenisation could support trading across longer periods.Vest Labs Raises $13 Million in Pre-Seed FundingNew York-based prop trading firm VestLabs raised $13 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Portal Ventures,according to a report cited by Finance Magnates. The round closed in July andalso attracted angel investments from senior executives at Citadel Securities,BlackRock and KKR.Vest Labs plans to use the funding to develop its own mobileapplication, expand its team and add more tradable assets. The size of theraise stands out in a prop trading sector where many firms rely on their ownresources rather than venture capital. For Portal Ventures, the investment alsorepresents its first backing of a prop trading firm. The funding gives VestLabs capital to develop its product offering and expand its operations.FTMO Reports More Than $200 Million in Annual TraderRewardsFTMO distributed more than $14.4million in rewards to approximately 7,100 traders in September, taking itsreported cumulative payouts above $650 million. The Prague-based proprietarytrading firm said it had paid more than $200 million over the preceding 12months, equivalent to an average of around $16 million per month.7,100+ FTMO Rewards processed in September. ✅— FTMO.com (@FTMO_com) October 8, 2026September’s rewards were approximately 5% lower thanAugust’s level, while the number of payouts implied an average payment ofroughly $2,030. FTMO also reported more than 4.5 million registered tradersworldwide. The figures provide an update on the scale of its reward programmeas the firm continues to report monthly distributions and cumulative payments totraders using its funded trading model.Hola Prime Says Cumulative Trader Payouts Exceed $10MillionProp trading firm Hola Prime reported that it hadpaid more than $10million to funded traders, more than tripling its cumulative total sinceApril. The company put the average payout at approximately $1,800, down fromaround $4,500 when it reported distributing about $3.2 million earlier in theyear.The figures were disclosed by the firm and reflect its owntally of payments. Separately, a Deloitte review earlier in 2026 examined howquickly payouts were processed through mid-March; it did not verify thecompany’s subsequent cumulative total. The latest announcement provides anupdate on Hola Prime’s reported distributions, while the lower average payoutshows how the composition of payments has changed as the total has grown.iFX EXPO Asia 2026 Opens in Hong Kong as Brokers ExploreSports MarketingiFX EXPO Asia 2026 opened its main exhibition and conferenceprogramme at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday,bringing together companies from online trading, fintech and digital assets.Organisers expected more than 5,000 attendees from over 130 countries,alongside 150 exhibitors and more than 120 speakers.Thethree-day programme covers artificial intelligence, stablecoins, tokenisation,prediction markets and trading technology. Discussions also include howbrokers build their brands through sports, reflecting the marketing strategiesused to reach customers beyond traditional financial advertising. The eventbegan with a welcome party on Wednesday before the main conference opened. Itsprogramme brings brokers, liquidity providers, fintech businesses and cryptocompanies together for industry discussions and networking.This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.