As more financial services firms look for ways to utilise blockchain technology within their infrastructures, Galen Stops examines whether the technology is really as safe as advocates claim, following two high-profile hacks earlier this year. “Cyber and system security is one of the most important issues facing markets today in terms of integrity and financial stability,” said Commissioner Christopher Giancarlo of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on September 8, when approving system safeguard requirements for derivatives clearing organisations. Giancarlo is hardly alone in his concerns.

Carlo Koelzer, CEO of 360T Group and global head of FX at Deutsche Börse Group, talks to Galen Stops about the importance of building critical mass amidst the changing landscape of the FX market. Galen Stops: It’s now about one year on from Deutsche Börse’s acquisition of 360T. Can you shed some light about why you agreed to the deal? Carlo Koelzer: Prior to this deal we were a big trading platform in the market, but a small organisation in comparison to our competitors. When you look at the larger platforms in the market they’re backed by firms like Icap, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg and State Street, all of whom had larger balance sheets than us.

After four and a half years, Gil Mandelzis has stepped down as CEO of EBS BrokerTec. In a wide-ranging conversation with Colin Lambert he talks about his time in charge of what remains an important piece of the foreign exchange industry's infrastructure; the challenges and rewards involved in transforming EBS into a multi-product business; the rebuilding of trust with the industry; geographical and economic growth; and his hopes for the future of the firm - and the wider FX industry.

With new data showing that RMB trading grew 81.8% over the past three years, Galen Stops looks at the continued development of the currency and the growth of FX trading in the APAC region. The growth of Chinese renminbi (RMB) trading in the global FX market has been well documented by a variety of sources, whether anecdotally by traders, logically by economists or quantifiably by trading venues and other data providers. It was therefore no surprise when the latest Bank for International Settlements (BIS) triennial survey showed that the average daily turnover of RMB has grown from $120 billion in 2013 to $202 billion as of April 2016, an 81.8% increase.