STX Deploys Eventus Validus Platform for Regulated Exchange Trade Surveillance

STX, the US-based, CFTC-regulated event contracts exchange specializing in sports, cryptocurrency, and real-world events, has deployed the Eventus Validus platform to handle all trade surveillance for STX’s forthcoming regulated market.

The integration allows STX to monitor its platform for potential market manipulation. Validus covers a broad range of suspicious activities, including insider dealing, momentum ignition, price ramping, layering, spoofing, cross-product spoofing, cancel-after-fill activity, and large order or trade anomalies.

Eventus collaborated closely with STX throughout its regulatory engagement, supporting surveillance demonstrations for the exchange. As STX works towards recognition by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization under its XV Exchange and XV Clearing entities, robust trade surveillance will remain central to its platform.

FutureSports and NHL Announce Exclusive Deal to Launch Performance Index Futures

Independent index administrator FutureSports has entered into an exclusive agreement with the National Hockey League (NHL) to receive official, real-time statistics. FutureSports will use the play-by-play data to create rules-based benchmark indexes known as CME FutureSports Performance Indexes (FSPI), tailored to measure the cumulative performance of NHL teams and individual players. Subject to regulatory approval, CME Group plans to list monthly and quarterly cash-settled futures contracts based on these benchmarks in time for the 2026–2027 season.

The transparent, rules-based indexes will update continuously throughout games, establishing a new uncorrelated asset class for hedging and investment. Expected market participants include asset managers, pension funds, professional trading firms, and retail investors, alongside commercial entities seeking risk-management tools, such as apparel manufacturers, sponsors, endorsers, third-party vendors, and insurers.

To maintain market confidence, the indexes will be administered independently by FutureSports. While the NHL supplies the underlying statistical data and maintains monitoring controls alongside regulatory stakeholders to safeguard integrity, it will hold no involvement in the governance, calculation, or determination of the financial indexes.

AutoRek Acquires Fintech Grath to Expand AI Capabilities and Global Footprint

AutoRek has acquired Grath, the London-based reconciliation and regulatory compliance technology firm founded in 2019. The acquisition adds AI-driven automated reconciliation capabilities to AutoRek’s portfolio, serving banks, payment providers, brokers, and fintechs across international markets.

The combined organisation offers three flexible operating models within a single governed control framework. These include AutoRek’s core Enterprise Private Cloud platform featuring the AutoRek Intelligent Agent (ARIA), Grath’s Multi-Tenant SaaS platform for rapid deployment with FCA-aligned governance, and Grath’s embedded AI infrastructure product, Topa, which allows firms to integrate matching services directly into proprietary in-house systems.

This transaction furthers AutoRek’s global expansion by incorporating Grath’s client base in the US and UAE. The move follows AutoRek’s recent opening of a Miami office and senior sales appointments in the region.

Bloomberg Expands Electronic Trading for Australian-Listed ETFs

Bloomberg has expanded its electronic trading capabilities in Australian markets following a rule variation amendment by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Eligible onshore participants can now electronically negotiate Australian-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), alongside options and futures, using Bloomberg’s Request-for-Quote (RFQe) workflow. The first transaction utilising this new workflow has already taken place.

The enhancement replaces manual execution methods (such as voice and messaging) with an electronic multi-dealer liquidity process. It allows domestic participants to access both local and offshore ETF markets via a single, auditable platform requiring minimal onboarding. Additionally, the system integrates into Bloomberg’s existing EMSX and AIM workflows to assist with investment, hedging, and portfolio management strategies.

This expansion complements Bloomberg’s broader ETF infrastructure in Australia, which includes its BSKT creation and redemption solution. Together, these tools cover the complete ETF lifecycle, from basket management to secondary market trading.

Flow Traders Selects CoreWeave as Primary Cloud Platform for AI Division

CoreWeave, Inc. has been selected by global liquidity provider Flow Traders as the primary AI cloud platform provider for its AI and deep learning division. Under the agreement, Flow Traders will migrate its high-intensity foundation model training workloads to CoreWeave Cloud.

The decision followed a competitive evaluation that highlighted CoreWeave’s multi-node performance, technical support, and roadmap planning. Flow Traders has secured dedicated compute capacity to support the development of foundation models central to its quantitative trading strategy.

As quantitative trading firms establish dedicated AI divisions, foundation model training requires consistent, multi-node performance at scale. CoreWeave’s platform and integrated software layer offer the technical foundation required to support the launch and future growth of Flow Traders’ AI operations.

ANNA Integrates Digital Token Identifiers into its ANNA Service Bureau

The Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) is now integrating Digital Token Identifiers (DTIs) into its ANNA Service Bureau (ASB). This expansion allows ASB subscribers to access both XT ISINs for cryptoassets and DTIs for digital assets where they have been assigned. Developed in partnership with the Digital Token Identifier Foundation (DTIF) – an ANNA member that serves as the registration authority for the DTI standard – the integration reflects the growing maturation and normalisation of digital assets within the broader capital markets ecosystem.

Operating since 2001, the ASB serves as a central hub for standardised global financial identifier data, consolidating reference information from more than 120 national numbering agencies across more than 200 jurisdictions. The platform offers members free, single-point access to directly sourced International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs).

ISINs are alphanumeric codes that uniquely identify financial instruments, such as stocks, bonds, options and derivatives. Financial institutions rely on ISINs to efficiently perform straight-through processing, data analytics, risk tracking and regulatory compliance reporting.

Fenergo Launches Fen-AI to Govern AI Across Client Lifecycle Management

Fenergo has launched Fen-AI, an orchestration platform designed to help financial institutions deploy AI across client lifecycle management while retaining human oversight, policy controls and an auditable record of decisions.

The platform supports Fenergo’s KYRA family of AI agents, which can carry out tasks across client onboarding, periodic reviews, ongoing monitoring and material changes to client records.

Fenergo said Fen-AI was developed in response to financial institutions’ need to increase the capacity of Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and client lifecycle management (CLM) operations without weakening governance. The company works with more than 110 financial institutions, including over 40% of the world’s 50 largest banks.

“Financial institutions don’t have an AI problem. They have a scale problem. Risk moves in real time and regulation evolves continuously. Yet the work of compliance still depends on review cycles built for a slower world. Fen-AI changes that. We’re enabling institutions to move from periodic control to continuous control, delivering faster client onboarding, greater operational efficiency and stronger compliance without increasing risk or headcount.” Marc Murphy, Founder and CEO, Fenergo.

Fen-AI is built on Fen-X, Fenergo’s Legal Entity System of Record. Actions taken by KYRA agents, along with the underlying sources, decisions and rationale, are recorded as work is completed. This is intended to give firms a traceable account of how automated decisions were reached and provide evidence for internal assurance and regulatory review.

Fenergo describes this extension of Fen-X as a “Continuous System of Control”. Fen-X supplies client data, regulatory policy logic and decision evidence, while Fen-AI governs how AI agents access and act on that information. KYRA agents then perform tasks within controls established by the institution.

Connecting Agents Through a Governed Interface

Fen-AI includes an Agent-to-Agent (A2A) Interoperability Framework that allows institutions to connect Fenergo agents with approved internal and third-party agents.

The framework uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and A2A interoperability to authenticate requests, maintain client and workflow context during handovers and attribute completed actions to the relevant agent or system.

The results are written back to the Fen-X system of record and captured in what Fenergo describes as an immutable evidence trail. The approach is intended to allow firms to add new agentic capabilities without losing visibility over how work moves between agents, applications and data sources.

Fen-AI also provides operational reporting designed to show where agents are contributing capacity. Metrics include completed tasks, analyst hours returned, manual activity avoided, throughput, entities covered and workload by capability.

“AI in financial institutions will succeed only if it’s built on trust. Regulators will not accept ‘the AI decided’ as an answer. That is why we built governance into the foundation of Fen-AI from day one. Every action is attributable. Every decision is explainable. Every outcome is anchored to a trusted system of record. We are creating a new category for regulated industries: the governed agentic workforce.” Hishaam Caramanli, President and COO, Fenergo.

The first release of KYRA includes six agents focused on routine client-lifecycle tasks. Fenergo said further Fen-AI capabilities would be introduced in the coming quarters.

Fen-AI and the initial KYRA automation agents are available to Fenergo customers globally.

CME Group and FutureSports Partner to Launch Sports Performance Index Futures

CME Group and independent index administrator FutureSports have formed a long-term partnership to list futures and options on FutureSports Performance Indexes (FSPI). The cash-settled monthly and quarterly contracts, scheduled to begin trading this summer subject to regulatory approval, will transform official team and athlete statistics into rules-based, continuously priced financial benchmarks.

The new products aim to establish risk management and hedging capabilities for the broader sports sector alongside new trading avenues for institutional and individual investors. Based on league-approved statistical data, the underlying indexes are administered by FutureSports in alignment with International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles.

FutureSports also plans to unveil further exclusive partnerships with global sports leagues to broaden its suite of benchmark indexes.

Plus500 Partners with Wealthsimple to Power US Futures Access in Canada

Plus500 has announced a strategic partnership with Wealthsimple, a Canadian financial platform serving over four million clients with C$150 billion in assets under administration. The deal will allow Wealthsimple to offer Canadian retail investors direct access to US futures contracts for the first time, using Plus500’s proprietary trading platform.

Under the agreement, Plus500 will supply its institutional-grade clearing, order routing, and risk-management infrastructure. This collaboration further expands Plus500’s business-to-business (B2B) ecosystem, building on its existing infrastructure partnerships with CME Group, FanDuel, and Topstep as the group accelerates its institutional footprint in the futures market.

Liquidnet Expands Latin America Equities Offering in Brazil and Mexico

Agency execution specialist Liquidnet has announced the expansion of its Latin America equities offering, improving trading capabilities and liquidity access for institutional investors in Brazil and Mexico.

The enhanced service allows institutional asset managers to source large-scale block liquidity while simultaneously executing algorithmic strategies across broader public markets. This integrated approach is designed to help investors execute trades efficiently and discreetly without losing market reach or control.

Liquidnet’s proprietary liquidity network connects members to more than 1,200 global institutional counterparties, operating as a single network rather than relying on external dark pools. Combined with high-touch execution services and local market expertise, the platform assists buy-side clients in navigating regional market structures and regulatory requirements while preserving anonymity and minimising market impact.