On June 22, Saint Petersburg will host Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference. One of the main topics there will be blockchain in the banking sector and legislative regulation of digital currencies.

The event is a part of Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference network – the first and largest network of crypto conferences in Europe. The organizer, Smile-Expo, holds similar events in five countries: Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Sweden.

Avelacom, a global connectivity provider, has launched a new point of presence (PoP) at AT TOKYO data center facilities with the aim to improve low latency offerings for key financial markets in London and Tokyo.

The new PoP in AT TOKYO provides access to Japan’s financial markets. Avelacom’s PoPs in London are located in Slough and Interxion trading hubs. All these PoPs are now connected via Avelacom’s global network to enable direct interaction between trading venues of the two cities.

The advent of the roboadvisor has thrown the financial industry for a loop. Initially feared by financial advisors as the beginning of the end of human-based advice, robos are now being embraced by financial advisory firms because they realize that technological advances can enhance, differentiate and elevate their practices.

Take security seriously

The end is nigh. More and more data breaches are happening each day and more information is being stolen than ever before. Attack vectors such as distributed denial of service (DDoS) and Ransomware are on the rise. The former taking out half of the Internet last October when global DNS server Dyn got hit by a huge DDoS attack^[1].

Coupa Software (NASDAQ:COUP), a leader in cloud-based spend management, will launch Coupa Payments today to streamline the disparate and complex cross-border payment systems often used by buyers to transact with suppliers globally.

Neptune, the Fixed Income network for real-time “axe” indications, today announced the addition of Bank of America Merrill Lynch (“BAML”) to its network. With BAML, Neptune now has 22 banks signed to participate on the network with 19 live.

The Neptune network provides a venue for investors to consume the highest quality bond axes/inventory data from their most trusted Bank counterparts.  This enables institutional investors to be more effective and targeted when looking to execute large size orders in products such as corporate and emerging market bonds.

Capital Markets firms can now benefit from a new continuous compliance service for algorithm risk management, thanks to a partnership from new generation GRC solution provider OXIAL, and financial markets specialist GreySpark.

INDATA, a leading industry provider of software, technology and services for buy-side firms, today announced the general release of Epic Data API, a complete technology toolkit for connecting systems and data sources, extending or creating software programs, custom reports and mobile-friendly applications. The release is available to clients using INDATA’s iPM Epic solution, the industry’s first investment software platform specifically designed for the era of big data.

MuleSoft (NYSE: MULE), provider of the leading platform for application networks, today revealed research that shows nearly a third (30 per cent) of UK consumers would consider using Amazon, Google, Facebook or Apple for banking services, rather than a standard bank. This figure rises to 45 per cent for 18-34 year olds, indicating they are the happiest to embrace this potential new wave of banking providers.

Algomi, the network company providing information-matching solutions for the optimization of fixed income liquidity, today announced that the company will acquire and distribute the award-winning ALFA product created and developed by AllianceBernstein (AB).