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A CFTC forex broker refers to a forex (Foreign Exchange) brokerage firm which is regulated and authorized by the United States authority called Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC).
The CFTC was established in 1974 and is one of the 4 independent US market regulators. The other three regulators in US trading are the NFA, FINRA, and SEC.
There is a limited number of brokers who have one of these regulators in place and so, finding the ideal broker for US traders can sometimes be difficult. Brokers that are regulated under CFTC (Commodity Future Trading Commission) regulations though can offer trading opportunities in a number of markets. These include commodities, futures, and other derivative products within the US market.
In this article, we have collected some of the best CFTC brokers. Here’s what was taken into consideration by the InvestinGoal team when putting together this top 7.
- If the broker was fully regulated in the USA
- The minimum deposit of the broker/provider for CFTC clients
- Deposits and withdrawals accepted for CFTC clients
- If USD currency was available for CFTC clients
- Spreads charged for CFTC clients by the broker
- Leverage available for CFTC clients
- If the Negative balance protection was in store for CFTC clients
- If a rebate program or bonus was available for CFTC clients
Table of Content
What are the best CFTC forex brokers?
Warning
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Below is our curated list of the best forex brokers regulated by the CFTC, with details and information about the regulation, the features, and the characteristics.
Forex.com : best CFTC broker overall
- Forex.com is registered with the CFTC and a member of the National Futures Association (NFA # 0339826).
- A Forex.com minimum deposit/withdrawal of $100 and a maximum deposit/withdrawal of $25,000 is accepted for US clients, through bank transfer (ACH), debit card, and wire transfer.
- Multiple Forex.com base currencies are accepted including USD, EUR, CAD, JPY, CHF, AUD, and GBP.
- CFTC traders have access to Forex.com spreads from 0.2 pips on 80+ currency pairs, with a maximum leverage up to 50:1
- Forex.com offers a monthly cash-back rebates program up to $10 million with the Active Trader Program. This is designed for high-volume traders and it’s divided into tiers: level 1 goes from US$50M to US$100M with a 5% rebate per million, while the last level goes from US$1B+ with a 15% rebate per million.
- CFTC clients of Forex.com won’t benefit from negative balance protection.
IG Markets : best for trading platforms
- IG Markets is registered with the CFTC and a member of the NFA under number 0509630.
- IG Markets clients under CFTC are charged spreads from 0.8 pips on 80+ currency pairs.
- CFTC clients will have access to maximum leverage of up to 50:1 on major forex pairs.
- The IG minimum deposit is $250 for CFTC traders.
- No negative balance protection is provided for CFTC clients by IG Markets.
- CTFC IG clients can deposit by wire transfer, automated clearing house (ACH), or debit card. USD base currency is supported.
- High-volume CFTC regular traders could be eligible for automatic monthly rebates based on the IG trading activity. There are three tiers, the first one starting from $100M notional traded with a rebate of 5%.
eToro : best for free ETFs and stocks trading
- eToro USA LLC has been registered with FinCEN since 2018. On Aug 4th, 2020 they also obtained SEC regulation (#8-70212).
- eToro provides real assets trading to their US traders, with no leverage involved.
- eToro USA offers cryptocurrencies with a fee of 1% for both going long or going short.
- eToro Stocks and ETFs are also offered for US clients with the investment which can start from just $10 and commission-free.
- eToro US clients need to make a minimum deposit of $50.
- USD is the only base currency for US clients of eToro.
- eToro USA deposits and withdrawals methods available include online banking, debit card, and domestic wire banks. Note that withdrawals always charge a $5 flat fee.
- eToro does not provide negative balance protection for their US clients.
Nadex : best for binary options
- Nadex is a derivative exchange well-regulated by the CFTC for US trading.
- CFTC Nadex traders can benefit from a $100 bonus with an initial deposit of $1,000.
- Nadex deposit methods available for CFTC traders include debit card, check, ACH bank transfer, and wire transfer. Withdrawal methods are the same, minus the check option.
- Both USD deposits and base currency are supported by Nadex.
- CFTC clients can trade 11 Nadex forex pairs as binary options, as well as commodities, events, and stock indices.
- Nadex charges a fixed fee of $1 per side, per binary option contract.
- CFTC Nadex does not offer leverage trading.
- No Nadex negative balance protection is offered to CFTC clients.
(Your capital is at risk)
Oanda : best for deep liquidity
- Oanda is regulated by the CFTC and NFA (n. 0325821).
- Oanda doesn’t have a minimum deposit requirement to open a standard account for CFTC clients.
- Oanda offers the USD base currency for CFTC clients.
- Oanda deposits available for CFTC clients are via debit card, bank wire, check, and electronic bank deposit (ACH), while withdrawals are available via debit card and bank wire.
- CFTC Oanda clients find spreads from 1 pip on 70+ forex pairs with leverage up to 50:1.
- Oanda offers their CFTC high-volume traders the Advanced Trader loyalty program, where they can benefit from several perks, including reduced spreads.
- US Oanda clients won’t find negative balance protection.
Interactive Brokers : best for assets type
- Interactive Brokers is a FINRA member and also well-regulated by the CFTC (n. 0392970).
- CFTC clients won’t be requested to make an IBKR minimum deposit.
- An IBKR account can be funded by US clients through wire transfer, bill payment, or credit card.
- IBKR supports both USD deposits and base currency for CFTC traders.
- IBKR spreads for US traders start from 0.1 pips on 100+ forex pairs.
- CFTC traders of IBKR find a minimum margin rate of 1.16%.
- Negative balance protection is not offered to CFTC clients by IBKR.
TD Ameritrade : best for futures trading
- TD Ameritrade is a CFTC-regulated FINRA member.
- TD Ameritrade under CFTC electronic supports several deposits and withdrawal methods such as Bank Deposit (ACH), wire transfer, and check.
- US clients don’t have a minimum deposit required to open an account. However, there is a minimum for electronic funding of $50 for a Standard account and goes up to $2,000 for a margin account.
- The TD AmeriTrade minimum margin rate available for US clients is 7.75%.
- CFTC clients find TD Ameritrade spreads from 0.1 pips on 70+ currency pairs.
- TD Ameritrade doesn’t provide negative balance protection for CFTC clients.
(Your capital is at risk)
How does the CFTC work?
The role of the CFTC in regulation is to promote trading in commodities and derivatives markets within the United States to forex traders and others alike. They also perform the role of ensuring these offerings from brokers are not fraudulent. They have a collaborative relationship with US institutions, particularly in finance and the NFA, often working together in tandem.
The CFTC protects the market and traders within the market by looking out for any of the following:
- Fraudulent firms
- Scams
- Firms that manipulate the market
- Firms that offer illegal instruments such as CFDs
- CFTC rules violation
- Other violations such as inadequate oversight of traders
What are the characteristics and benefits of CFTC?
The CFTC provides forex traders with a maximum leverage of 50:1 on major forex pairs. This is more than allowed for forex trading in the EU under CySEC. Although the CFTC does not provide any negative balance protection or automatic refund in the case of fraud, they are known to be very helpful and active in the investigation of such cases.
For these reasons and the fact that they require brokers to hold funds in segregated accounts that protect the trader, the CFTC is considered to be one of the most stringent regulatory authorities in the world.
What are the prohibitions with CFTC?
Since the CFTC regulates forex, commodities, and futures markets, these and other derivatives are all considered legal to trade in the US. CFDs on the other hand are not legal for trading in the United States.
Differences between CFTC Regulated and CFTC Licensed Brokers
There is indeed a difference between a broker that is CFTC regulated, and one that is CFTC licensed. A regulated broker is one that holds a CFTC registration number that is required for it to operate within the United States.
A CFTC licensed broker is one that just requires written permission from the body to offer services in the US. This permission can be given in different situations, but generally, the reason is that CFTC has treaties with other regulators outside the US market. So, since they apply the same rules, the financial institution can offer its services within the US without an actual CFTC regulation and associated number.
How to check if a broker is CFTC regulated
Since they work hand in hand, all CFTC regulated brokers can be double-checked through the NFA website. All of this information can be taken as verified and official from a CFTC standpoint.
The NFA website allows you to search for the company. All you need to do is input the business name that you can often find at the bottom of your forex brokers homepage.
How does CFTC intervene in case of financial abuse?
The CFTC has wide-ranging powers to intervene if they feel that forex brokers have broken any of the regulations providing protection to you as a forex trader in the US. The case in point here may be FXCM who were banned from the US market in 2017 for claiming to offer negative balance protection.
They were banned from both CFTC and NFA regulation for this issue and fined $850,000. This ban still stands in US markets.
How CFTC can help you
If you have any regulatory questions, issues, or feel you may have been the victim of a forex scam broker, the best thing you can do is go to the CFTC official website and contact the CFTC Division of Enforcement.
About The Author
Filippo Ucchino
Co-Founder - CEO - Broker Expert
Filippo is the co-founder and CEO of InvestinGoal.com. He has 15 years of experience in the financial sector and forex in particular. He started his career as a forex trader in 2005 and then became interested in the whole fintech and crypto sector.
Over this time, he has developed an almost scientific approach to the analysis of brokers, their services, and offerings. In addition, he is an expert in Compliance and Security Policies for consumers protection in this sector.
With InvestinGoal, Filippo’s goal is to bring as much clarity as possible to help users navigate the world of online trading, forex, and cryptocurrencies.
7 Best CFTC Regulated Forex Brokers for 2023
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