eToro
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76% of retail CFD accounts lose money
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FxPro
Visit FxPro72.87% of retail investor accounts lose money -
XM
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IC Markets
Visit IC Markets74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money -
HF Markets
Visit HF Markets70.51% of retail investor accounts lose money -
FP Markets
Visit FP Markets74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money -
Admirals
Visit Admirals76% of retail investor accounts lose money -
FBS
Visit FBS74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money -
Forex.com
Visit Forex.com81% of retail investor accounts lose money -
XTB
Visit XTB79% of retail investor accounts lose money
A CySEC forex broker refers to a forex (Foreign Exchange) brokerage firm which is regulated and authorized by the Cypriot authority called Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
Their reputation is one of providing the most trusted regulation in the industry for traders all over Europe and the world. For that reason, they are one of the most common, respected, and sought after regulatory bodies you will find attached to many of the best forex brokers.
It is important to note that a broker which is CySEC regulated, is also ESMA compliant. ESMA is the head of the national regulatory bodies and every body must respect the ESMA MiFiD II guidelines. All CySEC regulated brokers then, because they are ESMA compliant, can offer services within the entire EEA (European Economic Area).
In order to rank the best CySEC brokers we have taken into consideration a multitude of factors:
- An active CySEC license;
- The commissions charged on forex;
- The general quality of the broker;
- The deposit/withdrawal currencies accepted.
Table of Content
What are the best CySEC 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 CySEC, with details and information about the regulation, the features, and the characteristics.
eToro : best for social trading
- eToro is regulated by CySEC with number 109/10 since 14/10/2010. They are registered as eToro (Europe) Ltd with registration number 200585 and own an office in Limassol (Cyprus).
- eToro under CySEC cannot provide cross-border services in Croatia.
- Under CySEC, eToro traders can benefit from mandatory negative balance protection and a maximum leverage of 30:1 for retail clients and up to 400:1 for Professional clients according to ESMA rules.
- eToro under CySEC offers only USD as base currency. You can use other currencies including EUR, though keep in mind that a conversion fee may be applied.
- Clients under eToro CySEC will find a minimum deposit of $50 and spreads from 1 pips on forex.
- eToro’s other entities are: ASIC, FCA and in the USA they are registered with FinCEN.
FxPro : best for fixed spreads
- FxPro is CySEC regulated with number 078/07 since 05/03/2007 under the name FXPRO Financial Services Ltd with registration number 181344 and an office in Ypsonas (Cyprus).
- CySEC FxPro traders have access to the mandatory negative balance protection feature and a maximum leverage of 30:1 for retail clients in line with ESMA rules. Professional clients have access to a 500:1 maximum leverage.
- Base currencies for CySEC traders are EUR, USD, GBP, CHF, PLN, AUD, JPY, ZAR
- Under FxPro CySEC, you will find a minimum deposit of $100 with both floating spreads from 0.1 pips and fixed spreads from 1.6 pips.
- FxPro’s other entities are regulated by the FCA, FSCA, and SCB.
XM : best for beginners
- XM is CySEC regulated with number 120/10 obtained on 05/08/2010. They are registered as Trading Point Of Financial Instruments Ltd with registration number 251334 and an office in Limassol (Cyprus).
- XM clients trading under the CySEC entity can benefit from mandatory negative balance protection and a maximum leverage of 30:1 for retail clients.
- Base currencies available for CySEC traders are the USD, EUR and GBP.
- Under XM CySEC, you will find a minimum deposit of $5 and spreads as low as 0 pips.
- XM’s other entities are regulated under DFSA, FSC, and ASIC.
IC Markets : best for algo-trading
- IC Markets is regulated by CySEC with number 362/18 obtained on 25/06/2018, under the IC Markets (EU) Ltd with registration number 356877 and an office in Limassol (Cyprus).
- CySEC traders with IC Markets will find mandatory negative balance protection and a maximum leverage of 30:1 for retail clients in line with ESMA guidelines. IC Markets European Professional traders will find a leverage up to 500:1 instead.
- Base currencies for IC Markets CySEC traders: EUR, USD, GBP.
- CySEC traders will find no minimum deposit required, though $200 is what IC Markets recommends, and spreads from 0 pips.
- IC Markets’ other entities are ASIC, FSA, and SCB.
HF Markets : best for account types choice
- HF Markets is regulated by CySEC with number 183/12 obtained on 20/11/2012. They are registered as HF Markets (Europe) Ltd with registration number 277582 and own an office in Larnaca (Cyprus).
- HF Markets clients under CySEC will get access to: mandatory negative balance protection; a maximum leverage of 30:1 for retail clients; a maximum leverage of 400:1 for professional clients; a fewer range of account types to choose from.
- HF Markets’ base currencies for CySEC traders: USD and EUR.
- HF Markets CySEC traders will find a minimum deposit of $0 and spreads from 0.1 pips.
- HF Markets’ other entities are FCA, DFSA, FSCA, and FSA.
FP Markets : best for fast execution
- FP Markets is regulated by CySEC with number 371/18 obtained on 19/11/2018. They are registered as First Prudential Markets Ltd with registration number 372179 and an office in Limassol (Cyprus).
- FP under CySEC cannot provide cross-border service in France and Belgium.
- FP Markets trading under the CySEC entity will find maximum leverage of 30:1 (retail) and 500:1 (professional), as well as mandatory negative balance protection.
- FP Markets CySEC clients can choose between EUR, USD, and GBP as their base currencies.
- CySEC traders will find a minimum deposit of $100 and spreads from 0 pips.
- FP Markets’ other entities are ASIC, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Admirals : best for number of assets
- Admirals have CySEC regulation with number 201/13 since 14/06/2013, under the name Admiral Markets Cyprus Ltd with registration number 310328 and an office in Nicosia (Cyprus).
- Admirals clients under CySEC have access to maximum leverage of 30:1 (retail) and 500:1 (professional); mandatory negative balance protection is also in place because of the ESMA guidelines.
- Admirals CySEC traders can choose among EUR, GBP, USD, CHF, BGN, CZK, HRK, HUF, PLN, and RON as base currencies.
- Admirals traders under CySEC will find a minimum deposit of 100$ and spreads from 0 pips.
- Admirals’ other entities are FCA, ASIC, and JSC.
FBS : best for Cent accounts
- FBS is regulated by CySEC with number 331/17 since 07/08/2017. They are registered as Tradestone Ltd with registration number 353534 and own an office in Limassol (Cyprus).
- FBS CySEC traders can benefit from the negative balance protection and maximum leverage of 30:1 (retail) and 500:1 (professional).
- Moreover, note that CySEC clients have access to a limited range of accounts compared to the International offer.
- CySEC clients under FBS can use EUR and USD as their account base currencies.
- FBS CySEC traders will find a minimum deposit of $1 and spreads from 0 pips.
- FBS’ other entities are FSCA, and ASIC.
Forex.com : best for CFD trading
- Forex.com in the EU operates under the supervision of CySEC (400/21)
- Through the CySEC branch of Forex.com, traders access to a wide range of nearly 3,000 CFD assets, including more than 80 forex pairs
- Spreads at Forex.com start from 0.8 pips on EUR/USD.
- Under CySEC Forex.com offers a maximum leverage of 1:30 for retail traders.
- The minimum deposit at Forex.com is $100.
- Forex.com offers EUR as account base currency, which means european traders will be able to withdraw and deposit funds from their trading account without currency conversion fees.
XTB : best for educational resources
- XTB has a CySEC regulation with number 169/12 from 18/04//2012, under the name XTB Ltd with registration number 296794 and owns an office in Limassol (Cyprus).
- XTB under CySEC cannot provide cross-border services in Belgium.
- XTB clients under CySEC have access to the negative balance protection no matter what. Moreover, the maximum leverage available is up to 30:1 for retail clients and up to 200:1 for professional clients.
- XTB CySEC can use EUR, USD, CHF, and GBP as base currencies.
- CySEC traders under CySEC will find a no minimum deposit requirement and spreads from 0.3 pips.
- XTB’s other entities are DFSA, FSCA, IFSC, and FCA.
How does the CySEC work?
Now that you have seen some of the top CySEC regulated brokers to choose from, here is more information on the exact role CySEC plays. The primary roles for the broker are ones of oversight in terms of the finances, ensuring these are secure at the broker, and providing trader protection which they do through a number of measures put in place. They also maintain communication with ESMA and all other national regulatory bodies providing feedback and reporting on the activities of brokers in the sector.
Ultimately, CySEC ensures that the brokers under its regulation respect ESMA and MiFiD II regulations and provide the most secure trading environment possible for you as a trader. These guidelines are set by ESMA as the head of European regulatory bodies, and effectively implemented by CySEC and other national regulatory bodies with the end result being that broker compliance is well maintained.
What are the characteristics and benefits of CySEC?
When it comes to the benefits of being CySEC regulated, these are really all in favor of protecting you as a trader. They have set out a great deal of measures to ensure this protection.
Under ESMA regulations, which all CySEC brokers follow, leverage for retail traders is set at a maximum of 30:1 on major forex pairs. This means you will not be trading vastly beyond your position. The exception here is if you qualify as a professional trader. In this case you would be able to unlock leverage of up to 400:1.
Under CySEC, the trading of both CFDs and some other derivative products is legal, as is the trading of cryptocurrency. Negative balance protection which stops you from losing more than the balance in your account though is mandatory, as is the use of segregated bank accounts by the broker. Furthermore, with CySEC, you will be covered under the ICF (Investor Compensation Fund) for losses of up to €20.000 in case of insolvency or bankruptcy from the broker.
What are the prohibitions with CySEC?
There are a few things that you cannot do under a CySEC regulated broker. These include spread betting which was made illegal under the MiFiD II rules that CySEC follows. Bonuses are also not permitted but this only applies to attracting new customers through welcome bonuses and encouraging more deposits through deposit bonuses, active trader programs that reward traders for reaching certain trading goals, are permitted.
Differences between CySEC Regulated and CySEC Licensed Brokers
As with many other regulatory bodies, you may find brokers who are CySEC regulated, and CySEC licensed. The difference is that to become regulated, a broker must pass through the entire registration process for that body in order to offer services in that country. A licensed broker may be able to avoid some of these steps and still offer services within that area respecting local laws.
In illustration of this point, then a forex broker who registers under any EU regulator, will also be allowed to offer services in the EEA, and Cyprus whether or not that regulator is CySEC, though this is not overly common since CySEC is by far the most recognized in the region.
How to check if a broker is CySEC regulated
You can easily and quickly check the brokers ESMA compliance by visiting the ESMA official website if you want to give a general look at this. On the other hand, if you would like to check the CySEC regulation, you can also do this. You simply need to go to the CySEC official website and type the name of the broker into the search bar where you will find all of the information you need.
How does CySEC intervene in case of financial abuse?
If a broker is reported to CySEC, then they have the power to ban that broker from the country. They can also follow up and report the issue to ESMA or other national brokers to take further action if needed.
How CySEC can help you
If you think a broker is not acting in a legal way, if you feel you were not treated in a fair way, or if you realize that broker is false-advertising or engaging in any practice that you think violates regulation, then you can contact CySEC by going on their CySEC Official Website and following the process which is laid out there.
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.
10 Best CySEC Regulated Forex Brokers for 2023
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