{
  "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/",
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  "markdown": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/index.md",
  "lang": "en",
  "dir": "ltr",
  "kind": "article",
  "key": "is-trading-safe",
  "title": "Is forex and CFD trading safe, legal or a scam?",
  "h1": "Is forex and CFD trading safe, legal or a scam?",
  "description": "Is forex trading safe, and is CFD trading a scam? The product is legal and regulated in most countries, most retail accounts lose, and fraud is a separate risk.",
  "keywords": [
    "is forex trading safe",
    "is cfd trading safe",
    "is forex a scam",
    "regulated forex broker",
    "is forex trading legal",
    "fca regulated broker"
  ],
  "published": "2026-09-30",
  "updated": "2026-10-13",
  "author": {
    "name": "Gabriel L.",
    "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/authors/gabriel-l/"
  },
  "publisher": {
    "name": "TheTraderWiki",
    "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/"
  },
  "riskWarning": "CFDs are complex, leveraged products, and the regulators’ own figures show that most retail accounts lose money. Nothing on TheTraderWiki is investment advice. Read the full risk disclosure, and if you’re unsure, talk to a qualified adviser. Broker details can change and they can be wrong. Before you open an account, confirm them with the broker and the regulator’s register.",
  "breadcrumbs": [
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      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/"
    },
    {
      "name": "Guides",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/learn/"
    },
    {
      "name": "Is trading safe?",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/"
    }
  ],
  "lead": [
    "Is forex trading safe? The truthful reply comes in two parts. Forex and CFD trading is a real, legal product in most countries, and the firms that sell it in those places hold a regulator’s authorisation. A contract for difference, or CFD, pays you the change in a price without you owning the asset. Yet forex and CFD trading is also a product on which most people lose money, however honest the firm. The EU markets regulator, ESMA, looked at national regulators’ data in 2018 and reported that 74 % to 89 % of retail accounts lost money (ESMA press release).",
    "So “safe” can mean two different things. The first is whether the firm is honest and supervised, and you can check that yourself in a few minutes. The second is whether your money is likely to grow, and the figures say it probably won’t. This page takes each meaning in turn, then sets out where the product is legal, where it’s banned and who the regulator is in nineteen countries."
  ],
  "leadLinks": [
    {
      "label": "CFD",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/glossary/#cfd",
      "type": "internal"
    },
    {
      "label": "ESMA",
      "url": "https://www.esma.europa.eu/",
      "type": "source",
      "title": "European Securities and Markets Authority",
      "publisher": "ESMA"
    },
    {
      "label": "ESMA press release",
      "url": "https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-agrees-prohibit-binary-options-and-restrict-cfds-protect-retail-investors",
      "type": "source",
      "title": "ESMA agrees to prohibit binary options and restrict CFDs to protect retail investors",
      "publisher": "ESMA"
    }
  ],
  "blocks": [
    {
      "type": "list",
      "id": "key-points",
      "heading": "Key points",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#key-points",
      "ordered": false,
      "items": [
        "Forex and CFD trading, in itself, isn’t a scam. Such trading counts as a legal, regulated product in the EU, the UK and Australia, though most retail accounts still lose money on it (ESMA press release).",
        "Fraud is a separate risk. A clone firm copies a real firm’s name and number, then changes the contact details, and the FCA publishes a Warning List of firms it knows are unauthorised (FCA on clone firms, FCA Warning List).",
        "A regulated forex broker is one that appears on a regulator’s own register under the exact company name in your contract. The brand name and a logo in the footer prove nothing.",
        "Using an unauthorised firm in the UK means you can’t use the Financial Ombudsman Service. The FCA says it’s unlikely you’ll get your money back (FCA Warning List).",
        "In Belgium, selling CFDs to consumers through online platforms is banned (FSMA). CFDs in the European form can’t be sold to retail customers in the United States (CFTC).",
        "Regulators in Brazil, Colombia and Peru state that no firm is authorised or registered there to offer forex to the public (CVM, Superintendencia Financiera, SMV)."
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "ESMA press release",
          "url": "https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-agrees-prohibit-binary-options-and-restrict-cfds-protect-retail-investors",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "ESMA agrees to prohibit binary options and restrict CFDs to protect retail investors",
          "publisher": "ESMA"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Financial Conduct Authority",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA on clone firms",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/clone-firms-individuals",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Clone firms and individuals",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA Warning List",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/warning-list-unauthorised-firms",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "FCA Warning List of unauthorised firms",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "FSMA",
          "url": "https://www.fsma.be/en/news/fsma-regulation-establishes-framework-distribution-otc-derivatives-binary-options-cfds",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "FSMA Regulation establishes a framework for the distribution of OTC derivatives (binary options, CFDs…)",
          "publisher": "FSMA"
        },
        {
          "label": "CFTC",
          "url": "https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/7809-18",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "CFTC Charges Trading Platform with Illegal Transactions Margined in Bitcoin… (Release 7809-18)",
          "publisher": "CFTC"
        },
        {
          "label": "CVM",
          "url": "https://www.gov.br/cvm/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/2025/cvm-lanca-video-de-alerta-sobre-cfd-forex-durante-a-semana-enef-2025",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "CVM lança vídeo de alerta sobre CFD/Forex durante a Semana ENEF 2025",
          "publisher": "Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (Brazil)"
        },
        {
          "label": "Superintendencia Financiera",
          "url": "https://www.superfinanciera.gov.co/publicaciones/10107761/sala-de-prensaadvertencias-y-medidas-administrativas-por-ejercicio-ilegal-de-actividad-financiera-no-se-deje-enganar-10107761/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "¡No se deje engañar!",
          "publisher": "Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia"
        },
        {
          "label": "SMV",
          "url": "https://www.smv.gob.pe/uploads/SobreForexyCFD.pdf",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Comunicado: advertencia sobre el ofrecimiento público de productos y servicios Forex y de contratos por diferencia (CFD)",
          "publisher": "Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores (Peru)"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "prose",
      "id": "is-forex-trading-safe",
      "heading": "Is forex trading safe?",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#is-forex-trading-safe",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Forex trading is safe in one sense and risky in another, and the two are easy to mix up. If the company that opens your account is authorised in the EU, the UK or Australia, your deposit is held under rules and the firm is supervised. You also can’t lose more than you put in. A global company in the same group answers to its own regulator, under that regulator’s rules. None of those rules make the trades themselves safe.",
        "The risk in forex trading comes from leverage. Leverage lets you open a trade many times bigger than your deposit, and the deposit you put up against the trade is called margin. A small price move then becomes a large move in your account, in either direction (leverage and margin). Every trade also begins with a cost: the spread, which is the gap between the buy price and the sell price (costs and fees).",
        "Regulators measured the result. National regulators found that 74 % to 89 % of retail accounts lost money (ESMA press release, 27 March 2018). The FCA’s UK data showed 82 % of customers in its sample lost money (FCA CP16/40). These accounts were held at authorised firms, so the losses came from the product working as designed and had nothing to do with fraud."
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "the company that opens your account",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/broker-groups-and-regulators/",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "global company",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/offshore-brokers/",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "leverage",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/glossary/#leverage",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "margin",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/glossary/#margin",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "leverage and margin",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/leverage-and-margin/",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "spread",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/glossary/#spread",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "costs and fees",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/costs-and-fees/",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "ESMA press release, 27 March 2018",
          "url": "https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-agrees-prohibit-binary-options-and-restrict-cfds-protect-retail-investors",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "ESMA agrees to prohibit binary options and restrict CFDs to protect retail investors",
          "publisher": "ESMA"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA CP16/40",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/consultation-papers/cp16-40-enhancing-conduct-firms-contract-difference-products-retail-clients",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "CP16/40: Enhancing conduct of business rules for firms providing contract for difference products to retail clients",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "prose",
      "id": "leverage-example",
      "heading": "A worked example of how leverage turns a small move into a big loss",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#leverage-example",
      "basis": "arithmetic",
      "basisLabel": "Worked arithmetic: the numbers follow from the formula given in this section.",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Leverage is easiest to see in an example. The numbers are made up. Say you deposit 1,000 and open a trade worth 20,000, so the trade is twenty times your deposit. Then the price moves 1 % against you.",
        "One per cent of 20,000 is 200. So a move that small takes a fifth of your deposit. A 5 % move against you would be 1,000, and that’s the whole deposit. The price moved and the size of the trade did the rest, so nobody cheated you in this example (risk management)."
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "risk management",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/risk-management/",
          "type": "internal"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "table",
      "id": "loss-versus-fraud",
      "heading": "Is forex a scam? Losing on a real product versus being defrauded",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#loss-versus-fraud",
      "intro": [
        "Forex in itself isn’t a scam. Scams borrow its name, though, and once you know the signs the two ways of losing money look very different."
      ],
      "caption": "How a loss on a genuine leveraged product differs from a loss to a fraudulent firm.",
      "head": [
        "Question",
        "Genuine product, authorised firm",
        "Fraud"
      ],
      "rows": [
        [
          "Is the firm on a regulator’s register?",
          "Yes, under the company name in your contract",
          "No, or it has copied the details of a firm that is"
        ],
        [
          "Why did you lose?",
          "The price moved against a leveraged trade, and you paid the spread and other costs",
          "The trades may never have existed, or the money was simply taken"
        ],
        [
          "Can you withdraw what’s left?",
          "Yes, to the account you paid from",
          "Withdrawals are delayed, refused or made to depend on a new fee"
        ],
        [
          "What were you promised?",
          "Nothing. A firm regulated in the EU or the UK must show a risk warning with its loss rate",
          "High returns with no risk, often with a deadline"
        ],
        [
          "Who contacted whom?",
          "You found the firm and applied",
          "A caller, a message or a social media advert found you"
        ],
        [
          "Who can you complain to?",
          "The firm, then an ombudsman or the regulator",
          "Often nobody with any power over the firm"
        ]
      ],
      "numericColumns": [],
      "outro": [
        "The warning signs in the right-hand column are explained further on the page about choosing a provider."
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "choosing a provider",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/choosing-a-provider/#red-flags",
          "type": "internal"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "prose",
      "id": "clone-firms",
      "heading": "How clone firms and unauthorised brokers work",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#clone-firms",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Clone firms pass themselves off as a firm that really is authorised. The FCA says they copy a genuine firm’s website and alter small details such as the phone number. They may quote the real firm’s name, address and reference number, so a quick look at the register seems to confirm their story (FCA on clone firms).",
        "Unauthorised brokers skip the disguise and sell with no permission at all. The FCA keeps a Warning List of the unauthorised firms it knows about. The FCA says the list can’t be complete because these firms often change their names, so a firm missing from it may still be a scam (FCA Warning List).",
        "What you lose with either kind is the safety net. The FCA points out that an unauthorised firm gives you no access to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The regulator also says you’d be unlikely to get your money back (FCA Warning List). And the FCA lays out the usual pattern of these frauds: fake profits on a screen, then blocked withdrawals (FCA on online trading scams)."
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "FCA on clone firms",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/clone-firms-individuals",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Clone firms and individuals",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA Warning List",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/warning-list-unauthorised-firms",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "FCA Warning List of unauthorised firms",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA on online trading scams",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/online-trading-scams",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Online trading scams",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "steps",
      "id": "check-a-regulated-broker",
      "heading": "How to check if a broker is regulated",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#check-a-regulated-broker",
      "intro": [
        "To check whether a broker is regulated, you look for the company on the regulator’s own register. That takes four steps."
      ],
      "howto": false,
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "check-a-regulated-broker-step-1",
          "title": "Find the company name in the contract",
          "text": "Find the legal name of the company in your account agreement or the website footer. A brand can belong to several companies under different regulators and your protections follow the company you sign with (offshore brokers)."
        },
        {
          "id": "check-a-regulated-broker-step-2",
          "title": "Open the regulator’s register yourself",
          "text": "Using an address you type in yourself, go to the regulator’s site and search for that company. For the UK, use the Financial Services Register or the FCA Firm Checker. Australia’s regulator, ASIC, has a professional register for firms it has licensed (ASIC registers). In Cyprus, CySEC publishes its list of investment firms with each licence number (CySEC list)."
        },
        {
          "id": "check-a-regulated-broker-step-3",
          "title": "Match the contact details",
          "text": "Compare the phone number, email and web address on the register with the ones you were given. A clone firm gets the name and number right but the contact details wrong (FCA on clone firms). For each firm, CySEC also lists the web domains it has approved and the ones it has not approved (CySEC warnings)."
        },
        {
          "id": "check-a-regulated-broker-step-4",
          "title": "Search the warning list",
          "text": "Look the name up on the regulator’s warning list as well. The FCA keeps a Warning List, while CySEC runs a warnings page. Regulators elsewhere maintain similar lists (FCA Warning List, CySEC warnings)."
        }
      ],
      "outro": [
        "Licence verification covers the permissions to check for on the register."
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "offshore brokers",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/offshore-brokers/",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "Financial Services Register",
          "url": "https://register.fca.org.uk/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Financial Services Register",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA Firm Checker",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/fca-firm-checker",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "FCA Firm Checker",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "ASIC",
          "url": "https://asic.gov.au/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Australian Securities and Investments Commission",
          "publisher": "ASIC"
        },
        {
          "label": "ASIC registers",
          "url": "https://asic.gov.au/online-services/search-asic-registers/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Search ASIC registers",
          "publisher": "ASIC"
        },
        {
          "label": "CySEC",
          "url": "https://www.cysec.gov.cy/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission",
          "publisher": "CySEC"
        },
        {
          "label": "CySEC list",
          "url": "https://www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/entities/investment-firms/cypriot/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Cyprus Investment Firms: list of regulated entities",
          "publisher": "CySEC"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA on clone firms",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/clone-firms-individuals",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Clone firms and individuals",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "CySEC warnings",
          "url": "https://www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/public-info/warnings/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Warnings to investors",
          "publisher": "CySEC"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA Warning List",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/warning-list-unauthorised-firms",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "FCA Warning List of unauthorised firms",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "Licence verification",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/choosing-a-provider/#licence-verification",
          "type": "internal"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "table",
      "id": "major-versus-offshore",
      "heading": "What an FCA, ASIC or CySEC licence adds to an offshore one",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#major-versus-offshore",
      "intro": [
        "A licence from the FCA, ASIC or CySEC sets rules on how the firm treats retail clients, meaning ordinary customers not classed as professionals. An offshore licence often has fewer such rules. Those rules reach you only if the company that opens your account holds that licence. An offshore forex broker here means a global company regulated in a place like the Seychelles or the Bahamas."
      ],
      "caption": "Retail protections under the EU, UK and Australian rules, and what global companies regulated offshore offer.",
      "head": [
        "Protection",
        "FCA, ASIC or CySEC licence",
        "Offshore licence"
      ],
      "rows": [
        [
          "Leverage cap",
          "Yes. 30:1 at most on major currency pairs, and lower on other assets (ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/796, FCA PS19/18, ASIC 20-254MR)",
          "Usually none. Higher leverage is the reason these companies exist (maximum leverage)"
        ],
        [
          "Negative balance protection, so you can’t lose more than your deposit",
          "Yes, by rule",
          "Depends on the contract. Some promise it, and some make you pay the deficit"
        ],
        [
          "Margin close-out, which closes trades when your account runs low",
          "Yes, by rule",
          "Set by the company"
        ],
        [
          "Bonuses for depositing or trading",
          "Banned under the EU and UK rules (ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/796, FCA PS19/18)",
          "Often offered"
        ],
        [
          "A register you can check",
          "Yes, searchable by name and number",
          "The Seychelles regulator lists the firms it regulates by category, and its register has no licence-number column (FSA Seychelles)"
        ]
      ],
      "numericColumns": [],
      "outro": [
        "A Seychelles forex licence is a real licence, and the company named on it is a different company from the group’s European or Australian one. You can find a comparison of what each global company’s contract says on the offshore brokers page."
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "retail clients",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/glossary/#retail-client",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/796",
          "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2018/796/oj",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/796 of 22 May 2018 to temporarily restrict contracts for differences in the Union",
          "publisher": "Official Journal of the European Union (EUR-Lex)"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA PS19/18",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/policy-statements/ps19-18-restricting-contract-difference-products-sold-retail-clients",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "PS19/18: Restricting contract for difference products sold to retail clients",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "ASIC 20-254MR",
          "url": "https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2020-releases/20-254mr-asic-product-intervention-order-strengthens-cfd-protections/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "20-254MR ASIC product intervention order strengthens CFD protections",
          "publisher": "ASIC"
        },
        {
          "label": "maximum leverage",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/maximum-leverage/",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "Negative balance protection",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/glossary/#negative-balance-protection",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "Margin close-out",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/glossary/#margin-close-out",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "FSA Seychelles",
          "url": "https://fsaseychelles.sc/regulated-entities",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Regulated entities",
          "publisher": "Financial Services Authority Seychelles"
        },
        {
          "label": "offshore brokers",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/offshore-brokers/",
          "type": "internal"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "table",
      "id": "legal-by-country",
      "heading": "Is forex and CFD trading legal in your country?",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#legal-by-country",
      "intro": [
        "Whether forex and CFD trading is legal depends on the country you live in. The limits in each row bind the companies that regulator licenses, so they apply if the company that opens your account is licensed there. Each row points to that regulator’s own website. “Not established” means the regulator’s site doesn’t state the position, and it doesn’t mean the product is allowed or banned."
      ],
      "caption": "Securities regulator and status of retail CFD and leveraged forex offers in nineteen countries.",
      "head": [
        "Country",
        "Regulator",
        "What the regulator’s own site confirms"
      ],
      "rows": [
        [
          "Germany",
          "BaFin",
          "Legal for retail clients under national limits on leverage and losses (BaFin general order of 23 July 2019)"
        ],
        [
          "Spain",
          "CNMV",
          "Legal under the EU-style limits. Advertising CFDs to retail investors is banned (CNMV resolution of 11 July 2023)"
        ],
        [
          "France",
          "AMF",
          "Legal for retail clients under permanent national limits (AMF decision of 1 August 2019)"
        ],
        [
          "Italy",
          "CONSOB",
          "Legal for retail clients under permanent national limits (CONSOB delibera 20976)"
        ],
        [
          "Poland",
          "KNF",
          "Legal for retail clients under permanent national limits (KNF decision of 1 August 2019)"
        ],
        [
          "Portugal",
          "CMVM",
          "Legal for retail clients under permanent national limits (CMVM Regulamento 5/2019)"
        ],
        [
          "United Kingdom",
          "FCA",
          "Legal for retail clients under permanent limits. Firms in the UK can’t sell CFDs on cryptoassets to retail clients (FCA PS19/18, FCA PS20/10)"
        ],
        [
          "Australia",
          "ASIC",
          "Legal for retail clients under a product intervention order that caps leverage and guarantees negative balance protection (ASIC 20-254MR)"
        ],
        [
          "Argentina",
          "CNV",
          "The CNV says to deal only with agents registered with it, and warns about unauthorised digital platforms offering forex (CNV alerts, CNV warning). Legal status of retail CFDs: not established"
        ],
        [
          "Brazil",
          "CVM",
          "The CVM says no offer related to the forex market is registered with it, and it issues stop orders against firms that offer forex irregularly (CVM, 15 May 2025)"
        ],
        [
          "Chile",
          "CMF",
          "The CMF publishes alerts on unregistered platforms and says it can’t supervise or sanction them (CMF, 12 December 2025). Legal status of retail CFDs: not established"
        ],
        [
          "Colombia",
          "Superintendencia Financiera",
          "The regulator says no platform or firm is authorised to operate or promote the forex market in Colombia (Superintendencia Financiera)"
        ],
        [
          "Mexico",
          "CNBV",
          "Not established"
        ],
        [
          "Peru",
          "SMV",
          "The SMV says no company in Peru is authorised to offer forex products or CFDs to the public (SMV notice)"
        ],
        [
          "Indonesia",
          "OJK, with Bank Indonesia and Bappebti",
          "Supervision of financial derivatives moved from Bappebti to OJK and Bank Indonesia on 10 January 2025 (OJK joint press release). Bappebti runs a legality check for futures brokers (Bappebti). Status of retail CFDs: not established"
        ],
        [
          "Malaysia",
          "Securities Commission Malaysia",
          "CFDs have had their own framework since 1 July 2018, and a provider needs a licence for dealing in derivatives (SC guidelines, SC FAQ). Status of leveraged forex: not established"
        ],
        [
          "Philippines",
          "Securities and Exchange Commission",
          "Not established"
        ],
        [
          "Thailand",
          "Securities and Exchange Commission",
          "The SEC publishes an investor alert list of unlicensed businesses (SEC investor alert). Status of retail forex and CFDs: not established"
        ],
        [
          "Vietnam",
          "State Securities Commission",
          "Not established"
        ]
      ],
      "numericColumns": [],
      "outro": [
        "If a regulator states that nobody is authorised locally, any firm that takes you on operates from another country under another country’s rules, or under none. The maximum leverage page explains the leverage caps that apply at companies regulated in the EU, the UK and Australia."
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "BaFin",
          "url": "https://www.bafin.de/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht",
          "publisher": "BaFin"
        },
        {
          "label": "BaFin general order of 23 July 2019",
          "url": "https://www.bafin.de/SharedDocs/Veroeffentlichungen/DE/Aufsichtsrecht/Verfuegung/vf_190801_allgvfg_Differenzgeschaefte.html",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Allgemeinverfügung bezüglich sog. Differenzgeschäfte („Contracts for Difference / CFD“)",
          "publisher": "BaFin"
        },
        {
          "label": "CNMV",
          "url": "https://www.cnmv.es/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores",
          "publisher": "CNMV"
        },
        {
          "label": "CNMV resolution of 11 July 2023",
          "url": "https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2023-16394",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Resolución de 11 de julio de 2023, de la CNMV, sobre medidas de intervención de productos relativas a CFD y otros instrumentos apalancados",
          "publisher": "Boletín Oficial del Estado"
        },
        {
          "label": "AMF",
          "url": "https://www.amf-france.org/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Autorité des marchés financiers",
          "publisher": "AMF"
        },
        {
          "label": "AMF decision of 1 August 2019",
          "url": "https://www.amf-france.org/en/amfs-decision-1-august-2019-restricting-marketing-distribution-or-sale-france-or-france-contracts",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "AMF’s decision of 1 August 2019 restricting the marketing, distribution or sale, in France or from France, of contracts for differences to retail investors",
          "publisher": "AMF"
        },
        {
          "label": "CONSOB",
          "url": "https://www.consob.it/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa",
          "publisher": "CONSOB"
        },
        {
          "label": "CONSOB delibera 20976",
          "url": "https://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/bollettino/documenti/bollettino2019/d20976.htm",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Delibera n. 20976 del 20 giugno 2019 — Limitazioni alla commercializzazione, distribuzione o vendita di contratti per differenza (CFD) a clienti al dettaglio",
          "publisher": "CONSOB"
        },
        {
          "label": "KNF",
          "url": "https://www.knf.gov.pl/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego",
          "publisher": "KNF"
        },
        {
          "label": "KNF decision of 1 August 2019",
          "url": "https://dziennikurzedowy.knf.gov.pl/DU_KNF/2019/27/akt.pdf",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Decyzja Nr DAS.456.2.2019 z dnia 1 sierpnia 2019 r. w sprawie kontraktów na różnicę (CFD)",
          "publisher": "Dziennik Urzędowy KNF"
        },
        {
          "label": "CMVM",
          "url": "https://www.cmvm.pt/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários",
          "publisher": "CMVM"
        },
        {
          "label": "CMVM Regulamento 5/2019",
          "url": "https://dre.pt/home/-/dre/122754276/details/maximized",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Regulamento da CMVM n.º 5/2019 — contratos diferenciais e opções binárias",
          "publisher": "Diário da República"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA PS19/18",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/policy-statements/ps19-18-restricting-contract-difference-products-sold-retail-clients",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "PS19/18: Restricting contract for difference products sold to retail clients",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA PS20/10",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/policy-statements/ps20-10-prohibiting-sale-retail-clients-investment-products-reference-cryptoassets",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "PS20/10: Prohibiting the sale to retail clients of investment products that reference cryptoassets",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "product intervention",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/glossary/#product-intervention",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "ASIC 20-254MR",
          "url": "https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2020-releases/20-254mr-asic-product-intervention-order-strengthens-cfd-protections/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "20-254MR ASIC product intervention order strengthens CFD protections",
          "publisher": "ASIC"
        },
        {
          "label": "CNV alerts",
          "url": "https://www.argentina.gob.ar/cnv/alertas-al-inversor",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Alertas al inversor",
          "publisher": "Comisión Nacional de Valores (Argentina)"
        },
        {
          "label": "CNV warning",
          "url": "https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/proyecto_advertencia_v4_4.pdf",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Advertencia al público inversor por el uso de plataformas digitales no autorizadas",
          "publisher": "Comisión Nacional de Valores (Argentina)"
        },
        {
          "label": "CVM, 15 May 2025",
          "url": "https://www.gov.br/cvm/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/2025/cvm-lanca-video-de-alerta-sobre-cfd-forex-durante-a-semana-enef-2025",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "CVM lança vídeo de alerta sobre CFD/Forex durante a Semana ENEF 2025",
          "publisher": "Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (Brazil)"
        },
        {
          "label": "CMF, 12 December 2025",
          "url": "https://www.cmfchile.cl/portal/principal/613/w3-article-101976.html",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "CMF alerts about unregulated platforms and entities offering investment services",
          "publisher": "Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (Chile)"
        },
        {
          "label": "Superintendencia Financiera",
          "url": "https://www.superfinanciera.gov.co/publicaciones/10107761/sala-de-prensaadvertencias-y-medidas-administrativas-por-ejercicio-ilegal-de-actividad-financiera-no-se-deje-enganar-10107761/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "¡No se deje engañar!",
          "publisher": "Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia"
        },
        {
          "label": "SMV notice",
          "url": "https://www.smv.gob.pe/uploads/SobreForexyCFD.pdf",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Comunicado: advertencia sobre el ofrecimiento público de productos y servicios Forex y de contratos por diferencia (CFD)",
          "publisher": "Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores (Peru)"
        },
        {
          "label": "OJK joint press release",
          "url": "https://ojk.go.id/en/berita-dan-kegiatan/siaran-pers/Pages/Bappebti-Transfers-Regulation-and-Supervision-Duties-on-Digital-Financial-Assets-Crypto-Assets-and-Derivatives-to-OJK-BI.aspx",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Joint press release: Bappebti transfers regulation and supervision duties on digital financial assets, including crypto assets and derivatives, to OJK and BI",
          "publisher": "Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (Indonesia)"
        },
        {
          "label": "futures",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/glossary/#futures-contract",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "Bappebti",
          "url": "https://ceklegalitas.bappebti.go.id/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Cek legalitas pelaku usaha perdagangan berjangka komoditi",
          "publisher": "Bappebti (Indonesia)"
        },
        {
          "label": "SC guidelines",
          "url": "https://www.sc.com.my/regulation/guidelines/contracts-for-difference",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Guidelines on Contracts for Difference",
          "publisher": "Securities Commission Malaysia"
        },
        {
          "label": "SC FAQ",
          "url": "https://www.sc.com.my/api/documentms/download.ashx?id=d9cfb760-4acf-45bf-96de-a4281e86f991",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Frequently-asked questions: Guidelines on Contracts for Difference",
          "publisher": "Securities Commission Malaysia"
        },
        {
          "label": "SEC investor alert",
          "url": "https://market.sec.or.th/public/idisc/en/InvestorAlert",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Investor Alert",
          "publisher": "Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand"
        },
        {
          "label": "maximum leverage",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/maximum-leverage/",
          "type": "internal"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "prose",
      "id": "where-cfds-are-banned",
      "heading": "Where CFDs are banned or restricted for retail clients",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#where-cfds-are-banned",
      "paragraphs": [
        "CFDs are banned for retail buyers in a small number of countries. Belgium’s regulator has banned the sale of CFDs and similar leveraged products to consumers on online platforms since 18 August 2016 (FSMA regulation).",
        "In the United States, only firms registered with the CFTC, the US derivatives regulator, can offer off-exchange leveraged products to retail customers (CFTC: Foreign Currency Trading). The CFTC has treated CFDs sold off-exchange to US retail customers as unlawful (CFTC release 7809-18). Forex trading itself is legal in the USA through registered firms, but the CFD accounts sold in Europe aren’t available there."
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "FSMA regulation",
          "url": "https://www.fsma.be/en/news/fsma-regulation-establishes-framework-distribution-otc-derivatives-binary-options-cfds",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "FSMA Regulation establishes a framework for the distribution of OTC derivatives (binary options, CFDs…)",
          "publisher": "FSMA"
        },
        {
          "label": "CFTC",
          "url": "https://www.cftc.gov/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Commodity Futures Trading Commission",
          "publisher": "CFTC"
        },
        {
          "label": "CFTC: Foreign Currency Trading",
          "url": "https://www.cftc.gov/LearnAndProtect/FraudAwarenessPrevention/ForeignCurrencyTrading/forex_adv06-01",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Foreign Currency Trading",
          "publisher": "CFTC"
        },
        {
          "label": "CFTC release 7809-18",
          "url": "https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/7809-18",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "CFTC Charges Trading Platform with Illegal Transactions Margined in Bitcoin… (Release 7809-18)",
          "publisher": "CFTC"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "callout",
      "id": "safe-warning",
      "heading": "A regulated broker makes fraud unlikely, and it doesn’t make trading safe",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#safe-warning",
      "variant": "warning",
      "label": "Risk warning",
      "paragraphs": [
        "A regulated broker protects you from being cheated, and that’s all it does. The loss figures come from regulated firms. ESMA reported what national regulators found: 74 % to 89 % of retail accounts lost money at authorised providers (ESMA press release, 27 March 2018). Checking the register removes one risk but leaves the bigger one in place (risk disclosure)."
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "ESMA press release, 27 March 2018",
          "url": "https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-agrees-prohibit-binary-options-and-restrict-cfds-protect-retail-investors",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "ESMA agrees to prohibit binary options and restrict CFDs to protect retail investors",
          "publisher": "ESMA"
        },
        {
          "label": "risk disclosure",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/risk-disclosure/",
          "type": "internal"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "faq",
      "id": "questions",
      "heading": "Common questions about whether forex and CFD trading is safe",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#questions",
      "intro": [
        "Questions about whether forex and CFD trading is safe, legal or worth it, with each answer short and standing on its own."
      ],
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "faq-is-forex-a-scam",
          "question": "Is forex a scam?",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#faq-is-forex-a-scam",
          "answer": [
            "Forex isn’t a scam, because it’s simply the market where currencies are exchanged. Retail forex and CFD accounts are legal, regulated products in many countries. Scams do use the name: clone firms copy the details of an authorised firm, and unauthorised firms promise returns no real provider may promise (FCA on clone firms)."
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "faq-is-cfd-trading-safe",
          "question": "Is CFD trading safe?",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#faq-is-cfd-trading-safe",
          "answer": [
            "CFD trading is safe from fraud if your provider is authorised and you’ve checked it on the regulator’s register. CFD trading stays high risk no matter who you trade with. National regulators found that 74 % to 89 % of retail CFD accounts lost money (ESMA press release)."
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "faq-is-cfd-trading-a-scam",
          "question": "Is CFD trading a scam?",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#faq-is-cfd-trading-a-scam",
          "answer": [
            "CFD trading isn’t a scam when the provider is authorised, and it’s a legal product in the UK, the EU and Australia. Where the company that opens your account is regulated in one of them, its regulator limits leverage (ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/796, ASIC 20-254MR). Most retail accounts still lose money trading CFDs, and fraudsters operate fake platforms that mimic the appearance of genuine ones."
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "faq-is-forex-trading-profitable",
          "question": "Is forex trading profitable, and is CFD trading worth it?",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#faq-is-forex-trading-profitable",
          "answer": [
            "Forex and CFD trading turns a profit for a minority of retail accounts. ESMA reported national figures that put the proportion of accounts losing money between 74 % and 89 % (ESMA press release). The most honest starting point for deciding whether it’s worth it is the loss rate each provider publishes (risk disclosure). That decision is your call."
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "faq-what-is-a-regulated-forex-broker",
          "question": "What is a regulated forex broker?",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#faq-what-is-a-regulated-forex-broker",
          "answer": [
            "A regulated forex broker is a company that a financial regulator has authorised and supervises. An FCA-regulated broker appears on the UK Financial Services Register (FCA register). An ASIC-regulated broker appears on ASIC’s professional register (ASIC registers). A firm under CySEC regulation appears on CySEC’s list of investment firms (CySEC list). The company named in your contract is what matters, because one brand can sit on several licences (compare brokers)."
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "faq-is-forex-trading-legal-uk-australia",
          "question": "Is forex trading legal in the UK and Australia?",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#faq-is-forex-trading-legal-uk-australia",
          "answer": [
            "Forex and CFD trading is legal in the UK and in Australia for retail clients. When the company that opens your account is regulated in one of these countries, its regulator caps leverage and provides retail clients with negative balance protection (FCA PS19/18, ASIC 20-254MR). In the UK the firm needs FCA authorisation, while in Australia it needs an ASIC licence. A global company in the same group follows its own regulator’s rules instead."
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "faq-is-forex-trading-legal-usa",
          "question": "Is forex trading legal in the USA?",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#faq-is-forex-trading-legal-usa",
          "answer": [
            "Forex trading is legal in the USA when the firm is registered with the CFTC (CFTC: Foreign Currency Trading). The CFTC has treated CFDs sold off-exchange to US retail customers as unlawful, so CFDs are a different matter (CFTC release 7809-18)."
          ]
        }
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "FCA on clone firms",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/clone-firms-individuals",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Clone firms and individuals",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "ESMA press release",
          "url": "https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-agrees-prohibit-binary-options-and-restrict-cfds-protect-retail-investors",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "ESMA agrees to prohibit binary options and restrict CFDs to protect retail investors",
          "publisher": "ESMA"
        },
        {
          "label": "ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/796",
          "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2018/796/oj",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/796 of 22 May 2018 to temporarily restrict contracts for differences in the Union",
          "publisher": "Official Journal of the European Union (EUR-Lex)"
        },
        {
          "label": "ASIC 20-254MR",
          "url": "https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2020-releases/20-254mr-asic-product-intervention-order-strengthens-cfd-protections/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "20-254MR ASIC product intervention order strengthens CFD protections",
          "publisher": "ASIC"
        },
        {
          "label": "risk disclosure",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/risk-disclosure/",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA register",
          "url": "https://register.fca.org.uk/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Financial Services Register",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "ASIC registers",
          "url": "https://asic.gov.au/online-services/search-asic-registers/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Search ASIC registers",
          "publisher": "ASIC"
        },
        {
          "label": "CySEC list",
          "url": "https://www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/entities/investment-firms/cypriot/",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Cyprus Investment Firms: list of regulated entities",
          "publisher": "CySEC"
        },
        {
          "label": "compare brokers",
          "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/compare-brokers/",
          "type": "internal"
        },
        {
          "label": "FCA PS19/18",
          "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/policy-statements/ps19-18-restricting-contract-difference-products-sold-retail-clients",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "PS19/18: Restricting contract for difference products sold to retail clients",
          "publisher": "FCA"
        },
        {
          "label": "CFTC: Foreign Currency Trading",
          "url": "https://www.cftc.gov/LearnAndProtect/FraudAwarenessPrevention/ForeignCurrencyTrading/forex_adv06-01",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "Foreign Currency Trading",
          "publisher": "CFTC"
        },
        {
          "label": "CFTC release 7809-18",
          "url": "https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/7809-18",
          "type": "source",
          "title": "CFTC Charges Trading Platform with Illegal Transactions Margined in Bitcoin… (Release 7809-18)",
          "publisher": "CFTC"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "sources",
      "id": "sources",
      "heading": "Sources",
      "url": "https://thetraderwiki.com/en/is-forex-and-cfd-trading-safe/#sources",
      "intro": [
        "The original documents this page cites, in the order they first appear."
      ],
      "items": [
        {
          "key": "esma",
          "title": "European Securities and Markets Authority",
          "publisher": "ESMA",
          "url": "https://www.esma.europa.eu/"
        },
        {
          "key": "esma-2018-press",
          "title": "ESMA agrees to prohibit binary options and restrict CFDs to protect retail investors",
          "publisher": "ESMA",
          "date": "2018-03-27",
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