The LSE Directory / CFD and forex brokers
easyMarkets is a retail-facing online broker offering trading in forex and CFDs on commodities, indices, equities, and cryptocurrencies, plus vanilla options, through its own web and mobile platforms alongside MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and TradingView integration. It trades on fixed spreads across its core account types rather than the variable spreads common among ECN-style brokers, and its Cypriot regulated entity, Easy Forex Trading Ltd, holds CySEC license 079/07 (confirmed on the CySEC public register, license date 29/05/2007). Its signature differentiator is dealCancellation, introduced in 2016, which lets a client pay a premium of roughly 1 to 5 percent of position value, depending on the instrument and chosen duration, to undo a losing trade within a window of one, three, or six hours. It is paired with the older Freeze Rate tool, launched in 2005, which lets a trader briefly lock in a quoted rate before committing to a trade. Both tools position easyMarkets toward retail traders who prioritize downside protection and price certainty, a different pitch from brokers competing purely on the tightest raw spread. In 2024 the company added an AI-assisted market analysis tool at ai.easymarkets.com. The company was founded in 2001 in Limassol, Cyprus, under the name Easy Forex by three institutional traders, and was among the first brokers to accept online funding by credit card with deposits starting at 25 dollars; it expanded into Australia in 2003 and rebranded to easyMarkets in January 2016 as its product range grew beyond spot forex into CFDs. It operates under Blue Capital Markets Ltd as its Cyprus-incorporated holding company. Beyond its CySEC license, it holds regulatory registrations through easyMarkets Pty Ltd under Australia's ASIC (AFS license 246566), plus entities registered with the Seychelles Financial Services Authority, the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission, and South Africa's Financial Sector Conduct Authority; it previously held US registration from 2005 to 2013 and UK FCA authorisation, which it withdrew in 2022. By 2025 the company listed over 275 tradable instruments. Client funds are held in segregated accounts at tier-1 banks, and EU clients are covered by the Investor Compensation Fund up to 20,000 euros. Leadership changed in late 2025: Koula Lamprou was named CEO, succeeding Nikos Antoniades, while Garen Meserlian moved from chief marketing officer to chief operating officer in August 2025. The company has sponsored Real Madrid C.F. (partnership renewed December 2024), having previously sponsored Spanish club Real Betis Balompie and Australia's Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs rugby league team. In 2024, easyGroup, the holding company behind easyJet, brought trademark proceedings against the broker in Ireland over use of the word "easy" in its brand; Ireland's High Court declined jurisdiction over the case.
