The LSE Directory / CFD and forex brokers
FXOpen is a forex and CFD broker operating under an ECN model, connecting client orders directly to interbank and exchange liquidity rather than dealing against them on a desk. It offers trading in forex pairs, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs and cryptocurrency CFDs (more than 25 crypto CFD pairs, including BTC/USD and ETH/USD, though UK crypto CFD trading is restricted to professional clients under FCA rules). Clients trade through MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, or FXOpen's own proprietary platform, TickTrader, launched in 2020 to cover all five asset classes from one interface; FXOpen has increasingly steered new clients toward TickTrader rather than the third-party MetaTrader platforms. FXOpen's main point of differentiation within the retail ECN broker category is its early and sustained focus on cryptocurrency: it added Bitcoin, Litecoin, Namecoin and Peercoin trading accounts in 2014, introduced PAMM-Crypto strategy accounts and blockchain-based Tether deposits and withdrawals in 2017, and had expanded to 43 crypto trading pairs by 2018, years ahead of most FCA/CySEC-regulated peers. It also offers swap-free accounts structured for Sharia-compliant trading and PAMM technology that lets clients allocate capital to follow a money manager's strategy. Pricing runs from 0.0 pip spreads with a per-lot commission on its ECN accounts, with leverage up to 1:500 on forex and metals CFDs where jurisdiction allows. FXOpen was founded in 2005, having started as a trading education centre before launching brokerage services that same year. Its main regulated entity, FXOpen UK (FXOpen Ltd), is authorised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 579202, holds client funds in segregated accounts at Barclays Bank, and is covered by the FSCS up to GBP 85,000 per eligible client. A second entity, FXOpen EU Ltd, is authorised by Cyprus's CySEC under licence 194/13. A third entity, FXOpen Markets Limited, is registered offshore in Nevis, Saint Kitts and Nevis, for clients outside the UK/EU regulatory perimeter. In September 2024, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission cancelled the AFS licence of FXOpen AU Pty Ltd, which it had held since 2011, citing inadequate staffing and supervisory arrangements and a breach of the licence's "key person" condition; FXOpen's chief executive said the firm had been working with ASIC on the concerns and the company sought a tribunal review of the cancellation. FXOpen UK reported GBP 645,643 in revenue for 2022, a 5.5% increase on the prior year. As of 2026, FXOpen continues to operate primarily on TickTrader across web, desktop and mobile, and has kept adding instruments to that platform, including a US Dollar Index (DXY) CFD alongside its existing forex, commodity, index, share and crypto CFD lineup.
