OFFSHORE FOREX BROKERS
This is our 15th Year on the Babypips Forum
Here is an updated list of the offshore brokers vetted so far in this thread, and the results of our inquiry into whether these brokers will open new accounts for U.S. residents, given the current regulatory regime imposed by the CFTC on retail forex trading in the United States.
A retail forex broker domiciled in a jurisdiction outside the U.S.,
not subject to the regulations of the U.S. CFTC and/or NFA.
recent changes in posts 1 and 2.
Information on platforms, initial deposit, leverage, and spreads was obtained from broker websites. In some cases, this information is not readily retrievable. If you are able to fill in any of the missing information below, please do.
Some brokers offer more than one type/size of forex account (micro, mini, etc.). In each of the listings below (unless noted otherwise), the account referenced is the account requiring the smallest initial deposit.
Some brokers in Group 1 accept bitcoin (or other cryptocurrencies) for deposit and withdrawal. Some brokers host cryptocurrency trading. In the listings below, cryptocurrency particulars are shown for these brokers.
It is not practical to show spreads for all currency pairs, for each broker. Instead, two spreads — for the EUR/USD and the GBP/JPY — are shown for each broker, as a rough representation of their spread menu.
Email and telephone contact info is included for each broker in Group 1 for those who wish to make their initial contact without visiting the broker’s website. For information on this option, see THIS POST
One of the brokers in Group 1 is designated as a Trusted Broker .
The Trusted Broker designation was determined by a consensus of thread participants — primarily participants who trade live accounts with that broker. Our Trusted Broker was judged to be exemplary based on these criteria: (1) honesty and transparency in advertising their services, and in handling the funds and executing the trades of their clients; and (2) compliance with the laws and regulations of the countries in which they are domiciled. For some background on the selection of Trusted Brokers, see THIS POST
EUROPE — we no longer have a broker domiciled in Europe
AFRICA / MIDDLE EAST / PERSIAN GULF
• Capital Street FX (Mauritius) — aka CSFX
Type: Market-maker (STP execution, all accounts except VIP); ECN (VIP account)
Corporate names: Capital Street Intermarkets Limited (Mauritius),
and Capital Street Bancclear Corporation (SVG)
Regulator: not regulated
Headquarters location: Port Louis, Republic of Mauritius
Account types: Basic, Classic, Professional, and VIP
Account currency: USD only (all acct types)
Deposit and Withdrawal options: see Your Way to Pay: Flexible Payment Methods
Instruments: FX (50+ pairs), commodities, bonds, ETF’s, shares, currency options, —
— stock index futures, and cryptos
Platforms: ACT Trader (desktop and mobile versions)
Minimum initial deposit: 100 USD (Basic acct), 200 USD (Classic acct), 1000 USD (Professional acct), and 10000 USD (VIP acct)
Maximum leverage: from 100:1 to 3500:1 (for FX - all acct types) - for other instruments see Low-Spread Trading with Capital Street FX
Minimum position size: one micro-lot (0.01 std lot)
Spreads: EUR/USD 3 pips fixed, 0.3 pip (avg) floating - GBP/JPY 8 pips fixed, —
— 1 pip (avg) floating
Commissions: 15 USD (round-turn per lot) negotiable (ECN - VIP acct only)
Swaps: yes
Cryptocurrencies: 14 crypto pairs available to trade - no crypto deposits or withdrawals
Website: Capital Street FX - CFD & Forex Online Trading
Terms and Conditions: CAPITAL STREET FX Account Forms: Your Trading Community
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +1 (949) 391 1002 (note: 949 is an Orange County, California, exchange)
• HankoTrade (Mwali)
Type: NDD (no dealing desk) with STP/ECN execution
Regulator: not regulated
Corporate name: Hankotrade Global Markets Limited
Registration: Mwali (Comoros, KM)
Physical location: Dubai, UAE
Account types: STP, ECN, ECN Plus (Islamic option available on all acct types)
Account currencies: USD, EUR, and CAD
Instruments: FX (62 pairs), gold, silver, WTI, Brent, indices (4), and cryptos (9 pairs)
Platforms: ActTrader
Minimum initial deposit: 10 USD (STP account) — 100 USD (ECN acct) — 1,000 USD (ECN Plus acct)
Maximum leverage: 500:1 (all accounts)
Minimum position size: one micro-lot (0.01 std lot) all accounts
Spreads: from 0.7 pip (STP account) — from 0.0 pip (ECN and ECN Plus accounts)
Commissions: zero USD (STP account) — 4 USD per std lot, round-turn (ECN account) , and 2 USD per std lot, round-turn (ECN Plus account)
Swaps: yes, except accounts with Islamic option
Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin plus 7 altcoins accepted for deposit and withdrawal —Trading hosted in 9 cryptocurrency pairs
Terms and Conditions: LINK
Website: https://hankotrade.com/
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (available on a call-back basis only)
CARIBBEAN / CENTRAL AMERICA
• AAFX (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
Type: market-maker (Fixed Accounts), ECN (ECN Accounts)
Regulator: not regulated
Account types: Fixed, ECN, and VIP
Account currencies: USD, EUR, and GBP — segregated client funds
Instruments: FX (62 pairs), gold and silver, oil and gas, commodities (13), stock indices (11), bitcoin (2)
Platforms: MT4 (PC, mobile, tablet, and web trader), and MT5 (PC, Mac, mobile and tablet)
Minimum initial deposit: 100 USD for Fixed Account and ECN Account, 20k USD for VIP Account
Maximum leverage: 2000:1 (for accounts up to 20k USD), 1000:1 (for accounts over 20k USD)
Minimum position size: one micro-lot (0.01 std. lot)
Spreads: EUR/USD 2 pips, GBP/JPY 5 pips (Fixed acct) —
— EUR/USD 0.8 pip, GBP/JPY 2.6 pip ECN acct
Commission: no commissions (even on so-called ECN accounts)
Swaps: all accounts are swap-free
Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin accepted for deposit and withdrawal (minimum 100 USD equivalent) — trading hosted in BTC/USD and BTC/EUR
Terms and Conditions: LINK
Website: https://www.aafxtrading.com/
Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
Telephone: none provided
• Coinexx (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) — Trusted Broker
Type: ECN
Regulator: not regulated
Account types: Pro ECN Account — Segregated customer funds
Account currencies: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, and USD
Instruments: FX (60 pairs), metals, oil and gas, stock indices, and cryptocurrencies
Platforms: MT4, and MT5
Minimum initial deposit: 0.001 BTC (or equivalent) — equals roughly 11 USD at current BTC/USD price
Maximum leverage: 500:1 on forex, metals, energies, and stock indices — 5:1 on cryptos
Minimum position size: one micro-lot (0.01 std lot)
Spreads: ECN spreads, without retail mark-up
Commissions: 2 USD per std lot, round-turn
Swaps: yes
Cryptocurrencies: Deposits, withdrawals, and trading in more than 25 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, major altcoins, Bitcoin cross assets, etc.
Terms and Conditions: LINK — Note: this document pertains to the Coinexx website, not to Coinexx trading accounts — no other document is provided by Coinexx Support
Website: LINK
Email: LINK
Telephone: none provided
• FxGlory (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
Type: market-maker, NDD execution model on all account types
Regulator: not regulated
Account types: Standard, Premium, VIP, and CIP
Account currency: USD (only) — Segregated client funds
Instruments: FX (34 pairs), metals, and oil
Platforms: MT4 and MT5
Minimum initial deposit: 1 USD (standard account)
Maximum leverage: 3000:1 (standard account)
Minimum position size: one micro-lot (0.01 std. lot)
Spreads: EUR/USD 2 pips, GBP/JPY 7 pips
Commissions: no
Swaps: all accounts are swap-free
Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Etherium, Litecoin, Ripple, and others accepted for deposit and withdrawal — discounts (up to 10%) available on crypto deposits to offset USD/crypto volatility
Terms and conditions: LINK
Website: https://fxglory.com/
Email addresses: [email protected] and [email protected]
Telephones: +(1) 888 345 6995 (US, toll-free), and +(44) 800 086 9296 (UK, toll-free)
• FxSway (St. Lucia)
Type: NDD (note: this broker claims to be a true ECN broker)
Corporate name: FX Sway LTD
Regulator: not regulated
Physical location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Account types: Standard, Var, Pro, and Mini
Account currency: USD
Deposits: via crypto (BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, DOGE & USDT)
Minimum initial deposit: 10 USD equivalent in crypto
Segregated customer funds: yes (however, see Terms & Conditions, section 7.11)
Withdrawals: via BTC only
Instruments: FX, crypto, stocks, indices, commodities
Platform: TradeLocker
Maximum leverage: 500:1 (all account types)
Minimum position size: one micro-lot (0.01 std lot)
Spreads and Commissions:: vary depending on type of account —
(see Trading Accounts with Leverage up to 1:500 | FxSway)
Swaps: yes
Cryptocurrencies: for deposits (6), for withdrawals (1), for trading (18)
Website: https://fxsway.com/
Terms and Conditions: Terms & Conditions | FxSway
Email: [email protected].
Telephone: +359-2-4928462 (note: country code 359 is Bulgaria)
• MidasFX (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
Type: market-maker for Standard accts, ECN broker for ECN accts
Regulator: not regulated
Physical location: not disclosed
Account types: Standard-MT4, ECN-MT4, Standard-MT5, and ECN-MT5
Account currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, and CAD (all acct types)
Deposit and withdrawal options: Crypto (7 options) —
— Fiat currency (thru Instacoins) via wire transfer, or credit/debit card
Instruments: Forex, Cryptos, Indices, Metals, and Crude Oil
Platforms: MT4 and MT5
Minimum initial deposit: 1 USD
Maximum leverage: 1000:1
Minimum position size: one micro-lot (0.01 std lot)
Spreads: from 0.7 pip on Std accts - from 0.0 pip on ECN accts
Commissions: 10 USD/std lot (round-turn) on ECN accts - zero commission on Std accts
Swaps: yes
Cryptocurrencies: available for deposit/withdrawal, available for trading
Website: midasfx.com/
Customer Agreement: https://www.midasfx.com/files/Client%20Agreement.pdf
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (telephone contact information not disclosed)
• PlexyTrade (St. Lucia)
Type: market-maker (commission-free accts), ECN (commission accts)
Corporate name: Plexy Trade Ltd
Regulator: not regulated
Physical location: Montenegro
Account types: Micro, Silver, Gold Raw, and Platinum VIP
Account currency: USD and EUR (all acct types)
Deposit and Withdrawal options: Confirmo (fees apply) or —
— Crypto direct (Bitcoin, Tether, Litecoin, XRP) fee-free
Segregated client funds: yes (all accounts)
Instruments: FX, Indices, Cryptos, Commodities, and Stocks
Platforms: MT4 and MT5 (desktop and mobile, both platforms)
Minimum initial deposit: 50 USD (Micro), 300 USD (Silver and Gold), —
— 10000 USD (Platinum)
Maximum leverage: 2000:1 (Micro), 500:1 (Silver and Gold), 400:1 (Platinum)
Minimum position size: onr micro-lot (0.01 std lot) all acct types
Spreads (FX): from 0.7 pip (Micro and Silver) — zero pips (Gold and Platinum)
Commissions (FX): none (Micro and Silver), 4 USD (Gold), 2 USD (Platinum)
Swaps: only on Micro acct — other acct types 7-day swap-free
Cryptocurrencies: 8 crypto pairs for trading, 4 cryptos for deposit/withdrawal
Website: plexytrade.com
Terms and Conditions:
— see Legal Documents, Terms & Conditions | Plexytrade
Email: [email protected], or [email protected], —
— or [email protected]
Telephone: +382 68 04 3222 (Montenegro)
PACIFIC / ASIA
• Number One Capital Markets (Vanuatu) — aka N1CM
Type: market-maker (Cent account, and Standard acct) - ECN (ECN account)
Corporate name: Number One Capital Markets Limited
Regulator: not regulated
Physical location: Port Vila, Vanuatu - office phone:+678 29365 (Vanuatu)
Account types: Cent Account, Standard Account, and ECN Account
Account currency: USD
Deposit and Withdrawal options: Crypto only (for U.S. clients, for deposit/withdrawal)
Instruments: FX only (Cent acct) —
— FX, stocks, oil, metals, commodities, and cryptocurrency (Std acct, and ECN acct)
Platforms: MT4 (Cent acct), MT4 and MT5 (Standard acct, and ECN acct)
Minimum initial deposit: 1 USD (Cent acct), 10 USD (Standard acct, and ECN acct)
Maximum leverage: 1000:1 (all acct types)
Minimum position size: 1 micro-lot (0.01 std lot)
Spreads: EUR/USD 1.2 pip average (Cent acct), GBP/JPY ___________
Commissions: on FX trades, Zero commission (Cent acct, and Standard acct) —
— 8 USD per std lot, round-turn (ECN acct)
Swaps: yes - see Swap Rates | N1CM
Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Dash, Litecoin, Ripple and Polkadot — (cryptos versus USD)
Website: https://www.n1cm.com
Terms and Conditions: — https://www.n1cm.com/documents/N1CM_Terms_Conditions.pdf
Client Agreement: https://www.n1cm.com/documents/N1CM_Client_Agreement.pdf
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +44 20 4525 9759 (for customer support - this is a London phone number)
During the first year of this thread – from September 2010 to September 2011 – we found and listed over 100 offshore brokers who (at that time) would accept new U.S. clients. One by one, all of those brokers have either gone out of business, or have caved to pressure from the CFTC to sever ties with their U.S. clients. Of those original 100+ brokers, not one remains on the current List.
In late 2011 and early 2012, we added several brokers to our List – only one of which, FxGlory, survives to this day.
Then, for 3½ years, none of the new offshore brokers we found and added to our List managed to stay on our List, again, due to the threats and intimidation of the CFTC — aided and abetted by various regulatory agencies in other countries acting in concert with the CFTC — which was (and is) bringing pressure to bear on any foreign broker who dares to do business with Americans.
Between 2016 and 2018, we were able to add four new offshore brokers — LMFX, LQDFX, Turnkey Forex, and Coinexx. — one of which we still retain.
In 2019, we added EagleFX to our List. Unfortunately, Real Trade, a broker which had been on our List for more than 7 years, went out of business and was removed from the List in October 2019.
In 2020, we added three new brokers — AAFX, HankoTrade, and SageFX. And we designated two new Trusted Brokers – LQDFX and EagleFX. Unfortunately, we lost three brokers in 2020 – CryptoRocket, Trader’s Way, and FX Choice – all three now refusing to host new U.S. clients.
In 2021, we lost 2 brokers. and added one broker. In the loss column, FXBrew (on our List since August 2019) has gone out of business; and PaxForex (one of our legacy brokers, dating back to 2011) no longer accepts U.S. clients. In the plus column, in March 2021, we added ProsperityFX, which became (at that time) the eleventh broker on our List.
In 2022, our List remained unchanged through October. In November, we removed Sage FX, after being informed that they will no longer host new U.S. clients. Then in December, we added Cedar FX, restoring the total number of Group 1 brokers to eleven.
In 2023, we removed Turnkey Forex (on our List since January 2018), now out of business; LMFX (on our List since January 2016), no longer accepting new U.S. clients; EagleFX (on our List since August 2019), also no longer accepting new U.S. clients; Renesource Capital (a legacy broker, on our List since August 2011) no longer in the brokerage business; and CedarFX (on our List for less than one year) no longer accepting new U.S. clients. In late November, we added Forex Chief to our List,. And in late December, we added four brokers: MidasFX, FxSway, Number One Capital Markets, and Capital Street FX — restoring our Group 1 roster to eleven brokers.
In February 2024, we removed ProsperityFX (on our List for almost 3 years) after Prosperity merged with a broker not on our List, and ceased independent operations. In early May, we removed LQDFX (formerly a Trusted Broker, on our List for 7½ years) after LQDFX was acquired by PlexyTrade. Also in May, we removed ForexChief, now called xChief (on our List for only 6 months) as they no longer accept new U.S. clients; and we added PlexyTrade (successor to LQDFX), bringing the Group 1 roster to nine brokers.
Going forward, we continue to monitor the performance of our offshore brokers to be sure that they continue living up to the standards that got them onto the List. And we continue to look for new offshore brokers who meet our criteria.
Here is a list of our Group 1 brokers, arranged in chronological order according to the dates on which they were added to our List.
FxGlory (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
May 24, 2012 – mentioned for the first time in this thread
June 13, 2012 – added to Group 1
Coinexx (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
June 21, 2018 – mentioned for the first time in this thread
June 24, 2018 – added to Group 1
January 20, 2019 – designated a Trusted Broker
AAFX (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
April 8, 2020 – mentioned for the first time in this thread
June 17, 2020 – added to Group 1
HankoTrade (Mwali)
September 27, 2020 – mentioned for the first time in this thread
October 1, 2020 – added to Group 1
MidasFX (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
March 19, 2023 - mentioned for the first time in this thread
December 20, 2023 - added to Group 1
FxSway (St. Lucia)
July 20, 2022 - mentioned for the first time in this thread
December 20, 2023 - added to Group 1
Number One Capital Markets (Vanuatu)
October 26, 2019 - mentioned for the first time in this thread
December 20, 2023 - added to Group 1
Capital Street FX (Mauritius)
December 16, 2023 - mentioned for the first time in this thread
December 20, 2023 - added to Group 1
PlexyTrade (St. Lucia)
May 1, 2024 - mentioned for the first time in this thread
May 27, 2024 - added to Group 1