Going offshore to escape the CFTC

[SmallPaul]

@MrInvisible

Trader’s Way has been around for over a decade and banned new US clients years ago… If they are being forced to drop US traders to save their license then no offshore broker offering MT4/5 is safe… It’s only a matter of time before Metaquotes gets around to all of them.

In that case, it would no longer be about accepting U.S. clients but about being regulated

[_METHOS]

I do not expect that regulated brokers here in the states will be told to drop their US clientele. There are two offshore, unregulated brokers that will probably not be affected, if I had to guess, since they appear to have found workarounds. Time will tell, I suppose.

Trader’s Way dropped US traders already, so Meta is probably checking trader IP’s. I doubt that a broker like Trader’s Way would allow their US traders to employ IP masking. I am actually surprised that they are even considering alternative solutions for their US client-base. Maybe they have many US traders that stayed on with them.

Nonetheless, I have slowly begun making the transition into futures. Just so tired of trying to fight a losing battle.

[_METHOS]

@MrInvisible

If they are being forced to drop US traders to save their license then no offshore broker offering MT4/5 is safe

-Time will tell. I suspect of at least one broker that is probably using their own servers, so they might not be a concern for Meta. Honestly, I just do not care much anymore. It is complete and total nonsense, the things that we have to deal with as US traders. More and more US-based traders are looking to futures, and I expect this trend to continue.

[MarkInTn]

LQDFX?

I’ll stay with forex until reasonable offshore options are no more. But agree otherwise.

[aaceofspades]

Perhaps Metaquotes is making a defensive move? This conversation reminded me of being kicked off of cTrader back in 2017 with no explanation given by Trader’s Way or Spotware. The US is always turning the screws on Russian sanctions, so maybe a Russian company like Metaquotes is avoiding a potential headache or a more direct threat? All speculation on my part.

Here’s a copy of an email I received a few months later in 2017 from Spotware. Maybe Metaquotes would say the same?

<>
Dear Traders,

We have received many inquiries regarding US citizens being restricted from using our platform. Therefore, with this post we would like to address your questions and clarify why the situation is currently as is.

Spotware is a technology company and has no restrictions in offering its technology anywhere in the world. However, our technology is offered to you through brokers and not directly by us. As you all know, brokers and the services they offer are subject to regulations in different parts of the world. This is also the case in the United States, where very tight rules have been put in place surrounding the trading conditions that can be offered to retail investors. Most of these rules come from the Commodity Futures Trading Commision (CFTC) and the well known Dodd Frank Act.

Based on this regulatory environment, forex brokers that are not regulated in the United States are not allowed to offer their services to US citizens. Any such attempt would be considered fraudulent and legal action can be taken. In the past, offshore brokers that accepted or solicited US citizens as clients have been taken to the US courts. For this reason, even though Spotware are not directly liable for our clients actions, we do not want to be seen as a company that consented or enabled these brokers operate against clear guidelines.

Being a company that always puts Traders First, we want to make a clear statement to users for your protection, this is that our solution is not available to US citizens since, at present, none of the brokers offering cTrader is regulated in the United States. The restriction is not because the technology is prohibited or restricted in any way, but because there is no broker that can legitimately offer this service. As soon as a US regulated broker launches cTrader, we will inform you accordingly.

Best Regards,

cTrader Team

[aaceofspades]

@SmallPaul

I was unaware that Athens Markets had blocked my account until I received this email today. Strange

[Athens Markets] Your account has been unblocked

Account Unblocked Notification

We are pleased to inform you that your account has been successfully unblocked.

If you have any questions or require further assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Best regards, Athens Markets Team

@SmallPaul, Any development on this? Thanks.

[MarkInTn]

Just finished a chat with LQDFX, and they will continue to offer mt4.

[SmallPaul]

@SmallPaul

Brokers who accept U.S. traders but are not regulated are in danger of Metaquotes betrayal, regardless of their agreement with Metaquotes

@MarkInTn

Just finished a chat with LQDFX, and they will continue to offer mt4.

Although they said this, they are not safe from losing their Metaqoutes license, so you must pre-plan in case this occurs unexpectedly

[SmallPaul]

@aaceofspades

@SmallPaul, Any development on this? Thanks.

Even though I never traded with them, I had an account with them. For some reason, they blocked my account, I may have received that email, but I may have deleted it without reading it. Now I received an email stating that my account was unblocked, but I never followed up to ask why it was blocked.

[SmallPaul]

@ragtop50

Here is the content of the email from Tradersway:

We have been notified about changes to MetaQuotes’ policies and have been asked to phase-out your trading activity on the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms, as you reside in the United States.

Have you guys been able to deposit with Tradersway before receiving that email? I just logged into my account and when I hit deposit, this is what appears.

Deposits are disabled for this account. Please contact [email protected] for details.

[ragtop50]

I just deposited at Tradersway a couple of days ago, but haven’t since the email came out.

EDIT: I just checked, and it looks like deposits are working for me right now.

[MarkInTn]

Received the same message when attempting a deposit with Tradersway.

However, quizzed LQDFX again and got the following:

[ragtop50]

I have a feeling that if you had messaged Tradersway a couple of weeks ago, they would have said the same thing. They plan to continue…until they can’t.

[MarkInTn]

My fear as well.

[ragtop50]

I have asked Coinexx about their future offering of MT4/MT5 a couple of times over the past month or so, and their response is that they are not aware of any restrictions from Metaquotes at this time. At least they aren’t making promises they may not be able to keep, I guess.
Coinexx and LQDFX are about the only two I would consider at this time.

[MarkInTn]

Successful deposit process just now with LQDFX, at 4:15 pm Friday.

[MrInvisible]

Correction… we will be keeping metatrader for our clients until Metaquotes comes knocking on the door and tells us to either drop US clients from metatrader or lose our license completely.

[_METHOS]

@ragtop50

Coinexx and LQDFX are about the only two I would consider at this time.

-Fyntura might be worth a consideration. MidasFX, also, since they were literally suggested to me by Trader’s Way and I was told that they ‘provide numerous aspects of their infrastructure’ and would ‘see similarities in all of the services offerings’.

If I had to guess, Funtura might be a shadow branch of Hanko and Midas might be a shadow branch of Trader’s Way. But this is just pure speculation.

[_METHOS]

Yes. I have asked about 8 different brokers whether or not they have any plans to drop Meta, and all of them say the same thing… pretty much what has already been posted here. But, as we all know, anything could happen, and it’s best to be prepared.

[caffelatte]

Are there copy trading platforms for forex futures that work something like Signal Start does for spot forex?