Last week, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had added 34 new names of unregistered platforms to its Registration Deficient List (RED List) that are illegally offering financial services in the country. CFTC's RED List, which was introduced in 2015, presently has 202 entities on it.
The 34 new foreign entities added to the RED List are:
Algobit, Ltd. (octavetrade.com)
Cent Projects, Ltd. (dynamicsfxtrade.com)
Alis Capital Inc. (aliscapital.com)
CloseOption (closeoption.com)
B.O TradeFinancials (Cryptospherefx.com)
CryptoBO (cryptobo.com)
Bitpay Options (bitpayoptions.com)
CryptoSphereFX (Cryptospherefx.com)
Bluegate Financial Services (bluegatefinancialservices.com)
DestroFX (Destrofx.com)
Capital Forex Trade (www.octavetrade.co)
Direct Cryptos (directcryptos.com)
Capital Trading Hub (Capitaltradinghub.com)
Dynamics FX Trade (dynamicsfxtrade.com)
Capitalone Trade (Capitaltradinghub.com)
Expirex Trade (Empiretrades.com)
FXBrew (fxbrew.com)
QuickFXTrade (quickfxtrade.com)
FX Optimax (fxoptimax.com)
Renesource Capital (Renesource.com)
FX-Cryptex (fx-cryptex.com)
SageFX (sagefx.com)
HankoTrade (hankotrade.com)
Stockinvestmentfx (stockinvestmentfx.com)
IQFXTrade (iqfxtrade.com)
Swissglobaltrade.org (swissglobaltrade.org)
Menne Market Ltd. (mennemarkets.com)
The Traders Domain (thetradersdomain.com)
Octave Trade (www.octavetrade.com)
Tifu Global Limited (TiFuforex.com)
Pocketoption (pocketoption.com)
TradingDeskFX (tradingdeskfx.com)
Prime Crypto FX (primecryptofx.com)
Wolves Trade FX (wolvestradefx.com)
About FXOptimax
Established in 2009, FXOptimax is an online financial service provider in the form of STP system. The broker is registered in the Saint Vincent and Grenadines. It is well known that Forex is not regulated by the financial sector in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This means that FXOptimax is an unregulated offshore broker.
We opened the official website of FXOptimax and there was no information about trading, including accounts, spreads, leverage, etc., except for some company profiles and contact information.
In addition, we can also look up FXOptimax on the WikiFX App, but we can see that its rating is only 1.44/10. At the same time, we can clearly see the regulatory status of the broker, that is, unlicensed and unregulated. Finally, WikiFX warns investors to stay away from FXOptimax because of its extremely high risk.
Illegal Forex Trading Platforms
These platforms are primarily offering derivatives trading with forex, cryptocurrencies and other asset classes. Some of them even provide binary options, which are restricted in the UK and the EU but legal in the US under strict controls.
According to the regulatory announcement, a company is added to the “RED List” when the CFTC determines from investigative leads and public inquiries that it is not registered with the Commission and appears to be acting in a capacity that necessitates registration, such as trading binary options, foreign currency (forex), or other products.
To offer derivatives products in the US, platforms need to be registered with the CFTC and be a member of the National Futures Association (NFA).
However, none of the 34 companies listed on the RED list are licensed to operate in the United States. At least one incorrectly claimed to be regulated by the CFTC, while some appeared to have some offshore licenses. Some of these platform operators have now shut down these platforms. Almost all of these platforms look like fraudulent platforms, and at least one of them even accepts only Bitcoin deposits.
It is worth noting that the French regulator blacklisted 20 such illegal forex trading platforms last month, while regulators in Cyprus, Italy and the UK regularly update their warning lists.
How to find a reliable Forex broker?
The best way is to protect yourself by equipping the relevant knowledge regarding Forex brokers. The most effective way to do this is by relying on WikiFX – which is readily at your service for free!
WikiFX is a global Forex broker regulatory query platform that works hand-in-hand with 30 national regulators, providing verified information of over 36,000 Forex brokers.
WikiFX investigates, reviews, compares, documents field surveys of broker premises, and rates Forex brokers to prevent its users from entrusting their hard-earned money with unreliable Forex brokers.
Head over to www.wikifx.com or download and enjoy the free WikiFX mobile app on Google Play or App Store.
If unfortunately, you have fallen into the trap of a Forex broker and seeking help from the authorities brings no avail, you can get in touch with WikiFX through the channels listed in the image below:
Remember, “when in doubt, reach out to WikiFX” because we are your one-stop Forex broker solutions!