Dubai has become a hotbed of retail trading, with a deep-pocketed base of traders. Local brokers are thriving there, with record trading volumes, while many global brokers are also seeing stronger demand in the region than elsewhere.Against this backdrop, iFX Expo is launching The Trading Festival to increase transparency for the global trading community.An Event for TradersThe event will be trader-focused and will feature live sessions where traders put real ideas on the line and share practical work on discipline and routines. There will also be a lab where traders can test tools offered by brokers.“There are a couple of reasons we chose Dubai,” said George Panayiotou, CEO at Ultimate Group. “The main one is that it has established itself as a regional hub for trading and fintech.”“We saw a gap that could be filled by the Trading Festival. This growing environment has created strong demand for trading-focused education and suits people interested in trading and personal asset management, but who may lack a clear view of what the market offers and the knowledge they need to trade.”The regional rise in trading activity is reflected in CFI Financial’s figures, which handled a record $2.07 trillion in trading volume during the fourth quarter of 2025. By comparison, the broker’s total trading volume for the whole of 2024 was $2.79 trillion.Capital.com also reported that 52 per cent of its H1 2025 trading volume came from the Middle East, compared with 15 per cent from Europe. The broker had 35,000 MENA traders, compared with 61,400 in Europe. In addition, 71.7 per cent of Capital.com’s $804.1 billion trading volume in MENA was generated by UAE-based traders.This clearly shows how the UAE is becoming a key centre for CFD traders.[#highlighted-links#] Education Needs to Be Localised, Not StandardisedWith this comes the importance of education. Regardless of capital size, traders need proper education to trade CFDs. The Trading Festival will address this issue directly. Although many brokers offer trading education, it is often biased towards their own tools and services.There is also the difference between offline and online educational sessions.“Although what brokers offer is valuable, it is also largely online and usually not interactive,” said Panayiotou. “The Trading Festival focuses on hands-on, face-to-face educational experiences. Attendees will have direct access to brokers, fintech brands, data providers, market experts, and analysts. Each of the Trading Festival’s three stages will cater to a specific type of education or knowledge. Visitors will be invited to explore, discuss, trade, and test strategies and ideas on real platforms.”Read more: “Gamification of Education Can Be a Game Changer”Although the basics are the same, trading is very localised, and educational platforms need to reflect that. Localisation also covers language and tone, which must connect with traders in each region.“Given today’s consumer expectations and tech trends, it should be fully localised,” Panayiotou continued. “They need to speak directly to the trader or client the company is trying to reach, in a language they understand.”“There is another part of localisation that is often overlooked: asset selection. Some assets are more popular in certain regions, and this can differ widely. This is the gap we want to address for traders, to reduce noise and provide useful information on assets that interest them, through trusted sources and in their native language.”Disclaimer: The Trading Festival and Finance Magnates are part of the same parent company, Ultimate Group. This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Administrators handling the collapsed UK currency broker Argentex Group have abandoned thousands of active derivatives trades, leaving most counterparties facing a 98% loss on positions that were in their favor, according to Bloomberg.Argentex Counterparties Face 98% Loss FRP Advisory Group, overseeing Argentex's wind-down, issued "disclaimer notices" to counterparties in recent weeks on the volatile portfolio of foreign exchange derivatives that contributed to the firm's July collapse. The legal maneuver allows insolvency officials to walk away from contracts deemed "onerous" under UK law, crystallizing massive losses for clients while clearing a path for creditor Christopher Harborne's IFX (UK) to recoup some of the £34 million it pumped into a failed rescue attempt.The broker's implosion has ensnared high-profile clients, including Wrexham AFC, the Welsh soccer club owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The club had £4.6 million tied up with Argentex when it collapsed, Bloomberg reported in January, representing nearly one-third of the firm's e-money customer funds. While administrators expect customers in Wrexham's category to be repaid, those holding derivatives positions face a far bleaker outcome.Clients holding derivatives that were in-the-money, meaning Argentex owed them cash when positions matured, now hold unsecured claims expected to return no more than two pence for every pound owed. These liabilities totaled roughly £13.3 million when the London-based firm entered administration. Meanwhile, Argentex held derivative assets valued at £34.8 million, but has given up pursuing most counterparties on losing trades.Disclaimer Tactic Crystallizes Client LossesThe disclaimer notices invoke Section 178 of the Insolvency Act 1986, which permits liquidators to renounce ownership of "onerous property,” including unprofitable contracts or assets that pose ongoing liabilities. While commonly used for property leases, the tactic is rarely applied to derivatives portfolios, according to Jeremy Whiteson, a partner at London law firm Fladgate."Counterparty risk is more important than market risk," Jeremy Thomson-Cook, a former head of sales and trading at Currency Solutions, told Bloomberg. "Show me a market risk where you stand to lose 98%-99% of your value outside of crypto."The move frees many counterparties from positions that had moved against them, but devastates clients who were expecting payouts. It also removes a major obstacle for IFX, which is first in line among creditors after providing emergency financing during Argentex's final months.The firm had initially agreed to acquire Argentex for around £3 million in April 2025, a fraction of its historic market capitalization, before walking away from the deal as regulatory pressure mounted and the firm entered administration.Derivatives Book Defied Resolution AttemptsArgentex arranged about 3,000 derivative contracts for corporate clients hedging currency risks when it collapsed. The portfolio quickly became a headache for administrators after banks including Barclays and Citigroup closed out their hedges as Argentex spiraled into distress, leaving the book unhedged and vulnerable to market swings. Some positions were not set to expire until 2029.Attempts to sell the derivatives to an outside buyer fell apart in late August. Administrators also explored closing trades early by paying out clients with winning positions, but a London court ruled this approach was not legally feasible, Bloomberg reported.Dollar Volatility Triggered Broker's UnravelingArgentex began unraveling in April 2025 during market turmoil sparked by President Donald Trump's tariff policies and comments criticizing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The firm had pursued high-risk "zero-zero lines" dollar trades with counterparties while lacking a treasury function and foreign exchange expertise on its board, Bloomberg previously reported.The broker offered currency management services and e-money accounts to hundreds of customers beyond Wrexham. When the dollar plunged to multi-year lows against the euro and Swiss franc, Argentex struggled to meet margin calls from banking partners. IFX, wholly owned by businessman and Reform UK donor Christopher Harborne, extended millions in loans as part of its acquisition plan. The firm ultimately scrapped the takeover as Argentex came under mounting regulatory pressure, leading to the broker's administration under the Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Plus500 has launched its own prediction markets for its United States retail customer base and will offer event contracts, including products from locally regulated Kalshi. The new platform will be a part of Plus500's US B2C brand, 'Plus500 Futures'.Plus500's Bet on Event ContractsThe announcement today (Tuesday) came about a couple of months after the London-listed broker became the clearing partner for CME and FanDuel’s new event-based contracts platform. “Prediction markets are attracting increasing interest from both retail and institutional participants alike, reflecting their growing relevance as a transparent and fully regulated way to express views on real-world outcomes,” the broker noted.“The introduction of prediction markets aligns with Plus500's continued focus on technological innovation, customer-centric approach and product development.”The broker stressed that it will offer its B2C customers “a broad range of regulated prediction markets”, which would include economic indicators, financial events, geopolitical developments and other measurable real-world outcomes.Kalshi will deliver the offering, but the event contracts will be cleared directly by Plus500, a member of Kalshi's clearing unit.The broker further stressed that, in the future, its scalable institutional infrastructure will support broader participation across the prediction markets ecosystem.Mainstream Players Entering Prediction MarketsThe popularity of prediction markets has exploded in recent years, especially during the wagers on the last US Presidential election. Although the industry is massive offshore, where crypto-based Polymarket dominates, Kalshi played a significant role in popularising the regulated version within US borders.The trading volume of event contracts even climbed past $13 billion a month.While disrupters like Robinhood have already been offering event contracts for some time, the CME Group's entry into the industry last year showcased its future in the mainstream financial markets.Meanwhile, Plus500 is also entering into other trending sectors. A few months ago, it also signed an exclusive agreement with Topstep, under which the London-listed broker will handle all clearing and technology infrastructure for the Chicago prop firm’s brokerage arm and its wider operations.Plus500 generated $182.7 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2025, down 2.5 per cent year over year and 12.7 per cent quarter over quarter. The company is known for offering contracts for differences (CFDs), but now it focuses on expanding beyond over-the-counter (OTC) instruments.About 15 per cent of total group revenue was generated by its non-OTC business, along with 18 per cent of new customers. This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Sarah Court will take over as Chairwoman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on June 1, marking a notable shift in Australia's regulatory landscape where women now lead all five major economic institutions.Longo Out, Court InCourt currently serves as ASIC's Deputy Chair, a position she's held since June 2021. Before that, she spent 13 years at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), where she chaired enforcement and compliance committees. Her background includes nine years as a senior lawyer at the Australian Government Solicitor.Outgoing Chairman Joe Longo, who announced Court's appointment, pointed to her enforcement track record as a key qualification for the role.[#highlighted-links#] "Her work as ASIC's Deputy Chair has been instrumental to the success of the agency's structural transformation that has strengthened our enforcement posture and work, leading to better outcomes for consumers and a fairer financial system," Longo said.The Trend to ContinueCourt takes the helm as ASIC's enforcement activity reaches unprecedented levels. The regulator secured over 120 million dollars in court-ordered penalties during the 2024-25 fiscal year, a 50% jump in enforcement actions compared to the previous period.The agency also launched 252 investigations and completed 829 targeted surveillances while removing nearly 7,000 scam websites. Financial reporting misconduct has become one of ASIC's ten priorities for 2026, signaling tougher scrutiny for CFD brokers and other financial services firms.Court's enforcement background suggests this trend will continue. During her time at the ACCC, she held responsibility for the enforcement committee, compliance committee, and legal committee - all positions focused on investigating and prosecuting violations.Licensing Activity Surges Amid Crypto InterestThe regulatory environment Court inherits is busy. ASIC granted 290 new Australian Financial Services licenses in fiscal year 2025, a 10% increase from the prior year. Applications from digital asset operators drove much of that growth.At the same time, the regulator canceled or suspended 215 licenses, maintaining pressure on firms that fail to meet compliance standards. Court will need to balance this surge in applications with the agency's mandate to protect consumers and maintain market integrity.ASIC has also begun simplifying its rulebook. The agency recently deleted 9,000 pages of regulatory guidance after acknowledging its own rules had become too complex. Longo said overly complicated regulations stifle innovation and raise costs for businesses.Women Control Australia's Economic Institutions"With the appointment of Sarah Court as ASIC Chair, women now lead five of Australia's key economic institutions - Commonwealth Treasury, the Reserve Bank of Australia, ASIC, the ACCC and the Productivity Commission," Finance Minister Katy Gallagher highlighted the broader significance of Court's appointment in a LinkedIn post.She called it "a historic moment for our economy and an important one for young women who now look to the fields of finance and economics and see a clear place for themselves at the table."Court's transition period runs through the end of May. Longo said he would support Court, the commission, and staff to ensure a smooth handover. ASIC's structural transformation, which Court helped shape as Deputy Chair, will continue under her leadership as the agency maintains its focus on enforcement and consumer protection. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

STARTRADER announced the launch of a basketball court renovation project at Ban Nam Lad School in Thailand as part of its “Where Tomorrow STARS Begin” corporate social responsibility initiative.The project involved the construction of an 18×12 meter multi-purpose basketball court. In addition, STARTRADER is providing sports equipment to students, with the aim of supporting physical activity and encouraging teamwork within the school.Details of the ProjectThe basketball court, scheduled to be unveiled on February 16th, will be used by almost 100 students, with ages ranging from 4 to 12. However, as the broker aims to benefit the community at large, the wider local community in the surrounding villages of Ban Wong Bo and Ban Nam Lat will have access to the court as well. Whereas on January 30, the groundbreaking ceremony took place, marking the start of construction on the following day.The campaign took place at a strategic time, as the broker had earlier in the year announced partnerships with several leading sports brands. The name chosen for the campaign highlights the values the company has emphasized through its partnerships: high-level performance, precision in execution, and discipline.This campaign stands as a translation of these values into meaningful action, as stated by the CEO of STARTRADER, Peter Karsten: “STARTRADER's goal is to make a difference, and this time through sports. Giving the youth in Thailand the chance to improve their skills and build their confidence, discipline, and teamwork.” The principal of the school, Wirot Sukreedist, also highlighted the importance of this initiative, stating: "On behalf of the faculty, students, and staff of Ban Nam Lad School, we would like to express our profound gratitude to STARTRADER for their generous support in the construction and donation of our new futsal and basketball courts. These facilities are more than just a sports ground; they are a precious gift that provides our students with the opportunity to hone their athletic skills, improve their physical well-being, and learn valuable life lessons outside the classroom. We are committed to maintaining and utilizing these courts to their fullest potential for the benefit of our students’ future development."About STARTRADERSTARTRADER https://www.startrader.com/ is a global broker that provides its clients with opportunities to trade financial instruments online. STARTRADER services both Partners and Retail Clients, who can trade using the MetaTrader Platform, the STAR-APP, and using STAR-COPY. As a global broker, STARTRADER holds a client-first approach as our core principle.Regulated in 5 jurisdictions (ASIC, FSA, FSC, FSCA, and CMA), STARTRADER upholds strong governance alongside sustainable growth. STARTRADER's team comprises dedicated professionals working collaboratively to deliver quality service to its Partners and Clients. This article was written by FM Contributors at www.financemagnates.com.

In the institutional landscape, credibility isn’t built by the loudest narrative. It’s built by the broker who remains dependable when market conditions stop being tidy. As liquidity fragments and client expectations rise, operational reliability has moved from a technical concern to a commercial one. As regulation tightens and client expectations shift toward institutional-grade performance at retail scale, operational resilience has transitioned from a competitive advantage to a commercial requirement.In this discussion, Peter Plester, head of B2B sales at Exness, examines what professional partners actually evaluate today, and why sustainable growth is increasingly tied to infrastructure, governance, and performance that can be measured rather than assumed.Q1. How would you describe the current state of the brokerage industry from a B2B perspective? What pressures are shaping how brokers operate today?The industry is undergoing structural maturation. We are moving into an always-on market environment; faster, more connected, and more fragmented. This complexity, more than sheer volume, is now the primary operational risk. Brokers are no longer judged solely on headline pricing; they are judged on whether their systems behave consistently during periods of extreme stress.There’s also a broader industry shift underway. The online trading platform market, including front-end platforms and supporting infrastructure services, is projected to grow from around 11.65 billion USD in 2025 to 16.98 billion USD by 2030, with a CAGR of roughly 7.8%. With that growth comes a new baseline of expectation. From a B2B perspective, three pressures stand out:Technical pressure: Systems must behave consistently, not only during calm conditions.Governance pressure: Resilience and third-party oversight are increasingly formal expectations.Credibility pressure: Partners and clients want evidence of stability, not reassurance.In this environment, the winners aren’t necessarily the brokers that grow fastest, but the ones that manage complexity best.Q2. You work closely with brokers at very different stages of growth. What separates those that scale sustainably from those that struggle as complexity increases?It mostly comes down to how sustainable scaling becomes a function of control. Brokers that succeed assume growth will inevitably stress their systems, so they build for that pressure early. They measure performance through the metrics that actually impact a partner's bottom line: execution stability, latency, and reliability under pressure. Those that struggle often allow volume to outpace their operational maturity, or outsource too much of their core resilience to third-party vendors. At a certain scale, you cannot outsource your reputation.Q3. Why do you think many brokerages underestimate operational and infrastructure risks until it’s too late?I believe they do this because operational risk is quiet until it isn’t. It’s easy to deprioritize in favor of visible metrics like user acquisition, as it often sits between technology, product, and commercial teams. These risks don’t affect day-to-day performance, making them easy to deprioritize in favour of more visible priorities like growth, acquisition, or product development. The challenge is that preventing operational failure is rarely rewarded in the same way growth is, even though the costs of failure are far higher. This preventative work, spanning capacity planning, redundancy, incident readiness, and disciplined release processes, is measured through operational indicators such as uptime, latency, rejection rates, incident frequency, and recovery times. When those metrics look healthy in normal conditions, it can be tempting to assume the job is done.The issue is that markets eventually apply real pressure, and pressure compresses time. Weaknesses that seemed manageable quickly become expensive. And once the failure is visible, the cost of fixing it is almost always higher than the cost of preventing it.Q4. Trust is often discussed as a brand value, but in B2B, it’s built operationally. How does execution quality, withdrawals, and system stability translate into trust between brokers and their partners?In B2B relationships, trust is earned through consistent outcomes, not promises. It becomes visible when execution behaves as expected, even during the market's most unstable periods. Partners judge trust by predictability. Execution must behave as expected, withdrawals must be processed reliably, systems must remain stable, and the overall experience must be consistent. When issues arise, what matters is how fast they are detected, how clearly ownership is defined, and how transparent communication is.Over time, consistent operational performance reduces friction, escalations, and uncertainty. That’s the point where a service provider becomes a long-term partner.Q5. Looking ahead, what capabilities will define a future-proof brokerage over the next several years, especially as volatility and regulatory pressure increase?Future-proof brokers will be those that remain reliable as complexity and scrutiny increase.That means:Operational transparency: Partners want measurable performance, not reassurance.Resilience and governance: Regulation is pushing these priorities higher, a move in the right direction.Third-party oversight: This becomes strategic, not administrative, as critical services increasingly sit outside a broker’s direct control.This naturally pushes the industry toward consolidation around fewer, more operationally mature players. In this environment, long-term success will depend less on visibility or marketing reach and more on the ability to run complex systems consistently and with control.ConclusionAs the brokerage industry becomes more complex and expectations continue to rise, partners are becoming less interested in promises and more focused on proof. These themes are part of the wider conversation at iFX EXPO, where Plester is joining industry leaders on stage to discuss what sustainable growth looks like in an always‑on market environment, and how brokers can build credibility through infrastructure and transparent performance metrics.For partners evaluating brokers in 2026 and beyond, the message is clear: growth may attract attention, but reliability earns trust. This article was written by FM Contributors at www.financemagnates.com.

EC Markets closed 2025 with a strong surge in client activity, lifting its quarterly trading volumes to new highs. The broker reported $4.476 trillion in trading volume in the final quarter of the year.EC Markets' the volumes rose steadily throughout the year. It posted $1.737 trillion in Q1, then $2.319 trillion in Q2 and $3.081 trillion in Q3, before reaching $4.476 trillion in Q4. The expansion is equivalent to a 157 percent increase over the period.Record Q4 Caps a Year of ExpansionAccording to the broker, average monthly trading volume rose from $579 billion in Q1 to $1.492 trillion in Q4. Daily volumes climbed from $27.6 billion at the start of the year to $68.8 billion, highlighting a steady build-up in activity on the broker’s multi-asset platform.“Our Q4 performance reflects the strength of our global infrastructure and the trust our clients place in us,” commented Nicholas Xydas, global marketing director at EC Markets.“Scaling quarterly volumes by 2.6x in a single year demonstrates not only growth, but operational discipline and long-term strategic execution. As we move into 2026, our focus remains on innovation, resilience, and delivering a world-class multi-asset trading environment.”You may also like: Interactive Brokers Starts the Year With 27% Jump in Daily Average Revenue TradesGrowth in trading volumes went hand in hand with a sharp rise in active traders. The number of active clients on EC Markets’ platform increased from 118,000 in Q3 2025 to 230,000 in Q4, almost doubling within a single quarter.Multi-Asset Flows Drive VolumesThis jump pointed to broader engagement across the firm’s forex and CFD offering and highlighted its reach across multiple regions. The increase in active traders also supported the sustained growth in volumes through the year.The report further showed that only a small portion of EC Markets’ Q4 2025 activity came from traditional foreign exchange trading. Just 5 percent of the firm’s total volume in the quarter originated from FX, while 95 percent was generated across other asset classes.Last year, EC Markets opened a new office in Mexico City, its first physical presence in Latin America. This move followed the firm’s launch of operations in Mauritius and formed part of a broader strategy to strengthen EC Markets’ global expansion. This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.