category: Unregulated Brokers

Is Blue Trading Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with Blue Trading. Blue Trading is owned by BluVenture Group Ltd., a company registered in Japan.  The company is not registered with the reputable authorities, yet states its memberships in various initiatives and associations since at this time major regulators do not regulate this type of trading:

What is Blue Trading?

Blue Trading serves numerous offices globally, and offers financial trading and investment opportunities on a range of instruments, but mainly focuses on Cryptocurrencies (Read HYCM broker review, which offers cryptocurrency trading).

• “Blue Trading is a signatory to the IFMRRC, Foreign Exchange Global Committee. A new initiative was created by the Foreign Exchange Global Committee, a signatory of the International Decentralized Association of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain (IDACB). And is a full member of the Crypto Valley Switzerland ethics organization. At this time major regulators such as the British FCA or German BaFin do not regulate this type of trading, therefore, registration opportunities still remain unavailable. We look forward to pursuing new registration opportunities as they become available.”
• Nevertheless, that statement sounds not very reliable to us and recently the company even lost its membership, which means the unregulated nature of their business fail to its promised obligations. In addition, the regulatory authority in the UK Financial Conduct Authority (Check out FCA Regulated Eightcap & LegacyFX brokers ) has issued its warning to the public investors since the company target UK residents without its legal permission to do so.

"BluVenture Group Ltd and its affiliated brands BlueBroker and BlueTrading were expelled from membership with the Financial Commission due to repeated violations and failures to adhere to membership Rules and Guidelines."

The Financial Commission. September 26, 2018.

"We believe this firm Blue Trading / Bluetrading.com / Blue Group has been providing financial services or products in the UK without our authorization."

FCA, September 2018

Blue Trading Review Conclusion

In conclusion, it is advised to avoid trading with the broker even though their offering might seem competitive and attractive. The safety of funds is always first, therefore we recommend choosing among regulated brokers. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and TMGM.

Blue Trading Update

Based on our research, the Blue Trading website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is Olymp Trade Scam or Legit Broker?

After conducting thorough research we found that Olymp Trade is suspected to be a fraud company. It is an offshore company that has no serious regulations. We advise traders not to sign with Olymp Trade. The broker is not regulated and does not comply with strict international rules that provide protective measures to the traders.

The company operates without a proper license from the industry authorities like FCA in the UK or ASIC in Australia that protect clients and deliver necessary regulation to the service providers along with the convenience to the users and, of course, their investments. Unfortunately, it is not the case for Olymp Trade since the company only holds membership in the international Financial Commission (FinaCom) which is not safe enough either.

What is Olymp Trade?

Olymp Trade is a trading name used by Smartex International Ltd., a company that provides options trading services and is registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The company claims to be one of the fastest-growing companies that deliver access to trade to the client at any level, increasing its trading volumes daily and currently closing around 32M trades per month, with Traders from 134 countries trust Olymp Trade.

The platform interface is localized into 19 languages and provides good software. However, lack of regulation is serious issue since Broker may simply claim anything, but reality might be difference since there is no strict guideline how Broker should operate. 

• Vincent and the Grenadines is an offshore zone, which does register the financial investment firm, but provides very poor if no requirements to the company operation. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is notorious for its practically absent requirements and regulations.

Overall Olymp Trade Ranking 

During our research we found multiple issues connected with regulations and safety of Olymp Trade, thus we do not rank positively Olymp Trade, based on our Expert Opinion with over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading.

• Olymp Trade Overall Ranking is 3 out of 10 based on our testing and compared to 500 other brokers, see Our Ranking below compared to other popular and industry Leading Brokers.

Olymp Trade Alternative Brokers

Due to our finds and safety issues with Olymp Trade, we have come up with much better Alternatives to Olymp Trade with good regulations and excellent conditions. We select Good Brokers and reliable options for your comparison below: 

• FXTM – Good for Beginners and Good Fees
• Dukascopy – Excellent for Shares, Futures Trading
• eToro – Good for Social Trading

Olymp Trade in India

Olymp Trade is not technically illegal in India but it is in no way monitored or controlled by SEBI or RBI. This means if a trader faces any issues with regard to the app's transactions or collections then Indian authorities will not be able to help.

As Olymp Trade is not regulated by Indian authorities, various Indian banks are not dealing with the platform directly, only some international Debit/Credit are accepted on this platform. 

Olymp Trade in the USA

Olymp Trade does not accept clients from the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia (Find the best forex broker in Australia here), UK, Russia, or Israel. So, except for Olymp Trade, you are only permitted to trade with U.S-regulated platforms.

Deposit & Withdrawal

Olymp Trade accepts deposits via the following methods: credit and debit cards, bank wire transfers, e-payments such as Skrill and Neteller, and cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.

Depositing is free with no extra charges, with the minimum deposit being $10. This makes the site easily accessible to everyone and a good starting point (Best Forex Platform) for beginners (Find the best forex broker for beginners here). Funds deposit relatively fast, but wire transfers take longer than other methods. Cryptocurrency tends to deposit the fastest.

• The maximum withdrawal amount depends on whether it is a VIP or standard account, with the minimum always remaining at $10. The funds will go back to whatever payment method the trader used to deposit the money.
• However, being Unregulated broker withdrawal issues may occur, which is typical Scam Practise 

Apps

Olymp Trade offers a mobile app. enabling trades from all over the world access. Their mobile app is responsive and has the same capabilities as the desktop and web versions. 

Demo Account

Along with training materials, Olymp Trade offers free demo accounts. Those who registered get access to 10,000 virtual coins to play around with. This way, traders don't risk losing any of their real money while getting over the learning period.

The demo account is also a valuable feature for experienced traders to get a feel for the interface.

Olymp Trade Review Conclusion 

Based on our finds we can state that overall the company's offerings are among the competitive ones along with its reputation, but generally, Trading options are a high-risk investment due to its nature of trading, as well as the unlicensed environment of the Olymp Trade company puts some question marks either to enter the trading or not.

Since in forex trading money security is a priority, it is strongly recommended to trade with well-regulated companies that hold all necessary licenses, uphold authorized operations and deliver customer service on a proper level. We recommend such trustworthy brokers as BlackBull Markets, XM, and HFM. 

• Overall ranking and experience for Olymp Trade is Negative

Is Trader.Online Sam or Legit Broker?

Trader.Online is a 100% fraud company. The broker is registered offshore and does not hold any proper license from a well-known reliable financial regulator. It is NOT SAFE to trade Trader.Online. We never advise trading with an offshore broker, since the financial investment service they deliver is not trustable. 

• In order to ensure that a certain entity that provides investment services in financial instruments is authorized to carry out the said activity in a certain country, one should consult the lists of authorized financial intermediaries that usually can be found on the regulators' websites. We recommend checking the registers of the most reliable regulators, such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK or the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). 

What is Trader.Online?

Trader.Online is an offshore broker that offers Forex and CFDs trading on commodities, stocks, indices, and crypto coins. According to the broker's website, the financial services are provided by IVY Capital company number 86281 with registered office: Trust Company Complex, Ajeltake Road, Ajeltake Island, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands.

• The website is operated by DDK Ltd company number 205094347, with a registered office and operational address: Sofia, Bulgaria. However, the company is not licensed by the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission, so offshore registration is the only one the broker has. It means the broker cannot guarantee the safety of the client's funds and cannot offer the same level of protection as other regulated entities. It is a common case for most offshore-registered brokers, and that is why we always recommend avoiding such companies.
• In addition, Trader.Online has recently been blacklisted by the Portuguese Securities Market Commission:
  "The Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM) issues a warning for investors to the fact that TRADER.ONLINE (www.trader.online) is not authorized to carry out any type of financial intermediation activity in Portugal, under Article 295 (1) paragraphs a) and b) of the Portuguese Securities Code."

Trader.Online Review Conclusion

We strongly advise all investors and traders to avoid Trader.Online and other brokers from the Marshall Islands. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and eToro.

• Overall ranking and experience for Trader.Online is Negative

Trader.Online Update

Based on our findings, the Trader.Online website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is Ace Forex Scam or a Legit Broker?

Ace Forex is not a secure Forex broker since it does not hold a license from any worldwide serious Forex authority. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and simply may operate the business in any way it wishes.

• However, the fact is that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is an offshore zone, which does register the financial investment firm, but provides very poor if no requirements for the company's operation. That means, the broker is not regulated, not overseen, and does not comply with strict international rules that provide protective measures to the traders. Therefore, it became an offshore zone for shady forex brokers such as CVC Markets, AAG Markets, and more. Read more about St. Vincent and the Grenadines regulation by the link. 

What is Ace Forex?

Ace Forex claims to be the global leader and an award-winning broker specializing in trading Forex, CFDs, Commodities, and Binary Option (Check out Best Regulated Binary Options Brokers).

• According to the website, Ace Forex's headquarter is located in New Zealand and also located in St. Vincent & the Grenadines, the U.S., and Hong Kong. The trading services are provided by ACEFX LIMITED, a company registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines under Licence number 24338 IBC 2017. Even if the broker announces to have offices located in countries like New Zealand, the U.S., and Hong Kong, it does not hold any reliable licenses in the mentioned countries.
• We also keep reminding that FSA has announced that it does not issue any licenses for forex trading or brokerage nor does it regulate, monitor, supervise or license international companies, which engage in such activities.

Ace Forex Review Conclusion

Trading with offshore brokers (See the list of scam forex brokers by link) is extremely risky. Many of these brokers are scam companies seeking to cut financial and regulatory corners. We advise all investors and traders to avoid Ace Forex and other brokers from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as AvaTrade and XM.com.

Ace Forex Update 

Recently Ace Forex website remains inactive and unavailable to reach, meaning the broker mutes its trading offering and does not propose account openings. However, we still advise the traders to be alert and careful, in case their receive trading proposals. 

Is GxFX Scam or Legit Broker?

GxFX is not a secure Forex broker since it does not hold a license from any worldwide serious Forex authority. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and simply may operate the business in any way it wishes.

What is GxFX?

GxFX is an online trading company that claims its gained fame for professionalism and honest work. The broker provides a wide range of trading instruments, including Forex instruments, Cryptocurrency CFDs, and other assets for over 300+ instruments. The broker mentions its low initial deposits, unparalleled proficiency, and all-around customer service through an attractive trading cost and enjoyable trading platform suitable for traders of different sizes.  

• In terms of the company location and registration, the broker mentions its owning company SoftGeeks OU with an address in Estonia, while there is no information about the regulatory status. In other words, it means the broker's operation is not overseen or checked by anyone, while the only confirmation of service delivery is a company promise. Of course, in financial investment and trading itself, it is the highest risk to trust in the power of word only, as the safety measures require strict follow of the operation in order to ensure trustful service delivery.  
• As the Forex industry is unfortunately full of scammers and unscrupulous companies (Check the forex scammer complete list), traders should protect themselves and choose only among regulated companies with an applied international set of tools. This includes segregation of funds, regular reporting, and audit, along with the participation into compensation in case of insolvency, and that is all above a simple step that regulators check on the firm adequacy.

GxFX Review Conclusion

Therefore, it is better to avoid GxFX offering, so as not to risk the funds and choose from the list of regulated companies. The lack of information about the broker’s regulations, trading conditions, and contact details should be the biggest red flag for those who plan to invest with the entity. Usually, such companies run investment scams. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as Alpari and XM.

GxFX Update

Recently GxFX website remains inactive and unavailable to reach, meaning the broker mutes its trading offering and does not propose account openings. However, we still advise the traders to be alert and careful, in case they receive trading proposals. 

Is Forex Grand Scam or a Legit Broker?

According to our research, Forex Grand is a total scam. The broker is not regulated and has no legal right to provide financial services to the public. Moreover, Forex Grand has been suspected of fraud, when pretending to be another company with a better reputation.

• Forex Grand is a forex broker that offers the trading environment through the MT4 platform and proposes access to over 40 currency pairs, indices, futures, indices, shares, metals, and more. The company maintained a very well-designed proposal through a good-looking website and detailed offering.

What is Forex Grand?

Apart from the issue that the broker is based and holds a license of only offshore authority in the Marshall Islands, which we always advise avoiding due to lack of regulation and very low requirements.

• In fact, the Marshall Islands is an offshore zone attracting various firms that for one reason or another escape from serious regulation or compliance to international service providing. However, in the case of financial investment or trading firms, the company should be a very respected entity, as the statistics show that the majority of non-authorized firms never recovered the sums of investors’ investments. Therefore, we always advise avoiding offshore or companies with no license as there are too many frauds around.
• The Forex Grand traders complain constantly about a broker’s non-trustful operation. The complaints are about the refusal of withdrawals with no ability either to take any profits or deposits. Actually, this is a typical fraud act to attract clients, get their money, and then find excuses, this is the reason you should always trade only with regulated companies as they are constantly overseen by the regulator in terms of their operation. And of course, the regulated firms are checked on their adequacy before they are able to offer trading in the market.

• The Forex Grand was warned by various authorities that identified an illegal, non-approved offering from the company towards the residents since the particular investment proposal requires authorization. The Bulgarian FSC issued Forex Grand in its alert list in June 2018, while earlier UK’s FCA warned investors by its official blacklist of the company.

  “Almost all firms and individuals offering, promoting or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorized by FCA. We strongly advise you to only deal with financial firms that are authorized by us, and check the Financial Services Register to ensure they are.”

  FCA, UK. May 2018.

Forex Grand Review Conclusion

We strongly advise all investors and traders to avoid Forex Grand and other brokers from the Marshall Islands. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and eToro.

Forex Grand Update

Recently Forex Grand website remains inactive and unavailable to reach, meaning the broker mutes its trading offering and does not propose account openings. However, we still advise the traders to be alert and careful, in case their receive trading proposals. 

Is BTCHOME Scam or Legit Broker?

BTCHOME is a 100% fraud company. The broker is registered offshore and does not hold any proper license from a well-known reliable financial regulator. It is NOT SAFE to trade BTCHOME. We never advise trading with an offshore broker, since the financial investment service they deliver is not trustable. 

What is BTCHOME?

BTCHOME, BTCHM or BTCHOME Minning/ BTCHOME Miners is a financial services company authorized and regulated by the IFSC, Belize that offers STP Forex services (Also see STP Account Forex) and trading facilities to retail, institutional and professional clients globally. The broker claims its powerful level cryptocurrency mining strategies, as well as acceptance of forex scalping systems that allows providing unrestricted trading and mining environment to the traders.

• Belize as a gorgeous tourist destination, while also is a tax haven with a zero tax structure that established its own regulation for financial investment and Forex firms licensing due to high demand and necessity of regulation. Ever since Belize became a known offshore zone and Forex hub, the destination attracted thousands of brokerages seeking an opportunity to be a legitimate firm, yet to skip complicated and costly established procedures. We have a detailed article explaining the risk of trading with brokers from Belize.
• In addition, the BTCHOME broker mentions that “All deposits are 100% guaranteed without limit by the Australian and the United States Securities and Investments Commission with its own Capital and Real partners Across the Globe”. However, first of all, it is not clear what is this organization or commission about, as the fact is that only the particular authorities oversee the brokerages and watch on the implemented security measures.
• The top-tier authorities are ASIC in Australia and CFTC in the US respectively, yet what is the meaning of broker’s “100% guarantee deposit” remains questionable. Actually, the fact that the BTCHOME broker is an offshore entity, with no implemented protection extends and no sharp requirement, for example, to segregate clients funds from the company ones, as well to apply safety scales should put an alert to any potential trader.
• As we always say, the offshore firms should be avoided at any cost (Check the fake forex brokers list here), as it is at the highest risk to fall under scam or to be misled by unprofessional or even fraud offering. Therefore, BTCHOME “attractive” offering may be just a sweet promise of something you never get. Moreover, as the BTCHM does not hold a trusted license from the reputable authority and not permitted to operate in European or their markets, the BTCHM received its warning from an EU regulator.

BTCHOME Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid BTCHOME and other brokers from Belize. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australiaand reliable brokers such as FP Markets and Tickmill.

Is FXtrade777 Scam or Legit Broker?

FXtrade777 has been suspected as a scam broker. This broker is blacklisted by a well-known regulatory authority and should be avoided. FXtrade777 is owned by Silver Wolf Limited which is an offshore company registered in the Marshall Islands.

• The Marshall Islands is notorious for its practically absent requirements and regulations. Due to the setup cost being low, it does not regulate forex trading. Therefore, it became an offshore zone for shady forex brokers such as MegaTradeFX, Finbitex, and more.

What is FXtrade777?

FXtrade777 is an offshore broker that offers trading in forex, CFDs on commodities, indices and stocks. The brand FXtrade777 is owned by the corporation of Silver Wolf Limited. IT & Finance admimistration services are done by Blond Bear OU, based in Tallinn City, Estonia.

• The broker claims to be one of the most trusted and widely recognized online brokerage firms in the world, however, we have a few concerns that should be mentioned. Firstly, Marshall Island is a popular offshore destination, where forex brokers are not regulated and not overseen by any authorities. Secondly, the company associated with the broker, Blond Bear OU, has been warned against too many times by too many regulators.
• This Estonia-based company has never been regulated or held any license. We have previously reviewed some of the companies affiliated with Blond Bear OU, including Trade111, MarketGBP, Cac400 and its not even half of the list.
• Here are also the warning from Belgian FSMA issued against Blond Bear OU:

"Blonde Bear OU which operates under the trading name of TradeDax, a company that offers investments without complying with Belgian financial legislation. Blonde Bear OU which operates The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) warns the public against the activities of under the trading name of TradeDax is not allowed to provide banking and/or investment services in or from Belgium."

• Regulated brokers are obliged to follow very strict rules, among which are reporting, keeping all clients funds in segregated accounts, providing traders with a negative balance protection and also maintaining a certain minimum of operational capital. Thus, the only way to engage in Forex trading, is choosing a well-regulated broker with favorable offerings.

FXtrade777  Review Conclusion

We highly recommend traders to stay away from FXtrade777 or companies associated with this broker. There are a lot of other well-regulated brokers to do business with. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokersor brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as AvaTrade and XM.

FXtrade777 Update

Based on our research, the FXtrade777 website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is AitsFX Scam or Legit Broker?

According to our research, AitsFX is a total scam. The broker is not regulated and has no legal right to provide financial services to the public. Moreover, AitsFX has been suspected of fraud, when pretending to be another company with a better reputation.

• The fact is that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is an offshore zone, which does register the financial investment firm, but provides very poor if none requirements for the company operation. That means, the broker is not regulated, not overseen, and does not comply with strict international rules that provide protective measures to the traders. Therefore, it became an offshore zone for shady forex brokers such as CVC Markets, AAG Markets, and more. Read more about St. Vincent and the Grenadines regulation by the link.

What is AitsFX?

AitsFX is a Forex and CFDs broker. The company is owned and operated by AITS FX Ltd, registered and licensed by the Financial Services Authority of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. However, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is an offshore zone and it does not provide sufficient protection.

• On its website, AitsFX provides the contact number with a British phone code, which is a sign that the company has been targeting UK residents when it is clearly not authorized for providing financial services in the UK.
• Also, FSA has announced that it does not issue any licenses for forex trading or brokerage nor does it regulate, monitor, supervise, or license international companies, which engage in such activities.

AitsFX Review Conclusion

We keep reminding traders that dealing with offshore brokers is quite risky as clients have no protection for their funds and sometimes such entities turned out to be scams. Instead, we recommend choosing among brokers licensed by FCA in the UK or CySEC in Cyprus. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FXTM and XM. 

AitsFX Update

Based on our research, the AitsFX website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals.