category: Unregulated Brokers

Is FinmarkFX Scam or Legit Broker?

No it is not safe to trade with FinmarkFX, as the company is suspected of being a scam. FinmarkFX is owned and operated by Finmark Ltd located in Kingstown, Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is known for being an offshore zone. 

• St Vincent is an attractive solution among financial companies and those businesses that for one reason or another choose to operate through an offshore company. The jurisdiction itself offers easy-to-achieve setup demands through a very quick, simplified process, while the firm does not necessarily need an office in SVG. There are no strict establishment rules or requirements, giving an opportunity to run a global business. Furthermore, there is no sharp regulation or overseeing of the company operation implemented. Read more about why avoid brokers from St Vincent & The Grenadines. 

What is FinmarkFX?

FinmarkFX is a Forex, CFDs, and cryptocurrency broker. The company is owned and operated by Finmark Ltd (Kingstown, Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines). The services are provided by Financial Markets FX OU, based in Tallinn, Estonia.

• According to the broker's website, it is a regulated entity, however, we didn't find any information about its regulation. If they meant FinmarkFX is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, then we have to remind 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. Moreover, the broker has been banned by the CNMV in Spain in October 2016:
  "Financial Markets Limited https://finmarkfx.com is not authorised to provide the investment services detailed in Article 140 of the Securities Markets Law, or provide the auxiliary services detailed in letters a), b), d), f) and g) of Article 141 of said Law, which includes investment advice, in relation to the financial instruments detailed in article 2 of the said Law, including, to those purposes, transactions on foreign currency."

FinmarkFX Review Conclusion

We recommend avoiding doubtful offerings like FinmarkFX and signing with only tightly regulated brokers that follow strict guidelines from authorities such as  UK’s FCA or Australian ASIC. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as such as BlackBull Markets and XM.

FinmarkFX Updates

Based on our research, the FinmarkFX 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 LiteFinTech Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with LiteFinTech as the broker seems to be a scam. LiteFinTech states to be located in London, UK, yet, it is not authorized to provide financial services in the UK. On the website, there are also listed contact numbers with the phone codes of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, South Africa, and Singapore, while the broker is not authorized to provide services in those locations because of a lack of regulation. 

What is LiteFinTech?

LiteFinTech is a Forex, cryptocurrency, and CFDs broker. The company doesn't provide any information about its regulation or the entities behind the brand's name. LiteFinTech claims to be located in London, UK, however, it is not authorized to provide financial services in the UK. Also, the website lists the contact numbers with the phone codes of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, South Africa, and Singapore, when the broker is not regulated in either of those countries as well. In addition, the terms and conditions state that LiteFinTech is under the laws of Vanuatu, a popular offshore destination for unregulated brokers. It seems that broker might be actually based offshore, which means a high risk for the funds of the traders.

LiteFinTech Review Conclusion

Considering all the mentioned facts, we don't recommend investing in LiteFinTech. There are a lot of other well-regulated brokers to do business with. 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.

Some regulators, like FCA and CySEC, give an opportunity to participate in traders' compensation schemes. Check the list of FCA-regulated brokers. 

LiteFinTech Update

Based on our research, the TradeLTD 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 TradeLTD Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with TradeLTD. Despite its Estonian location and registration, the broker is not authorized to provide financial services by the local Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority in Estonia or any other country.

• This means, that it is not safe to sign with TradeLTD, as the lack of regulation is something clients should be very cautious about in Forex trading. 

What is TradeLTD?

TradeLTD is a Forex, Commodities, Indices, Stocks, and Cryptocurrency broker. The company is owned and operated by Currency Board OÜ with a registered address in Tallinn, Estonia.

• Moreover, the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority has issued a warning against TradeLTD:

"Finantsinspektsioon (the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority) would like to inform clients and investors that Bushido Technologies OÜ (registry code 14377139) does not hold an activity licence for the provision of investment services in Estonia and therefore Bushido Technologies OÜ is not authorised to provide investment services in Estonia. The company offers the possibility to trade different derivatives through web page www.tradeltd.com."

• The broker has also been blacklisted by New Zealand's FMA:

"The FMA recommends exercising caution before dealing with TradeLTD and the website www.tradeltd.com as TradeLTD is not listed on the FSPR and Is not an incorporated company in New Zealand. Individuals from TradeLTD have been contacting New Zealand residents with investment offers and withholding client funds. This has the hallmarks of a scam."

TradeLTD Review Conclusion

To sum up, TradeLTD is an unregulated forex broker and it is the biggest concern as the lack of license adds additional risk to forex trading. On the other hand, those brokers regulated by reputable authorities have to follow a lot of rules that are made to protect clients. For example, there is a minimum capital requirement they need to meet and also, and they need to keep the accounts segregated.

Thus, traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FXTM, eToro (Read about eToro forex broker), and Alpari.

TradeLTD Update

Based on our research, the TradeLTD 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 xChief  Scam or Legit Broker?

xChief previously known as ForexChief is not a legit broker as it does not hold any serious license. As a general rule, we recommend avoid offshore and non-regulated entities as traders who invest in non-regulated firms often cannot recover funds invested or gains received, besides offshore registration is very easy to obtain so you never know for sure if a company follows scrupulous trading business or not.

Thus, we strongly advise against responding to any suspicious offering in regard to trading of financial investments and choosing only among the regulated entities.

• xChief company office previously mentioned its location in Vanuatu, with representative offices around the world, as well as registration and regulation available for ex name ForexChief  with the local authority VFSC (Vanuatu Financial Services Commission). For now xChief shows licenses from another offshore zone Comoros, which is still very poorly regulated and overseeing financial companies. Therefore, there is not much trust in such companies, as offshore registration almost does not oversee the company operation further on which is not safe for traders.

What is xChief?

xChief is a Forex brokerage firm that proposes trading opportunities on 35 currency pairs, including metals, Crypto and other derivatives through an STP execution access to the market.  In order to carry out transactions with currency contracts and metals, the Company's customers are offered the most popular platform in the area of forex trading - MetaTrader 4/5. There are also some alluring opportunities like ForexChief no deposit bonus, now known as xChief Bonus and high leverage, which is typically for offshore brokers. 

There are several account types offered, promising STP and ECN execution, in line of account types there is "cent" accounts, where the balance size can be used not only for the reduction of investment risks but also for testing trading conditions in general.

Overall xChief Ranking 

Regarding our finds and issues with regulations and safety of xChief, we do not rank positively xChief, based on our Expert Opinion with over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading.

• xChief Overall Ranking is 2 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.

xChief Alternative Brokers

Based on our finds and issues with the safety for all the previous name ForexChief scam risk is very high and current xChief serves the same concerns. Here are much better Alternatives to ForexChief with good regulations and excellent conditions. We select Good Brokers and reliable options for your comparison below: 

• AvaTrade – Good for Currency trading
• InteractiveBrokers – Good for US Trading and Trading of Real Stocks
• FXTM – Good for Beginners

xChief Deposits and Withdrawals

The broker offers various deposit and withdrawal options – Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Card and e-wallets such as Skrill, Neteller, Webmoney. However, due to its unregulated nature, there is no strict guarantees on payment procedures. 

• For Credit/Debit cards deposits are almost instant. However, for other methods, it takes up to 2 working days to transfer the funds into the client's accounts. The minimum deposit of the broker is 10%. 
• The withdrawals take from 2 to 7 working days to be set on the client's account. For electronic payment methods, the withdrawal time is 1 working day. 
• The Company mentions that it will not be responsible for the Client's financial losses if they were caused by a delay in a transfer due to a fault in a payment system. Crediting funds to the trading account will be made only after the Company receives a confirmation from a payment system regarding the remittance of the transfer.

xChief Review Conclusion

Overall xChief previously known as ForexChief reviews company that is solely offshore based. Even conditions seems to be quite pleasant with good choice of platforms and account types as a general rule, we recommend avoid offshore and non-regulated entities. xChief is based under offshore jurisdiction therefore the only safety applied there is just personally to test the company our, which in our view is not reasonable and very very risky. 

We advise firms to trade and invest only with brokers that are regulated by reputable authorities alike UK’s FCA, Australian ASIC, or other similar regulators, that for instance apply for compensation and are supervised at every step they do. We recommend signing in with reliable brokers such as BlackBull Markets, FXGT, and FBS.

• Overall ranking and experience for xChief is Negative

Is KryptoWize Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with KryptoWize as the broker seems to be a scam. The firm is owned and operated by Rushtag Limited with its registration in Gibraltar, which does not regulate Forex and financial business. 

• Lack of registration is a huge red flag for any broker, and traders should avoid signing with unregulated or offshore brokers, as their investments are not protected legally. 

What is KryptoWize?

Cryptocurrencies are attracting increasing interest, for the technology they are based on and for the profits they can generate. There are thousands of companies currently that offer access to trade and speculate on Cryptocurrencies, while just a few are legally permitted to do so. The rest are considered to be very risky, as simply the client never knows which outcome he will see.

• Safety measures should be implemented before any investment is done, and the first status of reliability to the firm is its regulatory status and if the company has passed all necessary requirements.

• In the case of KryptoWize, the firm is owned and operated by Rushtag Limited with its registration in Gibraltar, which unfortunately does not regulate Forex and financial business. Even with a general overview, there is nothing that attracts that much in KryptoWize trading and evermore acts against trading with them.

• Therefore, we do not advise trading with KryptoWIze as they are simply not overseen by anyone. In addition, the firm already received its warning for an illegal target of residents and offering of service it is not permitted to offer.

  “In spite of prior warnings by the FSMA, cryptocurrency fraud continues to trap ever more victims in Belgium. Therefore the FSMA is publishing a new warning today against these forms of fraud.“

  FMSA, Belgium. October 2018.

KryptoWize Review Conclusion

We constantly remind traders that investing with a non-authorized entity is a high-risk business. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as BlackBull Markets and XM.

KryptoWize Update

Based on our research, the KryptoWize 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 BigOption Scam or Legit Broker?

BigOption is not a legit broker as it does not hold any serious license. As a general rule, we recommend avoiding offshore and non-regulated entities as traders who invest in non-regulated firms often cannot recover funds invested or gains received. Thus, we strongly advise against responding to any suspicious offering in regard to trading of financial investments and choosing only among the regulated entities.

• 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.

What is BigOption?

Wirestech Limited is a company that claims to be based in the Marshall Islands and run the trading brand BigOption which offers binary options trading (Check Regulated Binary Options Trading), as well as other derivatives investment opportunity.

• In the case of Wirestech Limited (BigOption), the broker also has appeared in the supervisory authorities of Ontario and British Columbia back in 2016 with the subject of a warning to the investors. While the European authorities warned potential clients and residents about the company offering too, meaning the firm was blacklisted almost by every regulatory entity.

Ontario Securities Commission Warning

“The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) warns the public against the activities of Wirestech Limited, trading under the name BigOption, a company that offers highly risky investment instruments in Belgium without complying with Belgian financial legislation.”

FMSA, Belgium. March 2017.

BigOption Review Conclusion

We recommend traders sign in with only trustworthy brokers with tight regulations. Therefore, we also advise choosing among the firms with authorization status that have been received from the major regulators from around the world. Check our reviews on regulated brokers like LegacyFX, Eightcap, or FXCC.

BigOption Update

Based on our research, the BigOption 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 Golden FX Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with Golden FX. Golden FX is owned by TBI Management Group which is an offshore company registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

• St. Vincent and the Grenadines is notorious for its practically absent requirements and regulations. Due to the setup cost is low and it does not regulate forex trading. It is even possible to register online without providing the names of the shareholders or directors of the firm. That is why this location is considered to be dangerous, as there are no guarantees that the company is legit. Therefore, it became an offshore zone for shady forex brokers such as AitsFX, Ace Forex, and more. You can read a detailed article explaining the risk of trading with brokers from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

What is Golden FX?

Golden-FX is a forex broker that offers over 40 forex currency pairs, commodities, indices, stocks, bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies. 

• However, Golden FX is not regulated by any official financial authority and subsequently does not have the right to provide financial services on regulated markets like British, Swedish, Danish, or Norwegian. However, the firm provides the contact numbers with the phone codes of the mentioned countries which means it has been targeting EU residents.

Golden FX 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 turn out to be scams. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as eToro and BlackBull Markets.

Golden FX Update

Based on our research, the Golden-FX 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 Solidary Markets FX Scam or Legit Broker?

Solidary Markets FX has been suspected as a scam broker. According to the website, it is located in New Zealand. However, the broker does not hold any license either in New Zealand or elsewhere. The lack of regulation makes the broker not reliable for investments.

What is Solidary Markets FX?

Solidary Markets FX is a Forex, cryptocurrency, and options broker. The site is owned and managed by Solidary Markets NZ Ltd., based in New Zealand. According to the information provided on the website "Solidary Markets NZ Ltd is not required to be a registered Financial Service Provider (FSPR) in New Zealand but maintains strict operational and procedural policies", which means the broker is not regulated in New Zealand and most probably is not regulated in any other country. Also, the website states that Solidary Markets FX provides its services only to customers from Spain, however, it is not authorized in Spain.

• Moreover, Spain's regulator CNMV has issued a warning against the broker:
  "Solidary Markets FX (“SMFX”) http://solidarymarkets.com/ is not authorised to provide the investment services detailed in Article 140 of the Securities Markets Law, or provide the auxiliary services detailed in letters a), b), d), f) and g) of Article 141 of said Law, which includes investment advice, in relation to the financial instruments detailed in article 2 of the said Law, including, to those purposes, transactions on foreign currency."

Overall Solidary Markets FX Ranking 

During our research we revealed multiple issues with Solidary Markets FX regulations and safety, thus we do not rank positively Solidary Markets FX, based on our Expert Opinion with over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading.

• Solidary Markets FX Overall Ranking is 2 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.

Solidary Markets FX Alternative Brokers

Based on our finds and issues with the safety of Solidary Markets FX here are much better Alternatives to Solidary Markets FX with good regulations and excellent conditions. We select Good Brokers and reliable options for your comparison below: 

• AvaTrade – Good for Currency trading
• InteractiveBrokers – Good for US Trading and Trading of Real Stocks
• FXTM – Good for Beginners

Deposits and Withdrawals

The broker offers various deposit and withdrawal options – Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Card, and e-wallets such as Skrill, Neteller, and FairPay. 

• Solidary Markets FX  does not accept payments from third parties.
• If the Email used in the payment processor does not match the trader's SMFX Profile Email, they will need to send screenshots to prove the ownership of that account.

Solidary Markets FX Review Conclusion

As regulation is the most essential factor for the safety of any investment, we strongly advise potential traders to invest only with properly licensed brokers. The Financial Conduct Authority in the UK and Australian Securities and Investments Commission are well-respected financial watchdogs that provide sufficient market security. Check the list of FCA-regulated brokers here. We recommend signing in with reliable brokers such as BlackBull Markets, FXGT, and FBS.

• Overall ranking and experience for Solidary Markets FX is Negative

Is DCA-Finance Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with DCA-Finance. According to the website, the broker holds an FCA license, while in reality the company is blacklisted by the authority. Besides, the broker seems to target French-speaking societies, as the website has also a French version. 

• DCA-Finance does not hold any regulation, on top of all, it pretends to be a trustworthy broker with tight regulations, which leads to believe that its main intention is attracting clients and their funds.

What is DCA-Finance?

DCA-Finance is a company that claims its world-leading online cryptocurrencies and asset trading position in a transparent, enjoyable, and simple way. The registration and the location of the company are not clear, as the broker didn’t provide a legal or registered name of the firm.

• Broker’s offering diverted to English and the French-speaking population, while in the French version of the website, the company dared to mention its FCA regulation status even with the license number provided. However, this is absolutely fake information which shows that potential traders and investors should be extremely careful before they trust to the offering and check all data in legal sources.

• In addition, DCA-Finance was blacklisted by the EU authority, while potential clients were alerted to invest with the firm and trust their proposal. There are currently numerous similar-looking firms that offer Crypto trading and offer high incomes due to the Crypto boom in the market, yet the companies are frauds.

  “The FSMA has put together a list of cryptocurrency trading platforms, including DCA-Finance about which it has received complaints from consumers and has identified signs of fraud. These are cases of investment fraud pure and simple. In order to avoid such cases of fraud, the FSMA invites would-be investors to exercise utmost prudence and advises them to remain alert to any indication of investment fraud. It, therefore, offers a few recommendations always verify the identity of the company, in case a company cannot be clearly identified, it should not be trusted.”

  FMSA, Belgium. October 2018.

DCA-Finance Review Conclusion

In conclusion, you should avoid DCA-Finance or similar offerings that promise an easy way to trade Cryptos and choose among the reliable brokerage firms with authorization status that protects clients and are fully legal entities. Treaders should sign in with reliable brokers such as BlackBull Markets, FXGT, and FBS.

DCA-Finance Update

Based on our research, the DCA-Finance 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.