Is easyMarkets Safe?
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- Best for Beginners
- Best for Fixed spreads
- Best for Risk tools
- Min deposit
- $25
- Spread from
- 0.7 pips
- Max leverage
- 1:500
- Regulation
- CySEC · ASIC
Quick answer
Yes, easyMarkets is safe and legitimate, holding five active licences: CySEC Cyprus (079/07) for EU clients with ICF cover up to €20,000, ASIC Australia (AFSL 246566), FSCA South Africa (FSP 54018), plus FSA Seychelles and FSC BVI for other regions. Client funds are held in segregated accounts and the broker has operated with a clean record since 2001.
Is easyMarkets safe and regulated?
Is easyMarkets safe? Yes, I opened a live funded account and tested the platform across multiple market sessions in 2026.
easyMarkets operates through five regulated entities. Each entity has a different regulator and offers a different level of protection depending on where you sign up.
The key regulatory licences:
- CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission), licence 079/07: covers EU retail clients under MiFID II (EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, which governs investment firm conduct) rules, with the Investor Compensation Fund (a mandatory backstop scheme funded by regulated firms) up to €20,000 per eligible retail client
- ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission), AFSL (Australian Financial Services Licence) 246566: covers Australian retail clients; local product-intervention rules cap leverage at 1:30 on major currency pairs
- FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority, South Africa), FSP 54018: covers South African retail clients under local conduct rules
- FSA (Financial Services Authority) Seychelles, SD056: covers most other regions including the UK; there is no investor compensation scheme equivalent to the EU’s ICF
- FSC (Financial Services Commission) British Virgin Islands, SIBA/L/20/1135: covers select non-EU regions; also carries no compensation scheme
The brand has operated since 2001 with a clean record. No enforcement action is registered against the CySEC or ASIC entities on their public registers, and the broker is not a scam.
Two baseline protections apply regardless of which entity holds your account. Client funds sit in segregated (client money held separately from the broker’s own operating funds) bank accounts at major institutions.
Negative balance protection is standard on all retail accounts. This prevents your account balance from going below zero if a sudden market move exceeds your deposited capital.
⚠️ easyMarkets does not hold an FCA (UK Financial Conduct Authority) licence. UK clients open under the Seychelles or BVI entity, which carries no FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) cover.
The FSCS protects UK investors up to £85,000 if an FCA-regulated firm fails. That protection is not available to UK clients at easyMarkets.
For EU, Australian, MENA (Middle East and North Africa), and South African clients, the regulatory picture is solid. For UK traders who require FCA-grade cover, an FCA-licensed broker is the better fit.
For a full breakdown of spreads, platforms, and the dealCancellation risk tool, read the complete easyMarkets review.
Key facts
| Detail | easyMarkets |
|---|---|
| Regulation | CySEC, ASIC, FSCA, FSA Seychelles, FSC BVI |
| License | CySEC 079/07 · ASIC AFSL 246566 · FSCA FSP 54018 · FSA SD056 · FSC SIBA/L/20/1135 |
| Deposit protection | ICF up to €20,000 (CySEC/EU clients); none for Seychelles/BVI clients |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Limassol, Cyprus |
Should you trade with easyMarkets?
Beginners and risk-averse traders are the primary audience. The $25 minimum, fixed spreads from 0.7 pips, and built-in risk tools make easyMarkets a structured entry-level choice among regulated brokers.
The risk toolkit sets it apart. Free guaranteed stop-loss orders fill at your exact level with no slippage (orders filling at a worse price than requested), dealCancellation undoes a losing trade within 60 minutes, and easyTrade sets a fixed maximum loss per trade before you click.
The caveat: clients outside the EU and Australia open accounts under the Seychelles or BVI entity, which carries no investor compensation scheme. Confirm which entity applies to your country before funding, and verify the licence number on the relevant public regulator register.
The broker does not accept US or Canadian residents. EU and Australian retail clients face a 1:30 leverage cap on major FX pairs; clients on offshore entities may access higher leverage depending on local regulation.
For a ranked view of brokers with confirmed tier-1 (FCA/ASIC/CySEC-class) regulation, see the best regulated forex brokers page.
Frequently asked questions
Which easyMarkets entity will hold my account?
It depends on your country. EU clients open under Easy Forex Trading Ltd, regulated by CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission), licence 079/07, with the EU Investor Compensation Fund covering eligible retail clients up to €20,000. Australian clients fall under easyMarkets Pty Ltd, regulated by ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission), AFSL (Australian Financial Services Licence) 246566. South African clients use EF Worldwide (PTY) Ltd under the FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority), FSP 54018. Clients in most other regions, including the UK, route to EF Worldwide Ltd under FSA (Financial Services Authority) Seychelles, SD056, or FSC (Financial Services Commission) BVI, SIBA/L/20/1135, which carry no equivalent compensation scheme.
Does easyMarkets protect client funds?
Yes. easyMarkets holds client money in segregated bank accounts (client funds kept entirely apart from the broker's own money). This means your deposits are not mixed with the broker's business capital. EU clients under the CySEC entity also benefit from the Investor Compensation Fund, which covers up to €20,000 per eligible retail client if the firm becomes insolvent. Clients on the Seychelles or BVI entities have no compensation scheme behind them, but the segregated-account requirement still applies across all entities.
Is easyMarkets a scam?
No. easyMarkets is a legitimate, multi-regulated broker that has operated since 2001. Its EU entity (CySEC licence 079/07), Australian entity (ASIC AFSL 246566), and South African entity (FSCA FSP 54018) are all active on the public regulators' registers with no recorded enforcement action. The main caveat is that UK clients and most non-EU, non-Australian traders open accounts under the Seychelles or BVI arm. That is a lighter offshore regulatory tier, not a scam signal.
What is the minimum deposit for easyMarkets?
The minimum deposit is $25 on the Standard, MT4, and MT5 accounts, one of the lowest entry points among regulated forex brokers. Premium accounts start at $2,000 and VIP at $10,000, with progressively tighter fixed spreads at each tier. There is no broker-side withdrawal fee on standard methods. In my live testing, Skrill and Neteller withdrawals settled the same business day, and card withdrawals took 1 to 3 business days.
Is easyMarkets available in the USA or Canada?
No. easyMarkets does not accept residents of the United States or Canada. US retail forex traders need a broker licensed by the NFA (National Futures Association) and CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). Canadian retail traders should use a CIRO (Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization)-licensed broker. easyMarkets does accept clients from the EU, UK (via offshore entities), Australia, the UAE and broader Gulf region, Southeast Asia (including Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand), South Africa, and many other countries. Check the broker's terms of service for your specific country before registering.