CySEC Revokes FXTM's CIF License After Voluntary Renunciation

Forextime Ltd.'s (FXTM) Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) accreditation has been revoked, as notified by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), with effect from May 20, 2024. Following FXTM's voluntary resignation of its CIF license, this decision was made during the same day's CySEC meeting.

The Legal Entity Identifier recognized FXTM's Voluntary Exit Forextime Ltd, which followed the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law to cancel its CIF authorization number 185/12. It was the company's choice to resign its license that prompted this regulatory action. Since none were relevant, there are no current court reviews connected to this withdrawal.

Before that, on December 31, 2023, FXTM had stopped doing business via its Cypriot corporation. On FXTM's EU website, which is only accessible from inside the European Union, a notification was posted to officially announce this decision. Prioritizing professional customers and institutional traders inside the European Economic Area (EEA), the business previously ceased providing services to retail clients in the EU in February 2021.

Methodical cessation of EU membership's complete exit from the EU market is indicated by Market FXTM's rejection of its CIF license. Although the corporation had moved its strategic emphasis away from Europe, the Cypriot entity had been licensed since December 2012. A larger plan to focus on rapidly expanding developing markets included this shift.

The Exinity Group, which combined the FXTM and Alpari brands in 2020 and speaks 18 languages and 150 different countries, serves over two million customers. Under the names Exinity UK Ltd. and Exinity Limited, which is also the company that runs Alpari International, FXTM is licensed in both the UK and Mauritius.

What's Next for Exinity Group？

According to Alison Cashmore, Group Chief Commercial Officer of Exinity, “Exinity as a group focuses on offering trading services through our trading and investing brands to clients in rapidly expanding emerging markets.” For several years, we have not catered to customers in Europe, and we have no intention of doing so going forward. We thus chose not to keep our CySEC retail license.

Exinity has reaffirmed its commitment to keeping an office in Limassol even after losing its CySEC license. Four global hubs—Limassol, Dubai, London, and Hong Kong—as well as other regional business development offices across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, will serve as the company's primary headquarters going forward.

Implications and Market Impact

A clear indication of the changing nature of the trading and investment services sector is FXTM's exit from the EU market. Exinity wants to capitalize on development prospects in areas where there is a strong demand for trade services by concentrating on developing markets. This strategic shift away from the EU is a sign that trading companies are placing more emphasis on expanding their geographic focus and taking advantage of new market opportunities.

The official end to FXTM's slow withdrawal from the European retail market, which is a testament to the company's dedication to developing markets, is CySEC's decision to remove the FCIF license. Since FXTM already stopped providing retail services in the EU, it is anticipated that this decision would not have a significant effect on its current clientele.

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