Forex.com

Forex.com is a provider of foreign exchange (FX) and contracts for difference (CFD) trading services. It operates as a brand of GAIN Capital Holdings, a subsidiary of the publicly traded StoneX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SNEX). The company offers leveraged trading products across various markets including currencies, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies.

History

GAIN Capital was founded in 1999 by Mark Galant and launched the Forex.com brand in 2004 for retail trading clients.[1][2]

In 2008, Gain Capital acquired a UK FSA-regulated broker, rebranding it as Forex.com UK and launching operations across the UK and continental Europe in May 2009.[3][4]

Controversy

Regulatory and compliance issues

The broker has been subject to multiple regulatory actions over the years for various compliance violations. These include a $500,000 fine from the CFTC for illegally onboarding U.S. clients via a UK entity[35] and a $300,000 penalty for supervisory failures over client accounts.[36] In 2010, the NFA fined GAIN Capital $459,000 for unfair slippage practices, margin handling, and poor supervision.[37]

On 31 March 2021, a system error led Forex.com to display outdated quotes for 14 FX pairs for over 10 hours. Dozens of trades were executed at stale prices, resulting in account imbalances. The company reversed $2.84 million in client gains and credited minor adjustments to others. In 2022, the NFA fined the company $700,000 for mishandling the incident, rule violations, and misleading regulators.[38][31]

Lawsuits and legal disputes

In 2013, Gain Capital was sued by UK investors who alleged it enabled trading for Cameron Farley Ltd., an unlicensed broker operating a Ponzi scheme. Between 2004 and 2008, Cameron Farley, founded by Stephen Farley, lost over £10 million via Forex.com, while total client losses exceeded £18 million.[39][40][41] Plaintiffs claimed the company failed to perform due diligence and indirectly facilitated fraud by allowing thousands of individuals to trade through an unlicensed intermediary.[42]

In July 2020, a Chinese trader Jun Zhang sued Gain Capital after losing $143,032 while trading at Forex.com. Zhang blamed the negative pricing of WTI futures and Gain's system that halted 22 minutes before the closing of U.S. crude oil trading on 20 April 2020. On 21 April 2020, the platform showed US_OIL at $0.01.[43]

Security and ethical incidents

In April 2020, the Japanese unit of Forex.com suffered a data breach, client personal data were exposed by an unauthorized third party.[49]

In 2020, following the acquisition by StoneX Group, Joseph Conlan, a former GAIN Capital executive, profited from insider information about the deal. In 2023, he settled charges with the U.S. SEC, agreeing to pay $159,389 in disgorgement and penalties.[50][51]

founded	2004
founder	Mark Galant
hq location city	Warren, New Jersey
hq location country	United States
products	CFD Trading Forex trading
parent	StoneX
type	Subsidiary
industry	Financial services
website	forex.com

History

Operations

Controversy

Regulatory and compliance issues

Lawsuits and legal disputes

Security and ethical incidents

See also

References