FXCM's Legacy Divided Between Two New Owners
The retail forex landscape shifted significantly this week as two established brokers moved to piece together the remnants of FXCM Group. AvaTrade confirmed it has reached an agreement to acquire the bulk of FXCM's remaining business operations and associated brand rights, effectively placing both CFD providers under a single corporate umbrella. Neither party disclosed the financial terms of the transaction.
The move is the culmination of a process first reported by Finance Magnates back in June, when it emerged that AvaTrade was in advanced discussions to purchase Stratos—the parent entity housing both FXCM and Tradu—from investment bank Jefferies. Jefferies had held control of Stratos for roughly a decade, having stepped in to provide a liquidity lifeline after the Swiss franc shock of January 2015 destabilised the brand.
Rather than consolidating the entire operation in a single closing, AvaTrade is stepping in for the majority of what remains. This split approach reflects a broader restructuring of one of the industry's longest-standing retail forex names. The agreement landed just days after rival Trade Nation completed its purchase of FXCM's UK client book for an undisclosed price, meaning the brand's ongoing operations now sit with two separate buyers.
Matthew Wright, who serves as Trade Nation's chief strategy officer and UK CEO, told the market that the depth and longevity of FXCM's existing client relationships were key draws for the acquisition. For traders who have been with the FXCM name for years, the practical implication is that their account will now be serviced under a different corporate structure, raising questions about continuity of service, margin terms, and platform access.
The 24/7 Trading Debate Heats Up
Round-the-clock market access is no longer a niche crypto concept. It is reshaping how traditional brokers think about infrastructure, staffing, and liquidity provision.
CME Group disclosed that its first six weekend sessions of cryptocurrency futures and options trading produced roughly $1 billion in traded volume. Average daily volume across crypto derivatives climbed 44 per cent year on year in the first half of the year, reaching 280,000 contracts. These figures underscore a growing appetite for markets that do not pause for the weekend.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce acknowledged that many participants in the financial ecosystem see extended trading hours as an unavoidable, if unwelcome, development. She pointed to the operational headaches that follow: thinner order books during off-peak hours, wider bid-ask spreads, and heightened price volatility when liquidity is scarce.
Paul Golden, writing on the topic, framed the shift as a structural change in how liquidity is distributed across the trading day. His argument centres on the idea that different liquidity pools will dominate at different times of day and week, making it essential for traders and market makers to understand exactly when and where executable depth is available.
Not everyone is moving in the same direction, however. CME Group has reportedly begun winding back its 24/7 market plan, citing the practical difficulty of staffing operations across weekends. Meanwhile, on the crypto side, Lighter.xyz founder and CEO Vasil Novakovski told followers that while his traditional-finance peers looked forward to weekends off, he simply wanted the markets to stay open. He framed that impatience as a core reason traders gravitate toward on-chain finance, where the ethos has always been continuous access. The Rollup echoed the sentiment on X, noting the cultural divide between TradFi and DeFi attitudes toward market hours.
Nasdaq also made headlines this week by backing a European platform that is actively pursuing round-the-clock trading, signalling that the push for extended hours is not limited to crypto-native venues.
IG Group's Outlook Cut Sends Shockwaves Through Broker Rivals
The week's most dramatic market event came on 2 October, when IG Group slashed its revenue outlook and its shares fell as much as 27 per cent in a single session. The sell-off quickly spread to competitors: CMC Markets shares dropped by up to 9 per cent and Plus500 fell as much as 14 per cent, as investors repriced the entire online-broker segment.
Rival firms moved swiftly to distance themselves from IG's guidance, emphasising that their own trading volumes, client acquisition, and revenue trajectories remained on track. The messaging was clear: IG's challenges are idiosyncratic, not systemic.
Several analysts cautioned that the sell-off may have overshot. They suggested that a portion of the valuation discount applied to IG and its peers could be clawed back if the company delivers a meaningful improvement in its next earnings report. For traders, the episode nonetheless highlighted the intense competitive squeeze facing online brokers, including steadily rising customer-acquisition and advertising costs.
One of the most cited structural threats is the entry of fintech players into retail trading. Revolut, for instance, has grown its retail platform to more than 68 million users, giving it a customer base that dwarfs many dedicated brokers and putting additional pressure on pricing, product differentiation, and brand loyalty.
Platform Migrations, Prop-Firm Funding, and London's Return
Beyond the headline deals, brokers continued to invest in trading infrastructure and expand overseas operations. Axi reported that more than 60 per cent of its client base had migrated to MetaTrader 5 as the broker rolled out its Ultency platform, a significant operational shift that will affect how the majority of its traders execute and manage positions.
The proprietary trading space also saw movement, with a new funding round announced for a prop-firm operation and updated payout figures published by established prop desks, both of which signal continued capital flowing into the space despite the broader regulatory scrutiny of the model.
Finally, the week brought a renewed narrative that London's trading industry is "coming home," with firms repatriating operations or deepening their UK presence after years of offshore diversification. For retail traders in the UK, the practical effect of this trend—combined with the FXCM ownership split—will be a noticeably different set of counterparties, regulatory touchpoints, and platform options over the coming months.
