A Fragile Recovery After Three Months of Outflows
Customer deposits at the six CFTC-registered US retail forex brokers edged higher in July, marking the first monthly gain in four months, before slipping modestly in August. According to data published by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the combined balance owed to retail forex clients stood at $469.96 million at the close of August.
The July print added $9.27 million, a 2.01% month-over-month increase that pushed the aggregate to $471.58 million. That gain came after June closed at $462.31 million, a level that Finance Magnates flagged in August as the lowest reading since at least September 2023. August, however, reclaimed $1.61 million, or 0.34%, bringing the total back down to the $469.96 million mark.
For traders monitoring the health of the US retail forex channel, the bounce is meaningful but incomplete. The August figure remains 7.23% below the $506.58 million held in August 2025, representing the widest year-on-year shortfall since March. The balance also sits beneath the January level that Finance Magnates described at the time as the lowest in more than two years, underscoring that the sector has not yet recovered the ground lost over the past twelve months.
Gain Capital and Schwab Anchor the July Rebound
Concentration in the top two dealers is pronounced. Gain Capital, the StoneX subsidiary that operates FOREX.com, held $204.12 million in client balances in July, a 3.57% rise over June. Its $7.03 million gain accounted for roughly three-quarters of the industry-wide net increase for the month. In August the figure barely shifted, settling at $204.16 million. Gain Capital alone commands 43.44% of all US retail forex deposits, and when combined with OANDA the two firms hold 71.40% of the total.
Charles Schwab Futures and Forex, the second-largest dealer, saw its balance climb 3.53% in July to $56.00 million, recovering from a June level that was its own lowest since at least September 2023. The balance then slipped 0.18% in August to $55.90 million, leaving it 8.71% below the figure recorded a year earlier. Notably, the Schwab unit also began offering CME single-stock futures in August, joining a growing cohort of US brokers that added the contracts after CME opened the market to retail participants in July.
On the smaller end of the spectrum, tastyfx, the US forex brand of IG Group, gained 4.10% in July to reach $49.95 million before giving back 1.73% in August to finish at $49.09 million. That August level is 13.31% above where it stood in August 2025, the largest year-on-year increase among the six registered dealers. Trading.com, the smallest of the group, held $2.85 million in August, down 0.74% on the month but 11.53% above its position a year earlier.
OANDA Shrinks for a Third Straight Month; IB Faces Steepest Annual Loss
OANDA, now owned by FTMO, was one of only three dealers to see balances decline in July, shedding 0.34% to $132.45 million. August brought a further 0.81% reduction to $131.38 million, the lowest monthly reading for the broker since at least September 2023. A year earlier, OANDA held $148.44 million, meaning its US forex book has contracted by 11.50% over the trailing twelve months. For traders who have been longtime OANDA clients, the sustained outflow is a signal of shifting demand in the US retail channel.
Interactive Brokers moved in the opposite direction across the two-month window. Its retail forex balance fell 4.16% in July to $26.19 million, then recovered 1.53% in August to $26.59 million. Even so, the August figure is 20.28% below August 2025, the steepest year-on-year decline among the six dealers. Context matters here: Interactive Brokers' broader franchise continued to expand, reporting client equity of $962.8 billion in August, up 35% year over year, across 5.46 million client accounts. The forex division's relative contraction therefore reflects a reallocation of client activity toward equities, options, and other asset classes rather than a broad-based exodus from the firm.
Crypto-Linked Futures Brokers Hold More Segregated Client Money
An FM Intelligence analysis of the same CFTC filings reveals that the futures brokers owned by Coinbase and Robinhood held $581.4 million in segregated client funds at the end of August, a figure that exceeds the combined retail forex deposits of all six registered dealers. Coinbase Financial Markets alone accounted for $346.9 million of that total.
For traders evaluating where their capital is safest, this contrast highlights a structural shift in the US retail trading landscape. The two metrics, however, measure different things. Futures balances capture every futures client at those firms, including participants who never touch a crypto contract. The forex deposit figure is a month-end snapshot of what dealers owe retail forex clients, adjusted for both realized and unrealized trading profit and loss. A monthly move in the forex number can therefore reflect client trading results as well as new deposits and withdrawals, making it a less direct proxy for inflows or outflows than a simple segregated-balance figure.
Regulatory context also deserves attention. The CFTC's October 5 notice outlining a retail crypto framework contemplates that leveraged retail crypto purchases be executed only through futures commission merchants or banks they sponsor. For traders who have been using crypto-linked futures as a hedge or speculative instrument, the framework could reshape access and counterparty risk in the coming months.
