List of US-Regulated Forex Brokers

Forex regulations in the United States are regulated by the regulator duo of CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) and NFA (National Futures Association). In general, the regulatory standards of these two agencies are considered the most solid for the renowned forex brokers. The position of these two institutions is similar to the FCA which has full control over forex broker regulations in the United Kingdom.

However, the CFTC and NFA also have consequences for the lack of flexibility of forex brokers in accommodating the needs of traders from outside the US. Still, the number of traders who remain to choose said forex brokers is not small. What exactly are forex regulations in this country and what are the brokers?

CFTC And NFA

The CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) is an independent federal agency in the United States that was created in 1974 to regulate the futures and options markets. According to the Commodities Exchange Act, the CFTC is tasked with fostering open, transparent, competitive and secure  markets, as well as avoiding systemic risks to protect market participants, clients, and their funds from fraud, manipulation, and other crimes.

On the other hand, the NFA (National Futures Association) is a US self-governing organization in the financial derivatives industry that covers futures exchanges, retail forex, and other derivative products in the OTC market. This non-profit organization, which has offices in Chicago and New York City, is under the supervision of the CFTC.

All market participants on US futures and forex exchanges, including swap dealers and participants, are required to be registered with the CFTC and become members of the NFA to ensure that all parties follow the same standards. Regarding the forex market, the NFA rules focus on best practices that must be implemented by forex brokers in the United States, while the CFTC is more inclined to set standards that apply to exchanges.

Among the rules that have been established and must be adhered to by US-regulated forex brokers are:

1. Forex brokers may not use client funds to fund operations. All client funds must be backed-up with their own funds or taken to the interbank market. This means all US-regulated forex brokers must provide a large amount of financial assets.
2. Every week, forex brokers must report their balance sheets to the NFA.
3. Every year, forex brokers must undergo a comprehensive audit.
4. All staff employees at NFA-registered forex brokers must be fully trained and licensed by the CFTC.
5. Forex brokers may not accept client fund transfers from credit cards.
6. Retail forex dealers are required to have net capital of $20 million plus 5% of liabilities if their liabilities to clients exceed $10 million.
7. Maximum leverage limit of 1:50 (or 2% margin) for all major pairs.
8. Maximum leverage limit of 1:20 (or 5% margin) for forex transactions other than major pairs.
9. All forex transactions must be closed FIFO (First In, First Out). This means that in case of several trading positions in the same currency pair with the same trading size, the trader must close the earliest trading position first. This rule prevents trading by hedging on one pair.

Other Things You Should Know

It should be noted that the list of US-regulated forex brokers is subject to change at any time and does not necessarily include all existing entities. To check the regulatory status of forex brokers, you can do it directly on the NFA site.

In addition, US-regulated forex brokers implicitly or explicitly advise traders who are not domiciled in the US to register through their entity in another region, which means their trading accounts will not be logged into US regulatory jurisdiction.

Here are some forex brokers that are officially regulated in the US

• eToro
• OANDA 
• Forex.com (Gain Capital Group) - non-US traders can only register via Forex.com which is regulated by the UK's FCA
• IG Markets - Asian traders can register via regulated IG Singapore.
• Interactive Brokers - non-US traders can only register via other Interactive Brokers entities.
• Thinkorswim (TD Ameritrade)
• ATC Brokers - non-US traders can only register via FCA-regulated ATC.
• Ally Invest
• AMP Global
• Cobra Trading
• CompassFX

Disclaimer: This list was updated on March 10, 2024 and does not really include all forex brokers that are regulated by the CFTC or NFA. To find the latest information about US brokers, you can search on Google with keywords "US brokers", "CFTC regulated brokers", or "NFA regulated brokers".

For many non-US traders, having registered with CFTC and NFA-regulated brokers is usually considered enough as a guarantee that they will not be scammed and will be provided with services of the highest standards. That is despite the fact that they cannot register directly with the company that is registered in the United States. On the bright side, international traders can usually take advantage of higher leverage and more flexible trading rules.