Desk file · 2026 edition · record confidence: medium
InstaForex
We opened the file on InstaForex the way we open every file: register first, marketing never. Trading since 2007, with no head office we were able to confirm from a primary source, and carrying 1 licence entry on the public record, 0 of them tier-1.
What the two desk scores say
Both are out of 10 and both are computed, not felt.
| Cost score | Priced off the spread basis below, not off a headline rate card. | not verified |
|---|---|---|
| Safety score | Weighted on licence tier and on how many of the entries we could re-read at source. | not verified |
| Cost per 10 lots | Ten round-turn EUR/USD lots priced at the spread basis, commission excluded. | $not verified |
Spread basis. . Nothing on this page is a live quote; a spread printed on a Tuesday afternoon is not the spread you get thirty seconds after a non-farm payroll release.
Licence entries, one row per entity
Every row links to the document we read it from.
| Regulator | Licence no. | Jurisdiction | Tier | Licensed entity | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CySEC | 266/15 | Cyprus | T2 | Instant Trading EU Ltd (reg. HE 266937) | cysec.gov.cy |
Which entity actually holds your money is decided at signup, by the country on your application — not by the strongest licence in this table. Read the client agreement you are handed, then match the entity name against the row above.
What we were able to confirm
Confirmed at source
- InstaForex's own history page states the brand was founded in 2007 by the InstaFintech group of companies.
- The EU-facing site is operated by Instant Trading EU Ltd, a Cyprus Investment Firm regulated by CySEC under licence 266/15, and displays a retail loss disclosure of 81.62%.
- Instant Trading EU Ltd states it is a member of the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund and does not accept clients resident in the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Belarus and several other jurisdictions.
- The company's regulation page lists a number of domains it says are not associated with it, including insta-markets.com and instanttrade.net.
- The InstaForex account-types page advertises a minimum deposit of 1 USD, subject to the payment system used.
- The Securities Commission Malaysia's Investor Alert List includes InstaForex (instaforex.com) for carrying on unlicensed capital market activities of dealing in securities (alert list entry dated 2024) (https://www.sc.com.my/investor-alert-list).
Not verified
The following could not be traced to a primary source at the time of filing. We publish the gap rather than a number that would look tidier:
- hq
- spreadEurusd
- segregatedFunds
- negativeBalanceProtection
- publiclyListed
- offshore/non-EU InstaForex legal entity and its registration details
- headquarters
- negative balance protection
| Founded | 2007 |
| Head office | not verified |
| Minimum deposit | $1 |
| Leverage cap | 1:30 (CySEC retail); higher leverage advertised on non-EU InstaForex sites |
| EUR/USD | not verified pips |
| Tier-1 entries | 0 |
| Record confidence | medium |
Platforms and account types on file
Platforms
Account types
Markets
Other records open on the desk
CFDs are complex instruments with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. A desk file is a record of what the public register said on the day we read it, not a recommendation to open an account.