Charging Brokers Extra for Bridge Access "Does Not Feel Fair," Spotware CEO Says

Wednesday, 24/06/2026 | 09:31 GMT by Damian Chmiel
  • After 15 years as the company behind a single trading platform, Spotware is pushing into the broker-infrastructure market dominated by MetaQuotes.
  • And it is using price as the wedge, according to the FM Intelligence's interview with Ilia Iarovitcyn.
Ilia Iarovitcyn, the CEO of Spotware
Ilia Iarovitcyn, the CEO of Spotware

Spotware is taking its liquidity-bridge fight to MetaQuotes, and it is starting with the bill. The company behind the cTrader platform has launched cBridge, a standalone bridge that connects brokers to multiple liquidity providers across trading platforms, and Chief Executive Ilia Iarovitcyn says it will not charge brokers by trading volume.

"This is basic functionality, and charging brokers extra for it does not feel fair to us," Iarovitcyn told FM Intelligence.

He added that simple liquidity connectivity is "now only around 10% of what brokers need," with risk management, low-latency execution and real-time analytics across aggregated data making up the rest.

cBridge Flat Fee Against Ultency's Meter

The flat-fee pitch is a direct contrast with MetaQuotes' Ultency, the MT5 native aggregation engine priced at $1 per $1 million of traded volume. Iarovitcyn said cBridge keeps "the cost structure predictable regardless of how the business grows," a model he argued matters most to firms as they scale.

For a company that was effectively the cTrader platform for 15 years, the launch is the clearest sign yet that Spotware wants to be broker infrastructure.

The core bridge functionality "has existed inside cTrader for years," Iarovitcyn said, with brokers long able to connect liquidity providers directly without a separate fee.

What changed, he said, was client demand for that connectivity to work across all platforms, "giving them the opportunity to connect different platforms beyond cTrader and manage liquidity across their stack."

That puts Spotware into a field already contested by oneZero, Centroid, Gold-i and PrimeXM, vendors FinanceMagnates.com has reported are facing a pricing squeeze from MetaQuotes.

MetaQuotes has drawn an adoption wave for Ultency that includes LMAX, GMG Prime and Vantage.

Beyond the Trading Screen

The bridge is one of two moves taking Spotware beyond the trading screen.

The company has also opened cTrader to AI agents through two official model-context-protocol (MCP) servers, joining IG Australia, ThinkMarkets, Webull and Interactive Brokers in wiring trading platforms to large language models.

"As the developer of cTrader, we can go considerably deeper, building the connection into the platform itself, not bridging to it," Iarovitcyn said. "No external tool can replicate that level of access."

Spotware reports more than 11 million traders on cTrader and 105% year-over-year growth in US-dollar trading volume, with its broker and prop-firm client count topping 300 after adding 104 new clients in 2025, according to company figures.

The broker arriving in 2026 is "far more sophisticated," Iarovitcyn said, weighing total cost of ownership over platform features alone and seeking "an environment without lock-in."

Iarovitcyn spoke with Finance Magnates Intelligence in a wide-ranging exchange on cBridge, AI agents and where retail trading is heading by 2030. Read the full conversation on FM Intelligence.

Spotware is taking its liquidity-bridge fight to MetaQuotes, and it is starting with the bill. The company behind the cTrader platform has launched cBridge, a standalone bridge that connects brokers to multiple liquidity providers across trading platforms, and Chief Executive Ilia Iarovitcyn says it will not charge brokers by trading volume.

"This is basic functionality, and charging brokers extra for it does not feel fair to us," Iarovitcyn told FM Intelligence.

He added that simple liquidity connectivity is "now only around 10% of what brokers need," with risk management, low-latency execution and real-time analytics across aggregated data making up the rest.

cBridge Flat Fee Against Ultency's Meter

The flat-fee pitch is a direct contrast with MetaQuotes' Ultency, the MT5 native aggregation engine priced at $1 per $1 million of traded volume. Iarovitcyn said cBridge keeps "the cost structure predictable regardless of how the business grows," a model he argued matters most to firms as they scale.

For a company that was effectively the cTrader platform for 15 years, the launch is the clearest sign yet that Spotware wants to be broker infrastructure.

The core bridge functionality "has existed inside cTrader for years," Iarovitcyn said, with brokers long able to connect liquidity providers directly without a separate fee.

What changed, he said, was client demand for that connectivity to work across all platforms, "giving them the opportunity to connect different platforms beyond cTrader and manage liquidity across their stack."

That puts Spotware into a field already contested by oneZero, Centroid, Gold-i and PrimeXM, vendors FinanceMagnates.com has reported are facing a pricing squeeze from MetaQuotes.

MetaQuotes has drawn an adoption wave for Ultency that includes LMAX, GMG Prime and Vantage.

Beyond the Trading Screen

The bridge is one of two moves taking Spotware beyond the trading screen.

The company has also opened cTrader to AI agents through two official model-context-protocol (MCP) servers, joining IG Australia, ThinkMarkets, Webull and Interactive Brokers in wiring trading platforms to large language models.

"As the developer of cTrader, we can go considerably deeper, building the connection into the platform itself, not bridging to it," Iarovitcyn said. "No external tool can replicate that level of access."

Spotware reports more than 11 million traders on cTrader and 105% year-over-year growth in US-dollar trading volume, with its broker and prop-firm client count topping 300 after adding 104 new clients in 2025, according to company figures.

The broker arriving in 2026 is "far more sophisticated," Iarovitcyn said, weighing total cost of ownership over platform features alone and seeking "an environment without lock-in."

Iarovitcyn spoke with Finance Magnates Intelligence in a wide-ranging exchange on cBridge, AI agents and where retail trading is heading by 2030. Read the full conversation on FM Intelligence.

About the Author: Damian Chmiel
Damian Chmiel
  • 3675 Articles
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About the Author: Damian Chmiel
Damian Chmiel is a Senior Analyst & Editor at Finance Magnates with more than 15 years of experience in the CFD and online trading industry. Active as both a trader and journalist since 2010, he focuses on broker coverage, fintech innovation, and regulatory developments across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. His work includes interviews with C-level leaders at major brokerages and fintech platforms, as well as co-authoring Finance Magnates’ quarterly industry benchmarking reports. Damian’s reporting is data-driven, market-aware, and grounded in direct industry engagement. His analysis and commentary have also been cited by external media outlets, including Investing.com, Binance, The Asset, Stockhead, and Dispatch. Education: MA in Finance and Accounting, Cracow University of Economics
  • 3675 Articles
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