Capital.com said client trading volumes on its platform reached $1.27 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, up 11.2% from $1.14 trillion in Q4 2025. The total number of trades executed rose 81% compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the company's quarterly platform update published today (Monday).
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January was the busiest month in the broker's six-month observation window, with roughly $502 billion in volume, the company said. Gold drove the bulk of that activity, accounting for 59% of the month's total platform volume as prices hit successive record highs. Average monthly active traders increased 10.9% from the prior quarter, Capital.com reported.
The numbers put Capital.com's Q1 2026 result within striking distance of its full-year 2024 figure of $1.7 trillion, reached across twelve months rather than three.
"Q1 2026 brought three significant market events... each event created a different kind of decision pressure for participants," Tarik Chebib, CEO Middle East at Capital.com, said. "Trading volumes of $1.27 trillion reflect those conditions."
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Capital.com's update lands on the same day Plus500 reported Q1 revenue of $242.1 million, up 18% year-over-year, with customer income hitting a five-year high. IG Group said in March it expects about £300 million in Q1 2026 revenue, 7% above the year-ago quarter. Both publicly listed brokers attributed the gains to elevated market volatility across commodities, equities and geopolitics.
The pattern is consistent with broader industry data. Average monthly volume per 1,000 active accounts across a 52-broker sample rose 38% between Q4 2021 and Q4 2025, according to Finance Magnates Intelligence data, suggesting that trading intensity, not just headcount, is increasing across the sector. EC Markets, another fast-growing name in the space, reported $4.476 trillion in Q4 2025 trading volume, with active clients nearly doubling over the course of the year.
Gold Records, Oil Spikes, Crypto Swings - Three Distinct Events Shaped the Quarter
The company's data paints a quarter defined by three separate market dislocations that each pulled different instruments to the front of the order book.
In January, gold prices climbed to successive record highs fueled by central bank purchasing that the company described as being at a 25-year high, a weakening US dollar and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Silver volumes rose fivefold in the same month as traders broadened their commodity exposure, according to the company, before dropping back in February.
February brought cryptocurrency volatility as regulatory changes across major jurisdictions created what Capital.com described as "structural uncertainty for participants." The broker did not specify the regulatory actions in question.
March was dominated by oil. Middle East tensions drove a 275% increase in active oil traders on the platform on March 2 compared with the previous Friday, with oil trading volumes up 649% and trades up 414% in a single session, the company said. By March 24, oil volumes were still 134% above the prior Monday, with first-time oil traders up 420% on that Tuesday alone. Oil volatility reached 36.1% for the month, the highest in the six-month observation window, Capital.com reported.
Those oil moves were part of a broader market reaction as sustained conflict involving Iran and supply risk across the Middle East, compounded by a surprise OPEC+ production cut, pushed WTI crude up roughly 74% in under three weeks earlier in the quarter.
UAE Remains a Top-Three Market as MENA Dominance Holds
The Middle East accounted for what the company called "a significant share" of total trading volume in Q1, with the UAE ranking among the top three markets alongside Germany and the United Kingdom. That geographic split was consistent with patterns seen in Q4 2025 and the first half of 2025, when 52% of Capital.com's trading volume came from MENA and UAE traders alone contributed 71.7% of the regional total.
Capital.com holds regulatory authorizations from the FCA in the UK, CySEC in Cyprus, ASIC in Australia, the SCA in the UAE and the Securities Commission of The Bahamas. The company has been pushing into new jurisdictions, with license applications underway in Singapore, Japan, Turkey and South Africa.
