TradedWell, one of the forex and CFDs brokerage brands operated by Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF), Itrade Global, has shut down its website, noting that it is “undergoing an operational optimization process.” The retail broker closed the website on January 27, an alert on its website reads.

Has TradedWell Shut Down?

TradedWell is run by Itrade Global, a CIF company licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission in 2016. Itrade Global operates two other brokerage brands: TradeFW and InvestFW.

TradedWell started operating in 2020 and offered commission-free services. The company provided its clients with market access to over 170 CFDs across a wide range of asset classes, such as forex, stocks, indices, cryptocurrencies, precious metals and commodities.

Furthermore, the company offered its retail traders access to CFDs through three trading platforms: WebTrader, MetaTrader 4 and a mobile application. For mobile trading, the broker offered support for Android and iOS operating systems.

However, on January 13, 2023, TradedWell stopped its traders from opening new trading positions and halted the addition of new deposits to trading accounts on its platform. The broker would later shut down its website in late January after giving its customers a deadline of January 27, 2023, to close their trades and withdraw their funds.

Finance Magnates’ checked that the TradedWell app is no longer available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. A notification on the Google Play store’s page for TradedWell reads: “This app is not available for any of your devices.”

Finance Magnates also ran a check on other forex/CFDs brokerage brands run by Itrade Global. While the website of InvestFW remains active, that of TradeFW returns a sign-in dialogue box when run.

As of press time, Finance Magnates is yet to receive a response from TradedWell on why it shut down its website and what the scope of the 'operational optimization process' is. This report will be updated when an official comment is received.

TradedWell Promises to Return Customer Balances

Meanwhile, in the update on its website, TradedWell warned its traders that open positions not closed after January 27, 2023, “will automatically be closed at market conditions.” However, the broker promised any remaining balances will be returned to traders in accordance with its terms and conditions and withdrawal policy.

“The Company will take all the necessary measures to return any outstanding balances. Please be informed that in the event where the Company will not be able to return your remaining balances to the originally declared source, we will contact you via email to request your bank account details to facilitate the processing of the withdrawal,” the website reads.

Meanwhile, CySEC disclosed on Thursday that it has slammed a €1 million fine on Itrade Global for multiple violations committed by its tied agent in Spain. According to the Cypriot financial watchdog, Itrade Global through the intermediary failed to take appropriate measures to identify and prevent or manage a conflict of interests, did not act fairly, honestly and professionally when providing investment services to clients, and did not ensure that all information addressed to clients was fair, clear and not misleading, among other violations.

Third CySEC Firm to Encounter Problem in 3 Months

Since the start of the year, at least two other forex/CFDs brokers with CySEC registration appeared to have encountered some problems with their business. Late last month, Finance Magnates learned from an industry source that brokerage firm Tixee has quietly shuttered its services. Tixee operated in the EU and across global markets with CySEC and Seychelles licenses.

However, we exclusively reported that M4Markets partially or fully acquired the operations of Tixee, and as a result, the latter was closing down its trading platform and offering its existing clients the option to transfer their accounts to M4Markets.

In the second case, Finance Magnates in January exclusively reported that UFX, a retail broker offering FX and CFDs trading services, appeared to have closed down its business. We accessed UFX's website from multiple regions including Europe, Asia, and Latin America, but the platform returned the same message: "UFX is no longer offering investment services to clients in this region." We also found that the broker is not allowing anyone to open a new account, irrespective of their jurisdiction.

Furthermore, Reliantco Investments Limited, the company that operated the UFX brand, also renounced its CIF license and is under examination by the regulator "for voluntary renunciation of the authorization."

Cyprus: A Popular Destination for FX Brokers

Cyprus is one of the most popular jurisdictions for forex and CFDs brokerage companies. Since issuing its first forex brokerage license to Windsor Brokers in 1988, the Island nation has grown significantly, now accommodating hundreds of CIFs.

Tom Higgins, the Founder and CEO of trading technology firm Gold-i, believes that the combination of consolidation in the retail FX brokerage market and Cyprus’ position as a top destination means it is inevitable to “see more CySEC registered brokers chucking-in the towel.”

“As in all business, you need to either provide a better or a differentiated service to thrive and survive. The world just cannot support 1000s of brokers offering the same products to the same markets,” Higgins told Finance Magnates.