The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has confirmed that the Investors Compensation Fund has withdrawn the membership of two firms, VMVita Markets Ltd and HTFX EU Ltd. Both had previously been licensed as Cyprus Investment Firms and offered retail trading Retail Trading In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail trade In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail trade Read this Term services, including contracts for difference.

The changes come amid a broader regulatory update, as CySEC seeks to adjust the cost of doing regulated investment business in Cyprus.

The consultation covers Cyprus Investment Firms, foreign branches, and market operators, introducing higher licence and service fees as well as charges for material change notifications and algorithmic trading.

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The update also removes some outdated items, including a crypto‑services approval fee now covered under EU MiCA rules, aligning costs more closely with firms’ size, business model, and turnover.

Clients Retain Rights Despite ICF Withdrawal

Today’s (Friday) move follows CySEC CySEC The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision Read this Term’s earlier decision to revoke the investment firm licences of both companies. HTFX’s licence withdrawal has already been reported by Finance Magnates, though no further details were provided on the reasons for the cancellations.

CySEC clarified that the loss of ICF membership “does not mean loss of rights of covered clients to receive compensation in relation to investment operations carried out until the loss of membership status” if conditions for compensation are met. The regulator added that the change “does not obstruct the initiation of the compensation procedure for covered clients.”

The ICF provides limited compensation to eligible clients if a regulated firm cannot return client funds or instruments. It does not cover trading losses, and compensation is capped per eligible client.

Cyprus CFD Brokers Face Regulatory Changes

With the withdrawal of membership, both firms are no longer part of the investor protection scheme for future business. Clients may still seek compensation for eligible past dealings under the fund’s rules.

The action comes amid wider regulatory changes in Cyprus, where several CFD and retail brokers have recently seen licence cancellations or have voluntarily left the market.