Cyprus · Tier-1 (EU passporting)

CySEC: tier-1 by passport, lighter in practice.

Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission · est. 2001
Tier 1Public register

CySEC is technically tier-1 — its licenses passport across the EU under MiFID II. In practice, oversight is lighter than FCA or ASIC, and Cyprus is where most SEA-facing brokers headquarter their EU entity. Many warnings, fewer revocations.

Brokers regulated
41
Tier
Tier 1
Country
Cyprus
Filings tracked
6
Reality check

What the CySEC badge actually means.

Key protections
  • ICF investor compensation up to €20,000
  • EU passporting under MiFID II
  • Negative balance protection mandatory
Known limitations
  • Lighter enforcement than FCA / ASIC
  • ICF compensation cap is low compared to UK's £85K
  • SEA clients usually onboarded via the broker's offshore arm, not the CySEC entity
Active licenses

8 of our brokers hold CySEC licenses.

All brokers
1
ExnessFeatured
EUR/USD 0.2 typ. · $10 min · 1:2000
93
FCACySEC
2
Pepperstone
EUR/USD 1.0 typ. · $0 min · 1:500
90
FCAASIC
3
IC MarketsFeatured
EUR/USD 1.1 typ. · $200 min · 1:500
88
ASICCySEC
4
HFM
EUR/USD 0.3 typ. · $0 min · 1:1000
85
FCACySEC
5
FXTM
EUR/USD 0.4 typ. · $10 min · 1:1000
82
FCACySEC
6
OctaFXFeatured
EUR/USD 0.8 typ. · $25 min · 1:500
82
CySECFSCA
7
XM Group
EUR/USD 0.8 typ. · $5 min · 1:1000
82
CySECASIC
8
FBS
EUR/USD 0.5 typ. · $1 min · 1:3000
74
CySECIFSC
Related

Cross-references for CySEC

Other regulators we cover
FCAASICMASBNMBSP
Recent activity

CySEC actions, across our brokers.

  1. 2025-11-22OctaFXwarning

    Marketing-material warning issued over leverage claims.

  2. 2025-10-11FBSwarning

    Risk-warning prominence flagged for review.

  3. 2025-04-22XM Grouprenewal

    License renewed without conditions.

  4. 2024-11-02Exnessfine

    €60,000 settlement over marketing-material disclosure standards.

  5. 2024-07-08OctaFXrenewal

    License renewed.

  6. 2024-04-30IC Marketsupdate

    Annual compliance certification filed.