Fazzaco Weekly | M&A, Product Expansion and Regulatory Changes Shape the Trading Industry

Over the past week, developments across the FX, CFD and fintech industries centered on M&A and brand consolidation, trading product adjustments, regulatory changes and institutional market infrastructure. More details emerged on the value of FTMO’s acquisition of OANDA, while StoneX continued to consolidate its UK retail operations. CMC Markets and TradeQuo expanded trading access, and developments in European regulation and executive appointments also drew industry attention.

FTMO-OANDA Deal Value Disclosed as StoneX Continues Retail Consolidation

One of the week’s most notable industry developments came from FTMO and OANDA. According to FTMO’s annual filings, FTMO paid more than $422 million to acquire OANDA. The transaction was completed in December 2025, expanding FTMO beyond its prop trading business into regulated brokerage operations.

Another consolidation-related development came from StoneX. StoneX retired the City Index brand in the UK, with affected clients being moved to FOREX.com. At the same time, its retail FX and CFD revenue declined 19% year over year. The combination of brand consolidation and business performance made StoneX’s retail restructuring one of the broker developments to watch this week.

Brokers Continue to Expand Trading Hours and Product Offerings

On the product side, several brokers introduced changes focused on trading hours and service coverage. CMC Markets extended 24/5 US share trading to CMC Invest and added support for fractional orders, expanding access to US equities outside regular market hours.

Meanwhile, TradeQuo launched GOLD247, extending gold trading into the weekend. In addition, Deriv secured conditional approval for a Cayman Islands Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licence, adding another regulatory component to its digital-asset activities.

Although these developments involve different products and markets, they point to brokers continuing to adjust their service scope through trading hours, product coverage and licensing. For trading technology, liquidity and other B2B providers, such broker-level product changes remain worth following.

FOREX.com Japan to End MT4 Service as Platform Adjustments Continue

On the trading-platform front, FOREX.com Japan announced plans to discontinue MetaTrader 4 services by October 2026. OANDA Japan had previously announced its own MT4 discontinuation plans, including the suspension of new MT4 orders in September 2026.

The decisions by two brokers in Japan do not by themselves indicate a broader industry-wide platform migration. However, further developments in the Japanese market will be worth monitoring for companies involved in trading platforms, white-label solutions, bridges, plugins and migration services.

European Regulatory Debate Intensifies as CySEC Prepares for Leadership Change

On the regulatory front, George Karatzias is reportedly set to become Chairman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), succeeding current Chairman George Theocharides. CySEC remains a closely watched regulator for Europe’s retail FX and CFD sector, making the leadership change relevant to the industry.

At the same time, Germany’s BaFin criticized regulatory arbitrage within the EU and backed stronger European-level supervisory coordination. For financial firms operating across multiple EU jurisdictions, regulatory coordination and differences in supervisory approaches remain important issues to follow.

New Developments in Institutional Trading and Market Data Infrastructure

In institutional markets, CME Group’s FX futures and options open interest reached a record high. The figures provide another reference point for activity in exchange-traded FX derivatives.

In market data, Tradition partnered with Affin Moneybrokers on Malaysian market data. Compared with retail-facing product updates, developments of this kind are more directly tied to institutional infrastructure and financial market data, making them particularly relevant to Fazzaco’s B2B audience.

Brokers and Fintech Providers Make New Executive Appointments

Several brokers and industry solution providers also announced management changes this week. TIOmarkets appointed Andis Papageorgiou as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

Among fintech and industry service providers, Your Bourse appointed Konstantin Chernevskii as Head of Operations; Techysquad appointed Alexis Droussiotis as COO; and Thasleema Nasreen K joined CG FinTech as Senior Business Development Manager. The appointments span technology, operations and business development functions as companies continue to adjust and expand their management teams.

Weekly Takeaway

Overall, no single theme dominated the week, but several developments stood out. The disclosed value of FTMO’s OANDA acquisition kept industry consolidation in focus, while StoneX continued its retail brand integration. Brokers expanded trading access and product offerings, another MT4 discontinuation was announced in Japan, European supervisory coordination returned to the regulatory agenda, and institutional market infrastructure and executive moves remained active.

For professionals across the FX, CFD and fintech sectors, broker strategy, product changes, regulatory developments and market infrastructure will remain key areas to watch in the weeks ahead.

​Fazzaco Weekly · FX / CFD / Fintech B2B Industry Brief