Weekly Summary: Prop Firms Sneak Into India Through “Education”; CySEC’s New CFD Limits Downplayed by Brokers

Group 1: Prop Firms in India - Prop firms in India are utilizing "education" branding to attract clients while avoiding banned terms like forex and CFDs [1][2] - Approximately 40% of organic website traffic for the top 50 prop firms comes from India, with significant increases in local interest for "prop firm" and "prop trading" since 2023 [2] Group 2: Regulatory Changes in Europe - The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has imposed tighter leverage limits for CFDs, capping it at 10:1 for non-major commodity and index CFDs [3] - Brokers in Europe are adjusting their offerings and compliance setups in response to these new regulations [3] Group 3: Capital.com Performance - Capital.com reported that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region accounted for 52% of its trading volume in H1 2025, with UAE traders contributing nearly three-quarters of MENA's total [5] - The broker processed $804.1 billion in trading volume across the region, marking a 53.3% increase from the previous six months [5] Group 4: ATC Brokers Financial Results - ATC Brokers experienced a 125% increase in revenue to £12.7 million for the year ending April 30, 2025, with operating profit doubling to £1.87 million [6] - Commissions and brokerage income rose significantly, contributing £7.84 million and £4.8 million respectively, reflecting increases of 151% and 100% from the previous year [6] Group 5: Revolut's Market Position in Poland - Revolut has surpassed 34 traditional Polish brokerage firms to become the second-largest player in Poland's retail trading market, although it still trails behind XTB [7] - XTB held nearly 615,000 Polish market accounts, while Revolut reported 590,000 investment accounts as of the end of August [7] Group 6: Capital Index UK Financial Performance - Capital Index (UK) Limited narrowed its annual losses for 2024 to £18,000, a significant improvement from the previous year's larger deficit [9] - The company reported a pre-tax profit of £23,678 for the year ended December 31, 2024, a turnaround from a pre-tax loss of £207,006 in 2023 [9] Group 7: Crypto Derivatives Market - Derivatives trading has become the leading driver in crypto markets, with volumes now surpassing spot markets [10] - A webinar hosted by Shift Markets will focus on the rise of crypto derivatives and their impact on digital asset trading [10] Group 8: Kraken's Acquisition - Kraken has acquired Breakout, a crypto-native proprietary trading firm, marking the first integration of a prop trading arm into a major exchange [11] Group 9: Retail Investor Sentiment - Retail investors in the US are showing renewed optimism, with 38% believing the US offers the strongest long-term return potential according to eToro's latest survey [13] Group 10: CFTC Considerations - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is considering allowing trading platforms licensed under Europe's MiCA framework to operate in the US markets [14] Group 11: FCA Charges - The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has charged three UK-based finfluencers for promoting high-risk CFDs without proper authorization [15][16] Group 12: Robinhood's New Platform - Robinhood announced plans for a new social trading platform that allows users to share live positions and trading performance, aiming to compete with Reddit's WallStreetBets community [17][18] Group 13: Nasdaq's Proposal - Nasdaq has filed a proposal with the SEC to introduce tokenized securities, aiming to combine digital assets with the established infrastructure of US equity markets [19] Group 14: Oracle's Stock Surge - Oracle's ambitious cloud revenue forecast has led to a significant increase in its stock price, impacting founder Larry Ellison's net worth [20] Group 15: Tesla's Pay Package for Elon Musk - Tesla has proposed a pay package for Elon Musk that could be worth nearly $1 trillion over the next decade, potentially making him the first trillionaire [21]