Is IC Markets Legit and Safe?
In our assessment, IC Markets is a legitimate and secure broker. It holds licenses with two ‘Category A’ regulators, has been operational since 2007, processes $2+ trillion in trading volumes each month, withdrawals worked smoothly in our tests, and it has over 4.5/5 from tens of thousands of reviews on Trustpilot. Still, from a safety perspective, prospective clients should note that its offshore entities provide fewer safeguards and you must be wary of scammers impersonating IC.
Written ByChristian Harris
Christian is a seasoned analyst, leveraging his expertise in stocks, forex, and crypto to evaluate brokers worldwide. With hands-on trading experience and a strong focus on risk management, he helps traders find reliable platforms. Christian's work for BrokerListings.com has been cited in the Financial Times.
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Fact Checked ByTobias Robinson
Tobias is committed to helping traders find the right brokerage for their needs. He has tested 200+ brokers, spent 2,600+ hours using different platforms, and placed 2,100+ trades.
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Edited ByJames Barra
James is an experienced broker analyst with a background in financial services. He has spent 2,500+ hours testing brokers, used 35+ different platforms and apps, audited 120+ broker T&Cs, and verified 300+ regulatory licenses.
James Barra Profile PageJuly 28, 2026
The Case For Trusting IC Markets
- IC Markets has been continuously authorized by ASIC since 2009 and obtained a CySEC licence in 2018, ensuring oversight by two strict regulators. Scam trading brokers rarely obtain and maintain top-tier licenses for this long.
- Client deposits are held in segregated accounts at major banks, separate from company funds, reducing the chance of user capital being misused by IC.
- The broker’s monthly turnover exceeds $2 trillion, serving over 200,000 active clients, and it has maintained this scale without major scandals, barring some regulatory infractions explained below.
- Regulated entities offer specific protections. Clients under the Cyprus entity are covered by the Investor Compensation Fund, up to €20,000 in the event of firm insolvency, and receive negative balance protection. Australian and Bahamas accounts also include negative balance safeguards.
- The offshore Seychelles entity, while lacking a government compensation scheme, maintains a private Lloyd’s of London insurance policy covering up to $1,000,000 per client, which is uncommon among offshore brokerage entities.
- Two of our team have opened real money accounts at IC Markets, made deposits without issues, placed dozens of intraday and swing trades across forex, indices, and metals, and then withdrew profits without delays or problems.
- IC Markets is well-regarded by the wider trader community, with a very high Trustpilot rating approaching 5/5 out of more than 50,000 reviews – a catalog of ratings that would be difficult to fake at that scale. It also has reasonable average ratings of 4+/5 from thousands of reviews on the App Store and Google Play.
Is IC Markets Regulated?
One of the key reasons we deem IC Markets legitimate is its regulatory credentials, though the protection attached to them depends on which entity you join:
Make Full Width| Regulator | Entity | Regulator Category | License Verification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) | International Capital Markets Pty Ltd — Australian-licensed entity supervised by ASIC, with funds held at Australian banks | Category A | AFSL 335692 |
| Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | IC Markets (EU) Ltd — Cyprus investment firm serving eligible EEA clients, with ICF cover | Category A | CySEC licence 362/18 |
| Capital Markets Authority of Kenya (CMA) | IC Markets (KE) Limited — CMA-licensed entity serving Kenyan clients | Category B | CMA licence 199 |
| Financial Services Authority Seychelles (FSA) | Raw Trading Ltd — Seychelles Securities Dealer trading as IC Markets Global; the main entity for most non-EU and non-Australian clients | Category C | FSA licence SD018 |
| Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) | IC Markets Ltd — Bahamas-registered entity serving some international clients | Category C | SCB registration SIA-F214 |
Regulator classification is based on BrokerListings.com’s regulator scoring system.
What the categories mean:
- Category A (ASIC, CySEC): Mandatory client fund segregation. Negative balance protection for retail clients. Independent external audits. Formal complaint escalation routes. Compensation fund (CySEC — ICF up to €20,000). Leverage capped at 1:30 for major FX pairs.
- Category B (CMA Kenya): Mid-tier oversight. CMA enforces client money rules and conduct standards, but compensation funds and leverage restrictions are less stringent than Category A.
- Category C (FSA Seychelles, SCB Bahamas): Lighter-touch regulation. Higher leverage available (up to 1:5000 FSA, up to 1:500 SCB). No compensation fund. Limited dispute resolution options if something goes wrong.
IC differs from brokerages like Interactive Brokers that only maintain top-tier regulation globally. It holds strong Category A licences with ASIC and CySEC, but serves most international clients through Category C offshore licences in Seychelles and the Bahamas. This structure allows it to offer higher leverage up to 1:5000 for some instruments, significantly higher than the 1:30 retail cap in Europe and Australia. This increased leverage comes with reduced regulatory protection.
Clone Sites and Impersonation Warnings
IC Markets is one of the more impersonated brokers online. For example, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has flagged five fake domains that were copying IC Markets’ name, branding, and license numbers to fraudulently solicit deposits:
- icmarketpro.com
- icm-market.com
- i-cmarketz.com
- ic-forexmarket.com
- icmarketspartners.com
A scammer can copy IC’s license number into a footer, but they cannot make the real register show their fake domain. Always visit the regulator’s website directly, not through links on the broker’s site, and search by license number. If you use a VPN or are traveling abroad, ensure you have not been redirected to an unintended entity or website.
Regulatory Actions and Legal Proceedings
IC Markets, like many longstanding brokers, does not have a spotless record:
Make Full Width| Date | Action | Details And What It Means For Traders |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jul 2024 | CySEC — €200,000 fine for leverage circumvention | CySEC found IC Markets (EU) Ltd intentionally helped EU retail clients access 1:1000 leverage through the Seychelles entity, circumventing ESMA’s 1:30 cap. IC Markets denied the basis of the decision and is appealing. This is the most serious regulatory action against the broker to date. CySEC announcement. |
| 1 Jul 2024 | CySEC — €50,000 fine for best-execution failures | Separate action. CySEC found IC Markets (EU) Ltd failed to achieve best execution for clients by not adequately weighing price and order size factors. €30,000 of the fine related to execution standards, with the remainder relating to disclosure failures. IC Markets is appealing. CySEC announcement. |
| Feb–Aug 2024 | Australian class action — Bain & Anor v International Capital Markets Pty Ltd (VID1088/2023) | A consolidated class action filed in February 2024 and consolidated in August 2024 by Piper Alderman and Echo Law. It alleges misleading, deceptive and unconscionable conduct in the supply of CFDs to retail clients, with claims also against founder Andrew Budzinski. IC Markets has denied all allegations. The case remains active and unresolved. Piper Alderman announcement. |
| 1 Oct 2024 | FCA — unauthorised firm warning against IC Markets Global | The UK FCA classified IC Markets Global (the Seychelles entity, Raw Trading Ltd) as an unauthorised firm operating in the UK without FCA permission. UK consumers dealing with this entity have no access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or FSCS protection. The legitimate ASIC and CySEC entities are unaffected. FCA announcement. |
| 2019 | Ontario Securities Commission settlement | IC Markets settled with the OSC after offering CFDs to Ontario retail investors without provincial registration. Following the settlement, IC Markets restricted Canadian client onboarding. The settlement terms were not publicly disclosed in full. OSC announcement. |
The CySEC fines and class action are real disclosures – we’re not minimizing them. But regulatory fines for leverage rule violations and best-execution lapses differ in nature from those for fraud, theft, or fund misappropriation. The broker’s day-to-day operations continue normally under ASIC and CySEC oversight.
What To Weigh Before You Commit
IC Markets is a legitimate, long-established broker that has earned its safety credentials through pricing, execution, years of regulatory oversight by ASIC and CySEC, plus positive reviews from cost-focused and active traders. Still, several important factors should be reviewed before opening an account.
Most non-EU and non-Australian clients are registered with the offshore branches, notably the Seychelles entity, Raw Trading Ltd. This entity offers very high leverage, but provides the weakest statutory protections. Choosing this option means foregoing the government-backed safety nets available to Cyprus and Australian clients. While private insurance is available, it does not offer the same level of protection as a regulator-mandated compensation fund.
IC Markets is also privately owned and not publicly listed, so it provides less financial disclosure than publicly traded competitors such as IG or Swissquote. Clients rely on regulatory audits from ASIC and CySEC rather than the transparency required by public markets.
A few practical considerations still remain. IC Markets does not offer guaranteed stop-loss orders, which may be important for risk-averse traders. Bank wire withdrawals incur a fee of approximately $20. Withdrawals are only processed to accounts in your name and must use the original funding method until the initial deposit is cleared.
In the end, pin down which entity you’re joining, keep your leverage sensible, and IC Markets can be a secure place to trade.
Regulatory License Evidence
As well as the direct regulatory links provided above so you can check IC Markets’ licenses yourself, we’ve also taken screenshots of our checks on each of the respective regulator’s databases:
IC Markets ASIC (Australia) License – International Capital Markets Pty Ltd
IC Markets CySEC (Cyprus) License – IC Markets (EU) Ltd
IC Markets CMA (Kenya) License – IC Markets (KE) Limited
IC Markets FSA (Seychelles) License – Raw Trading Ltd
IC Markets SCB License (IC Markets Ltd)