European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced the official ban of Binary Options to retail investors, while imposing leverage restrictions on the sale of Contract for Differences (CFD), which includes :

• a margin close out rule on a per account basis
• negative balance protection
• a restriction on incentives
• a full disclosure of the risks entailed
• a disclosure of the percentage of losses

The ban is announced in a context which shows more and more concern for investors protection and lack of transparency from unscrupulous financial spread betting firms, as a recent survey confirmed through the publication of alarming results showcasing up to 89 per cent of retail accounts in EU being concerned by average losses ranging from €1,600 to €29,000.

While European spread betting firms raised the concern of local retail clients now turning to overseas traders, the boom of crypto-currencies seems to predict a revenue growth nonetheless. In terms of crypto-currency regulations the U.K. Treasury and the EU have been taking action to end anonymity for crypto-currency traders since December 4, 2017. The U.K. Treasury stated to be “working to address concerns about the use of crypto-currencies by negotiating to bring virtual currency exchange platforms and some wallet providers within anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulation.” While to this day EU and the U.K. have not mentioned any final regulations on crypto-currency trading, some future announcements on the topic are not excluded.