CPT Markets Review – 5 things you should know about bz.cptinternational.com

Beware! CPT Markets is an offshore broker! Your investment may be at risk.

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Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Open trading accounts with at least two brokers.

CPT Markets is a multi-regulated brokerage and at the same time, one of the shadiest we have encountered. The group has an entity licensed in the UK by FCA, but today’s review will cover the Belize brokerage, which is really dodgy, and we definitely do not recommend it to anyone. Long story short, CPT Markets is misleading, as it tries to convince clients that they are dealing with FCA regulated company, while in reality, they will sign a contract and trade with the Belize brokerage. The account opening is totally unacceptable, as CPT Markets requires KYC verification for Demo accounts. And last but not least, the leverage offered by the broker is extremely risky. Having said that, let’s get into detail.

CPT Markets Regulation and safety of funds

CPT Markets is licensed in the UK, but also in Belize and other countries. The Belize entity has its own website, bz.cptinternational.com, and its own trading conditions, as well. We checked it diligently and can confirm that the brokerage is indeed regulated in the Central American country. But that’s basically the only positive thing we can outline. The Belize FSC is not a top-tier regulator, so customers will lack adequate customer protection – it’s not mandatory for Belize brokers to provide negative balance protection or segregated accounts. Also, FSC does not maintain deposit insurance funds, meaning that if things go wrong, clients will receive no form of compensation; all their deposits will be lost! To compare, if you trade with CySEC regulated broker, you can claim up to €20 000, while FCA brokers’ guaranteed funds are up to £85 000 per person.

So, with those things out of the way, we consider CPT Markets (Belize) a risky brokerage you’d better avoid, as it’s definitely not the safest option out there.

The best thing to do is to stick with brokers regulated in your own country and avoid offshore brokers, licensed or not. If you are British, you’d better go for a broker licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). For EU citizens, you’ll find the majority of brokers to be regulated by CySEC in Cyprus; for Australians, you’d better look for ASIC brokers; in the US, it’s best to go for CFTC/NFA brokers. And if you live somewhere else, where, for example, the local Forex regulations are not mandatory, it’s still recommended to trade with brokers licensed by respectable authorities, as they are the safest options available.

Back to CPT Markets, here you can see proof that it’s licensed in Belize:

CPT Markets Trading software

CPT Markets (Belize) offers the industry leader MetaTrader 4, and it pledges that cTrader will be available soon. MT4 is one of the best options, but that certainly does not make CPT Markets a broker we can recommend. Even more so, to gain access to the platform, we had to register and go through KYC, even for a demo account. That’s totally unacceptable, as most brokers let clients test the trading software for free, with no obligation to submit personal documents. And for things to go worse, at the end of the process, we had a real account instead of a demo. What a fishy broker!

But speaking of MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, we should note that both are considered the best platforms for retail Forex trading. MT5 is the newest and is considered the better, but even if you trade with MT4, you’ll still have access to automated trading, custom indicators and plenty of analytical tools. Just give it a try with a better brokerage!

Back to CPT Markets, you can see the real account on the MT4 distribution:

CPT Markets Trading instruments

CPT Markets offers the standard selection of asset classes, such as Forex, Crypto, Commodities, Stocks and so on. However, the number of trading instruments in each asset class is undisclosed, which is a downside, as it’s always a pleasure to know what you can choose from. In this instance, CPT Markets shows a lack of transparency by refusing to provide a thorough product specification.

CPT Markets Spreads and cost of trading

CPT Markets claims to offer a minimum spread of 0.7 pips, but we can’t verify that. Indeed, the real account we registered showed that the minimum spread is 1.8 pips for EUR/USD. Basically, a standard difference, and it could potentially get lower if you deposit more money with CPT Markets, but we wouldn’t count on that. As already shown, CPT Markets is too dodgy to trust it!

CPT Markets Maximum leverage

CPT Markets (Belize) offers a lot of leverage, reaching the extreme 1000:1. However, the minimum ratio possible is 50:1, which is also considerably dangerous, and actually banned in Europe and Australia for being too high. So, CPT Markets’ trading service is very risky and practically illegal in many countries around the world. Think twice before depositing – there are way too many brokers on the markets, most of which are simply better than CPT Markets!

But before we continue, you should also know that CPT Markets does not provide enough information about their leverage – the particular ratios for cryptos, stocks and so on, are not revealed, which is definitely a downside. Good brokers will provide complete product specifications, and won’t hide anything from their customers!

CPT Markets Deposit and withdrawal methods

CPT Markets does not specify the particular deposit/withdrawal methods either, further cementing itself as a broker that’s reluctant to share information about the trading service. However, licensed brokers (be it in an offshore jurisdiction or elsewhere) usually provide a variety of options, so the methods in the table above should be available.

CPT Markets Minimum deposit

CPT Markets claims that the minimum deposit is zero dollars, but as it’s not possible to fund your account with $0, we consider that the minimum is $1. A favourable condition, but it doesn’t make CPT Markets (Belize) less fishy!

CPT Markets Withdrawal requirements

The minimum withdrawal is $100 – not too bad, generally, but keep in mind that most brokers impose no withdrawal restrictions whatsoever. As for fees, there is a withdrawal charge of $25, and that’s due to the fact that the transaction will be international – costly by default. Yet another downside!