Skip to content
Institutional Ledger

National Supervisory Authority & Licensing Qualification Dossier • European Economic Area & Switzerland

CYSEC

Cyprus

Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission

Source / Native Reference: 塞浦路斯证券和交易委员会

Tier-2 SupervisorCyprusEst. 2001Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) for Clients of CIFs
Supervisory tier
Tier-2
License classes
3
Licensed records
171
Active / regulated
153

Statutory Supervisory Mandate & Scope

Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (SPK / CMB) (CMB) is the Tier-2 statutory financial markets and securities supervisory authority in Türkiye. It grants and supervises financial services licences across broker-dealers, investment advisers, asset managers, and market operators, enforcing initial and ongoing prudential capital requirements, segregated client asset rules, market conduct standards, and public register disclosures.

Supervises Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs), Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs), UCITS Management Companies, Administrative Service Providers, and Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) under EU directives.

Prudential Tier Assessment

Tier-2

EU/EEA MiFID II and MiCA national competent authority supervising the largest concentration of cross-border European retail FX/CFD investment firms (CIFs).

Sovereign Jurisdiction: Cyprus (European Economic Area & Switzerland)

National licensing qualifications & statutory authorisation classes (CYSEC)

Authorisation categories, permitted institutional and retail activities, minimum initial capital adequacy, and ongoing prudential solvency rules enforced by CYSEC in Cyprus.

License class / codeOfficial designationPermitted institutional & retail activitiesMinimum initial / base capitalOngoing prudential & solvency rule
CIF — Full Scope / Market Maker (IFR €750k)Cyprus Investment Firm — Dealing on Own Account & UnderwritingActing as principal / market maker in CFDs, rolling spot FX, transferable securities, and derivatives across the EEA.EUR €750,000 Permanent Minimum Capital Requirement (PMR) under EU IFR Article 14(1).Higher of €750k PMR, 25% Fixed Overheads Requirement, or K-Factor Requirement; ESMA/CySEC 30:1 retail leverage limits.
CIF — STP / Agency & Portfolio Manager (IFR €150k)Cyprus Investment Firm — Holding Client Money / Assets (Non-Dealing)Reception and transmission of orders, execution of orders on behalf of clients (STP), and portfolio management with client asset custody.EUR €150,000 Permanent Minimum Capital Requirement (PMR).Quarterly Form 165-01 / 165-02 IFR prudential filings, ICAAP/ICARA review, and annual external client asset audit.
CIF — Advisory / Non-Custodial (IFR €75k)Cyprus Investment Firm — Non-Custodial Order Transmission & AdvisoryInvestment advice and reception/transmission of orders without permission to hold client money or financial instruments.EUR €75,000 Permanent Minimum Capital Requirement (PMR).Simplified SNI prudential regime, MiFID II suitability assessments, and annual CySEC risk-based supervision levy.

Investor compensation, client money segregation & digital-asset regime

Statutory counterparty protections, custody reconciliation mandates, and virtual-asset licensing status under CYSEC.

Investor CompensationStatutory Scheme

Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) for Clients of CIFs

Maximum coverage per client
EUR €20,000 per retail client (or 90% of the cumulative covered claim, whichever is lower)
Eligible counterparties & scope
Retail clients of CySEC-authorised CIFs (Professional Clients and Eligible Counterparties under MiFID II Annex II are excluded).
Client Money & CustodyRing-Fenced

CySEC Directive DI87-01 & Law 87(I)/2017 Section 17(8)-(10)

Reconciliation & audit cadence
Daily internal reconciliation of client money trust accounts; strict prohibition on Title Transfer Collateral Arrangements (TTCAs) with retail clients.
Approved custodian requirements
Client funds must be held in segregated accounts at EEA central banks or CRD credit institutions; mandatory Negative Balance Protection and 50% margin close-out per account.
Digital Assets & VASPTransitioned from the CySEC National CASP Register to full EU-wide MiCA CASP licensing with EEA passporting.

EU MiCA Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) Authorisation

Travel Rule, custody & stablecoin rules
Full EU Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR) Travel Rule enforcement and DORA ICT operational resilience standards.

Primary Governing Statutes & Rulebooks

  • Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017 (Law 87(I)/2017 — transposing EU MiFID II)
  • Prudential Supervision of Investment Firms Law of 2021 (Law 165(I)/2021 — EU IFR/IFD)
  • EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA — Regulation (EU) 2023/1114)
  • CySEC Directive DI87-01 (Safeguarding of Client Assets) & Directive DI87-09 (CFD Product Intervention)

Regulatory Reporting & Audit Obligations

Quarterly IFR Prudential Supervision returns, COREP/FINREP filings, and annual Pillar 3 Risk DisclosuresMiFIR T+1 transaction reporting, EMIR daily derivatives reporting, and RTS 27/28 execution quality disclosuresAnnual AML/CFT Compliance Officer Report and Internal Audit Report submitted directly to the CySEC Board

Cross-Border Equivalence & Passporting

Full EU/EEA MiFID II and MiCA passporting across all 30 EEA jurisdictions via cross-border notification (Art. 34 MiFID II) or tied-agent/branch establishment (Art. 35 MiFID II).

Supervised institutions & CYSEC licence records in our database

171 licence records referencing CYSEC (153 regulated/registered, 15 flagged with warnings/revocations).

Filter directory by CYSEC →
InstitutionLicence numberStatusLicensed legal entityEffective dateVerification
Swissquote422/22RegulatedSwissquote Capital Markets Limited21/11/2022
bybitNumber pending checkRegisteredBybit Fintech Limited2023
Pepperstone388/20RegulatedPepperstone EU Limited2020-08-03
Plus500250/14RegulatedPlus500CY Ltd2014-10-10
Windsor Brokers030/04RegulatedWindsor Brokers Ltd2004-05-20
FXGlobe205/13RegulatedFXGlobe Ltd2013-06-20
FxPro078/07Regulated078/072007-03-05
GLOBAL370/18RegulatedB2B Prime Services EU Ltd2021
Amana Capital155/11RegulatedAmana Capital Ltd2011-10-21
AXICORP433/23RegulatedSolaris EMEA Limited2023-07-10
Exness178/12RegulatedExness (Cy) Ltd2012-09-05
Viverno199/13RegulatedViverno Markets Ltd2013-05-31
XM120/10RegulatedTrading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd2010-08-05
GVD Markets411/22RegulatedGVD Korimcy Ltd2022-02-07
HFM183/12RegulatedHF Markets (Europe) Ltd2012-11-20
HYCM259/14RegulatedHYCM (Europe) Ltd2014-11-26
Squared Financial329/17RegulatedSquared Financial (CY) Ltd2017-06-23
WisunoFX450/24RegulatedWSN Capital Ltd2024-12-23
BHC442/24RegulatedBrickhill Capital (CY) Ltd2024-01-22
M4Markets301/16RegulatedHarindale Ltd2016-04-27
Scope Markets339/17RegulatedSM Capital Markets Ltd2017-11-02
easyMarkets079/07RegulatedEasy Forex Trading Ltd29/05/2007
Equiti415/22RegulatedEquiti Global Markets Ltd2022-09-12
MultiBank430/23RegulatedMEX Europe Ltd2023-05-22
RoboForex191/13RegulatedRobomarkets Ltd2013-01-30
Tickmill278/15RegulatedTickmill Europe Ltd2015-08-05
Alvexo236/14RegulatedVPR Safe Financial Group Ltd03/06/2014
CFI International Ltd179/12RegulatedCredit Financier Invest (CFI) Ltd2012-09-25
FBS331/17RegulatedTradestone Limited2017-08-07
FXGT.com382/20RegulatedGT Investment Services Ltd2020-01-27
FXORO126/10RegulatedMCA Intelifunds Ltd2010-12-21
FXTM185/12RegulatedForextime Ltd2012-12-13
GO MARKETS322/17RegulatedGo Markets Ltd2017-04-25
Interstellar Group166/12RegulatedThe First Interstellar Capital2012-03-21
The166/12RegulatedThe First Interstellar Capital Limited2012-03-21
Tradu392/20RegulatedStratos Europe Ltd2020-11-23
Axia Investments217/13Suspected cloneOBR Investments Ltd2013-10-07
doto399/21RegulatedDOTO EUROPE LTD2021-04-12
Errante383/20RegulatedNotely Trading Ltd2020-02-03
FONDEX138/11Suspected cloneTopfx Ltd2011-04-19
Oqtima406/21RegulatedNordskov Capital Ltd2021-11-02
Orbex Limited124/10No licenceOrbex Limited2010-10-21
Pipbull Ltd411/22RegulatedGVD Korimcy Ltd2022-02-07
Purple Trading271/15RegulatedL.F. Investment Limited2015-04-06
Skilling357/18RegulatedSkilling Limited2018-05-07
Tradeo282/15Suspected clone50CoinsCY Ltd (ex UR Trade Fix Ltd)2015-09-28
Royal312/16RegulatedRoyal2016-08-10
Capex292/16RegulatedKey Way Investments Ltd2016-01-21
Conotoxia336/17RegulatedConotoxia Ltd2017-09-11
FP Markets371/18RegulatedFirst Prudential Markets Ltd2018-11-19
FXOpen194/13RegulatedFXOpen EU Ltd2013-04-17
HTFX332/17RegulatedHTFX (EU) Ltd (EX CDG Global (EU) Ltd)2017-08-07
LMAX Group310/16RegulatedLMAX Broker Europe Ltd2016-08-08
MARKETS.COM092/08RegulatedSafecap Investments Ltd2008-07-28
TRADE.COM227/14RegulatedTrade Capital Markets (TCM) Ltd2014-02-17
XTB169/12RegulatedXTB Ltd2012-04-18
AMP Global360/18RevokedAMP Global LTD2018-06-04
GMI226/14RegulatedMount Nico Corp Ltd2014-02-07
LegacyFX344/17RegulatedA.N. Allnew Investments Ltd2017-11-27
LIRUNEX338/17RegulatedLirunex Ltd2017-09-25
MiTRADE438/23RegulatedMiTrade EU Limited2023-10-09
3angleFX384/20RegulatedTriangleview Investments Ltd2020-02-17
4xhub437/23Regulated4XHUB EU Limited2023-09-18
Arum Capital323/17RegulatedArumpro Capital Ltd2017-04-25
direktbroker-FX160/11RevokedLeverate Financial Services Ltd2011-12-27
eurotrader279/15RegulatedEurotrade Investments RGB Ltd2015-09-07
EZINVEST203/13RegulatedWGM Services Ltd2013-06-14
Finame334/17RegulatedEight Plus Capital Ltd2017-08-10
FOREX TB272/15RegulatedForex TB Ltd2015-04-07
FXCC121/10RegulatedFX Central Clearing Ltd2010-09-03
FXGROW214/13RegulatedGrowell Capital Ltd2013-09-17
Fxview367/18RegulatedCharlgate Ltd2018-07-30
GWG291/16RegulatedGWG (Cyprus) Limited2016-01-20
IGM Fore309/16RegulatedIGM Forex Ltd2016-08-16
IGM Forex309/16RegulatedIGM Forex Ltd2016-08-16
IQ Option247/14RegulatedIQOption Europe Ltd2014-07-30
M4Markets258/14RevokedMAXIFLEX LTD2014-11-10
PatronFX272/15RegulatedForex TB Ltd2015-04-07
Prodigit200/13RegulatedProdigit Investments Ltd2013-06-12
SM CAPITAL MARKETS339/17RegulatedSM Capital Markets Ltd2017-11-02

CYSEC (Cyprus): institutional licensing & due diligence FAQ

Key statutory capital, compensation, custody segregation, and verification answers for compliance teams.

What are the primary licensing classes and minimum capital requirements under CYSEC (Cyprus)?

CYSEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) supervises financial institutions in Cyprus under Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017 (Law 87(I)/2017 — transposing EU MiFID II) and Prudential Supervision of Investment Firms Law of 2021 (Law 165(I)/2021 — EU IFR/IFD). Key statutory authorisation classes include: CIF — Full Scope / Market Maker (IFR €750k) (Cyprus Investment Firm — Dealing on Own Account & Underwriting — min. capital: EUR €750,000 Permanent Minimum Capital Requirement (PMR) under EU IFR Article 14(1).); CIF — STP / Agency & Portfolio Manager (IFR €150k) (Cyprus Investment Firm — Holding Client Money / Assets (Non-Dealing) — min. capital: EUR €150,000 Permanent Minimum Capital Requirement (PMR).); CIF — Advisory / Non-Custodial (IFR €75k) (Cyprus Investment Firm — Non-Custodial Order Transmission & Advisory — min. capital: EUR €75,000 Permanent Minimum Capital Requirement (PMR).). Ongoing prudential supervision requires strict adherence to capital adequacy and liquidity buffers.

Does CYSEC provide statutory investor compensation and mandatory client asset segregation?

Under CYSEC's framework, investor protection is governed by Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) for Clients of CIFs with maximum coverage of EUR €20,000 per retail client (or 90% of the cumulative covered claim, whichever is lower) (Retail clients of CySEC-authorised CIFs (Professional Clients and Eligible Counterparties under MiFID II Annex II are excluded).). For client money and custody assets, supervised firms must comply with CySEC Directive DI87-01 & Law 87(I)/2017 Section 17(8)-(10), performing daily internal reconciliation of client money trust accounts; strict prohibition on title transfer collateral arrangements (ttcas) with retail clients. with client funds must be held in segregated accounts at eea central banks or crd credit institutions; mandatory negative balance protection and 50% margin close-out per account..

How does CYSEC regulate digital assets, crypto exchanges (VASPs/CASPs), and stablecoins?

CYSEC's digital-asset regime is structured around EU MiCA Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) Authorisation (Transitioned from the CySEC National CASP Register to full EU-wide MiCA CASP licensing with EEA passporting.). Custody and AML/CFT compliance obligations require: Full EU Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR) Travel Rule enforcement and DORA ICT operational resilience standards.

How can I verify an institution's CYSEC licence number and check our 171 recorded licence entries?

Our database currently tracks 171 licence records referencing CYSEC (153 marked regulated or registered). To verify a counterparty at the primary source, open CYSEC's official public register (https://www.cysec.gov.cy/), search by the exact reference number and legal entity name, and confirm that the firm's domain and permitted activities match its statutory authorisation.

Research and compliance analysis from Institutional Ledger relevant to CYSEC and Cyprus.

All briefings →

Statutory licensing classes, base capital rules, and investor protection summaries for CYSEC (Cyprus) are maintained for institutional benchmarking and do not constitute legal advice. Always verify current rulebooks and active firm authorisations directly on CYSEC’s official public register.

CYSEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) — Licensing Qualifications, Capital Rules & Supervised Firms | Institutional Ledger