Key Insights
- SquaredFinancial has begun a voluntary renunciation of its Cyprus Investment Firm licence, ending new client onboarding and winding down EU retail operations.
- The Cyprus exit follows a €35,000 CySEC fine over CFD marketing breaches and forms part of a broader internal restructuring.
- The broker will continue operating offshore through its Seychelles-regulated entity under an FSA licence.
NICOSIA – Cyprus-based retail foreign exchange and contracts-for-difference broker SquaredFinancial has begun withdrawing from the European retail market, announcing that it has formally initiated a strategic and voluntary renunciation of its Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) licence.
In a notice posted on its website, SquaredFinancial said the move marks the start of a “strategic transition” and confirmed that Squared Financial (CY) Ltd has begun the process of giving up its CySEC-issued licence, Authorization No. 329/17. As part of the transition, the company has stopped onboarding new clients under the Cyprus licence.
Squared Financial (CY) Ltd has been regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission since June 2017 and has historically served European retail clients from Cyprus. The group also operates an offshore entity, Squared Financial (Seychelles) Ltd, under the website sqfin.com.
SquaredFinancial starts Cyprus wind-down in strategic shift
In a more detailed communication to existing and prospective clients, Squared Financial (CY) Ltd said the licence renunciation is being carried out on a voluntary basis and under the supervision of CySEC, as part of a broader internal restructuring across its international group.
The company said it has initiated a “structured and orderly wind-down” of existing client relationships. According to the notice, all affected clients will be contacted directly and provided with instructions on how to close open positions and receive any remaining funds. Clients have also been asked to ensure their contact details are up to date to facilitate communication during the process.
SquaredFinancial said it will retain client data for as long as required under regulatory and tax obligations, after which the information will be safely deleted. Clients will continue to be able to exercise their rights under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation by contacting the firm’s data protection officer.
The broker said its team remains committed to ensuring a smooth and transparent transition for clients and partners during the wind-down.
The announcement follows regulatory action last month, when CySEC fined SquaredFinancial €35,000 over breaches related to the marketing of CFDs to retail clients.
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Although the renunciation process has been initiated, SquaredFinancial’s current licence status has not yet been updated on CySEC’s public registry.
Despite exiting the Cyprus framework, the SquaredFinancial brand will continue operating offshore. Its Seychelles entity, SQ Sey Ltd, remains authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles under licence number SD024.
SquaredFinancial’s decision adds to a broader trend among CFD brokers reducing or ending their retail operations under Cyprus regulation. Other brands have previously scaled back or exited the Cypriot retail market, shifting focus to offshore jurisdictions, with some firms retaining their Cyprus licences while others have fully handed them back.