EightCap
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| Founded | 2015 |
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| Headquarters | , |
| Website | www |
EightCap is a privately held Australian financial technology company that provides online trading across over 1,000 financial instruments. Founded in 2015 by Joel Murphy, a former executive at Pepperstone. It is headquartered in Melbourne and operates internationally under multiple regulatory licenses. EightCap has faced criticism for its use of offshore entities and high-leverage trading practices, which some have viewed as circumventing regulatory restrictions.
History
[edit]EightCap states on its website that it was founded in Melbourne in 2009.[1] However, many media outlets cite 2015 as the company's actual founding year.[2][3] Joel Murphy, widely cited as EightCap's founder, worked at competitor broker Pepperstone until 2014, when he was dismissed after reporting an insider trading case to regulators.[4][3]
The company is led by Australian businessmen Joel Murphy (former CEO, now Non-Executive Chairman) and Joseph Jeffriess (Lead Analyst).[5][6][7]
In 2016, EightCap partnered with the payment service provider Paysafe, expanding the range of available client payment methods.[8]
EightCap partnered with Scuderia Ferrari for the 2019 and 2020 Formula One seasons.[9]
In 2021, the company added over 250 cryptocurrency CFDs to its offering.[10]
That same year, EightCap attracted attention for hiring Chris Hill as a risk analyst. Hill had previously been convicted in one of Australia's largest insider trading cases. Although Hill made only $20,000 from the trades, his associate Lucas Kamai reportedly gained $7.8 million in 2014. Murphy himself, who reported the insider trading case to the regulator while at Pepperstone, was subsequently dismissed from the firm. In later interviews, Murphy expressed sympathy for Hill and said he wanted to help him rebuild his life.[4][3]
In 2023, Alex Howard replaced Murphy as CEO. Murphy stayed on as Non-Executive Chairman.[11]
In March 2025, EightCap announced a partnership with WonderFi's cryptocurrency brands Bitbuy and Coinsquare, under which EightCap would serve as the trading technology and liquidity provider.[12]
Business and regulation
[edit]EightCap provides online trading in a wide range of financial instruments, including forex, stocks, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. Clients can trade via the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platforms,[10] as well as through Embedded, the company's proprietary platform for Trading-as-a-Service (TaaS).[2]
The company holds regulatory licenses in several jurisdictions through its various subsidiaries: the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA),[13] the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), FSA Seychelles,[5] and the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB).[14]
In 2022, FinTelegram reported that EightCap's CySEC-regulated EU entity and its Bahamas-licensed affiliate were closely linked, alleging that the company redirected European clients to its offshore platform via eightcap.com to offer trading conditions exceeding what is allowed under EU regulations for retail clients. The report also noted that Eightcap EU Ltd had previously operated under the name RCapital Solutions Ltd, associated with the now-defunct broker MXTrade. EightCap did not publicly comment on the allegations. While operating offshore subsidiaries is common among CFD brokers, the practice has been criticized as a form of regulatory arbitrage.[15]
Controversy
[edit]Regulatory warning in Malaysia
[edit]EightCap is included on the Investor Alert List published by the Securities Commission Malaysia. The regulator warns that the company "carries on unlicensed capital market activities of dealing in securities".[16]
Termination of services for prop-trading firms
[edit]In February 2024, EightCap announced the suspension of brokerage services for all proprietary trading firms, effective 28 February 2024.[5] While the company described the decision as part of a routine business adjustment, it prompted criticism from industry participants. The sudden move led to the closure of several firms, including the retail-focused Funded For Traders.[17][18] Other affected firms included Funding Pips, Funded Engineer, True Forex Funds, and MPFunds, all of which were forced to cease operations as a result of EightCap's actions.[19][20]
Breaches of leverage restrictions
[edit]In October 2020, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) introduced leverage limits and other measures to improve protections for retail investors trading in contracts for difference (CFDs).[21] Despite these regulations, EightCap was found to have breached the limits on multiple occasions by offering excessive leverage and misclassifying retail clients as wholesale. In 2023, amid growing regulatory pressure, the company self-reported the breaches to ASIC and agreed to provide compensation to affected clients.[22]
References
[edit]- ^ Nikolova, Maria (2022-05-11). "TradingView adds Eightcap to list of integrated partners". FX News Group. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ a b Sikder, Tareq (2025-03-05). "Eightcap Delivers CFDs and Liquidity to WonderFi's Bitbuy and Coinsquare". Finance Magnates. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ a b c Grigg, Angus (2021-02-22). "How Facebook helped crack Australia's biggest insider trading scam". Financial Review. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ a b Grigg, Angus (2021-04-12). "'I probably felt a tinge of guilt': Insider trader given second chance". Financial Review. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ a b c Segal, Gerald (2024-02-15). "Exclusive: Eightcap cutting brokerage service to all prop trading firms". Forex News Group. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ "Global derivatives broker, Eightcap, announces new CEO". Coin Telegraph. 2023-02-03. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ Segal, Gerald (2024-08-13). "Exclusive: Eightcap names Rositsa Radovanova as General Manager Europe". Forex News Group. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ Kirui, Jared (2024-08-13). "Eightcap Promotes Rositsa Radovanova to General Manager for Europe". Finance Magnates. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ Valentina, Kirillova (2019-02-21). "Forex sports sponsorship: Australia Forex and CFD broker EightCap sponsors Scuderia Ferrari for the F1 seasons". Leaprate.com. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ a b Shome, Arnab (2021-09-08). "Eightcap Expands Offering with over 250 Crypto CFDs". Finance Magnates. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ Shome, Arnab (2023-01-31). "Eightcap Replaces Joel Murphy with Alex Howard as CEO". Finance Magnates. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ Segal, Gerald (2025-03-05). "WonderFi crypto brands Bitbuy and Coinsquare to offer CFD trading via agreement with Eightcap". Forex News Group. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ "Eightcap Group Ltd". Financial Conduct Authority. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ "Award-Winning Broker Eightcap Introduces TradingView to Clients". Finance Magnates. 2022-05-19. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ "Attention! The offshore activities of CySEC-regulated Eightcap!". FinTelegram News. 2022-07-11. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ "Alert List". Securities Commission Malaysia. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ Segal, Gerald (2024-08-15). "Exclusive: Funds for Traders shuts after Eightcap cuts MT4/MT5 for prop firms". Forex News Group. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ Kirui, Jared (2024-02-15). "Breaking: Eightcap Terminates Services for Prop Trading Firms". Finance Magnates. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ Segal, Gerald (2024-02-16). "Eightcap says "business as usual", remains excited for the future of prop industry". Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ Segal, Gerald (2024-09-10). "MPFunds prop trading firm Singapore closes". Forex News Group. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ Segal, Gerald (2020-10-23). "ASIC matches EU regulators with 30x CFD leverage cap". Forex News Group. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ Nikolova, Maria (2023-11-09). "ASIC oversees more than $17.4M in compensation to retail investors by CFD brokers, crypto firm". Forex News Group. Retrieved 2025-05-05.