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CFTC Assuming Babysitter Role

Regulating US forex brokers is one thing. But preventing traders from opening offshore accounts is already another thing.  This is already significant “baby-sitting” and over “protection” opinion. Some brokers are already bringing clients back home. Will US traders be blocked from opening accounts with offshore brokers?

The talk about the new CFTC rules created a lot of angry reactions. Here’s a more creative one – a hip hop song by R.S. featuring L~Reece.  The musical production is serious and the words are quite funny.

Thanks Francesc for the song.

And now let’s get more serious.I believe that the  50:1 leverage that was finally ruled is a plausible compromise from the original 10:1 limit that would have created serious damage to the US forex industry. The industry is growing up.

The worries come from the accompanying act – the Dodd-Frank act. It might force US traders to trade only with US brokers.

Michael Greenberg reports that FXCM UK will be repatriating forex accounts of US citizens back to the US by October 18th – the day which the new CFTC rules take effect. Here’s a quote:

All forex accounts for US residents trading overseas will be repatriated back to the US by October 18, 2010.

For US residents with FXCM UK, the switch back to FXCM US will most likely occur the weekend of October 15. The switch will occur over the weekend so that there is no disruption to your trading. The existing username and password you use to login to your account will also remain the same. US residents will receive information very early next week by email confirming the timeline.

Well, FXCM is a big and serious broker that complies to US rules. You may think that traders might just open accounts with offshore companies. It’s still uncertain if this option will remain in the near future, as foreign forex brokers might be blocked – if they get the same credit card classification as online gambling sites, trading with offshore brokers will be quite impossible for US clients.

Yohay Elam

Yohay Elam

Yohay Elam: Founder, Writer and Editor I have been into forex trading for over 5 years, and I share the experience that I have and the knowledge that I've accumulated. After taking a short course about forex. Like many forex traders, I've earned a significant share of my knowledge the hard way. Macroeconomics, the impact of news on the ever-moving currency markets and trading psychology have always fascinated me. Before founding Forex Crunch, I've worked as a programmer in various hi-tech companies. I have a B. Sc. in Computer Science from Ben Gurion University. Given this background, forex software has a relatively bigger share in the posts.