Quotex – The alleged online broker Quotex is, according to its own information, a provider of a platform for online trading. In addition, Quotex says it wants to help everyone to fulfil their wishes. However, our lawyers have received an official warning from the Spanish Financial Supervisory Authority on the subject of Quotex.

The following questions are definitely elementary, especially for Quotex clients who are currently active in online trading or for those who are thinking about investing capital in the near future:

  • What can Quotex clients possibly do in case of losses?
  • Is Quotex authorised by an official European supervisory authority?
  • What evidence is available to assess whether Quotex is a trustworthy provider?

The lawyers of the Herfurtner law firm have devoted themselves to these questions and prepared the answers in this article on the subject of Quotex.

Table of contents

  1. Quotex Experience
  2. Quotex website
  3. Quotex contact information
  4. Quotex Approval
  5. Regulatory alerts from regulators about Quotex
  6. Online trading tips
  7. How to react in case of losses?

Parallel to the question of whether Quotex is a serious offer, it is important to deal with the basics of beneficial trading. We will also explain how the Quotex company compares to other offers. In addition, we will stand by investors and assist you with detailed questions and legal disputes related to Quotex.

Quotex Experience

Quotex describes itself on its website as a trading platform of a new kind. Moreover, Quotex’s offering had entered the market in 2019. Moreover, every developer at Quotex is a specialist at the highest level and with many years of experience. The total experience of the Quotex team is 200 years, which has made it possible to create a modern platform.

However, the Quotex team has not created just another project for traders. First and foremost, Quotex has developed a platform for the broadest possible audience. Accordingly, Quotex’s offer is aimed at people who want to learn how to use advanced financial instruments and develop their financial skills.

That’s why Quotex provides over 400 free tools for every client to trade and make money the way they want to. According to Quotex, one can choose from different assets and trade assets such as foreign exchange (forex trading), stocks, majors, oil and gas, and cryptocurrencies.

According to Quotex, it is possible to test the service provider’s offer with a free demo account without obligation. However, there is no information on Quotex’s website about whether there are different trading accounts and whether one has to make a minimum deposit to start trading online with this provider.

Quotex Website

Statements about the apparent online broker Quotex can be found on the German-language website of the service provider at the URL quotex.io/de.

Management

According to §6 of the German Media State Treaty (MDStV), the name of the person responsible for the content of the website must be displayed in the imprint. This is often a member of the provider’s management board. Identifying the responsible persons by name is not only obligatory, but also a sign of transparency.

No information on responsible persons could be found on the Quotex website in January 2022.

Background to the domain

Many companies tout their many years of practical experience to suggest credibility. However, such statements are regularly contradicted by the date on which the domain was registered. Consequently, it must be questioned who registered the domain and when the domain was registered.

According to Quotex’s own statements, it was founded in 2019. Our lawyers queried the data on the provider Quotex with this result on 10 January 2022: Domain Name: quotex.io Registry domain ID: 6fef90e43ce3481491e852885a1b9050-DONUTS

Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com/ Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com/domains/search.aspx?ci=8990 Updated Date: 2021-11-22T09:16:03Z Creation Date: 2020-01-06T15:58:11Z Registry Expiry Date: 2025-01-06T15:58:11Z Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC

Legal notice

In Germany, according to §5 of the German Telemedia Act (TMG), there are general obligations to provide information and mandatory details for the imprint. Consequently, this obligation to “identify the provider” applies to all commercially operated websites.

This is because the data should inform the user of a website who he or she is dealing with. In addition, the address of the website operator plays a role in this context, if legal claims are to be enforced against the operator.

Also relevant in this context is the fact that the obligation to maintain an imprint also applies to service providers based abroad who carry out their business activities in Germany. No legally binding imprint existed on Quotex’s website in January 2022.

Operator and trademark

The name of the website, platform or offer is not necessarily the same as the name of the operating company. In the past, it often happened that companies were present on the market with many different trademarks in parallel.

Moreover, it is a common practice of some operators to deactivate the websites of compromised trademarks and to return to the market some time later using a different trademark. Therefore, when researching news and information about a provider, one is well advised to always consider the operating company in addition to the trademark.

The relevant information can be found either in the imprint or often also in the footer of a website. On the Quotex website, no discrepancy between a trademark and an operating company could be detected at the time of observation.

Quotex contact details

The following statements could be identified on the Quotex website at the time of writing:

  • Quotex phone number: n/a A.
  • Quotex email contact: n/a A.
  • Quotex address: 103 Sham Peng Tong Plaza Victoria, 1, Mahe, Seychelles

Quotex Licensing

The existence of a valid authorisation from an official European financial supervisory authority can be an important criterion for determining whether a company is a trustworthy financial provider. This is because a company has to go to great economic lengths to obtain a licence.

Nevertheless, it does not necessarily have to be a case of investment fraud if an online broker omits information on its authorisation or its own regulatory status. The following financial supervisory authorities, among others, are responsible for issuing licences and supervising financial service providers such as Quotex:

  • BaFin, Germany (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority)
  • FSMA, Belgium (Financial Services and Markets Authority)
  • FMA, Austria (Austrian Financial Market Authority)

No statements about regulatory licensing could be found on Quotex’s website in January 2022. Investors can discuss what this means with a lawyer at our law firm.

Quotex – why Spain’s financial supervisory authority CNMV warns

As early as June 2021, the Spanish financial supervisory authority (CNMV) issued an official warning about Quotex. According to the authorities, Quotex is an unregistered company. In addition, the Quotex operator is not authorised to provide investment services. Warning of the CNMV on Quotex (Spanish/English)

Before trading with Quotex and others – online trading advice

Trading on online platforms such as Quotex is the extension of conventional trading in financial instruments into the World Wide Web. Here, as there, investors act with the intention of generating profits through the purchase and sale of assets. Trading is no longer limited to shares.

Rather, investors can also choose from the following assets, for example:

  • Investment funds
  • Real estate
  • Trading in contracts for difference
  • Commodities
  • listed index funds
  • Crypto trading with Bitcoins and Altcoins, for example Ethereum
  • Gold
  • Foreign exchange trading
  • Fixed-term deposits

Online trading is handled via interfaces such as brokers (such as Quotex) or banks, which provide their clients with a specific trading application. It can be assumed that in the future there will be more and more private investors who discover online trading for themselves. All you need is an internet connection and a computer or tablet or smartphone.

Advantages of online trading

Digitalisation is also having a considerable impact on the world of finance, especially when it comes to trading, as is the case with Quotex. Because the technical possibilities have greatly increased the speed of trading.

Whereas investors and traders once had to conclude their orders by telephone call, fax or post, this can now be done with a click and at a fraction of the cost. Aspects such as the term and type of trade, pricing and quantities or the key account data no longer have to be defined personally between the Quotex provider and its client.

At the end of the day, the opportunity to trade online has brought about a number of conveniences:

  • Transaction fees have dropped rapidly because the personal telephone consultation is no longer necessary.
  • Numerous tools can be used automatically and immediately.
  • Profits can be achieved even with a small investment.
  • Training opportunities for online trading, knowledge pools, analyses or trading courses are often provided in-house.
  • The pool of tradable financial instruments is broader and deeper.
  • The trading platform executes the booked orders, all you need is an internet connection.
  • The danger of losses due to gaps is reduced.

However, online trading not only brings plus points in terms of the ease of use of the trading platform. Especially due to the analysis possibilities, indicators and the numerous tools, the investor enjoys noticeably more comfort. The times when you had to draw your own chart diagrams or make your own time-consuming calculations are over.

Today, online trading platforms offer their clients an enormous range of order types that online traders can execute themselves with a day trading provider of their choice.

Novel assets: crypto trading with digital currencies

But it is not only trading as such that has been significantly influenced by digitalisation. For the advancing technologisation has provided online exchange traders with a new field of activity: trading with digital assets. The best-known cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency ever, which is why all other digital currencies are called “altcoins”, i.e. alternative coins. Today, there are droves of tradable crypto assets and the landscape is extremely volatile. As a result, fresh coins enter the market regularly and a large number disappear just as quickly as they were released.

For financial investors, this presents opportunities as well as risks, which are, however, significantly amplified compared to conventional investments due to the lack of consistency. For investors, freshly issued cryptocurrencies are basically like a game of chance at the roulette table.

With a little luck, the stake can be multiplied significantly. At the same time, the possibility of losing the entire capital is enormously high. Therefore, it might be a more advantageous choice for cautious traders to focus on the top 10 crypto stocks that have been traded for a long time and have a relatively large market capitalisation.

The alternatives to Bitcoin and Ethereum

In addition to Bitcoin and Ethereum, the Binance Coin, Solana, Cardano or Ripple should be mentioned here, for example. Cardano and Solana in particular can be classified as more modern and future-oriented compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum.

While the former are the subject of discussion due to their energy-intensive “proof of work” procedure, the latter rely on the less energy-intensive “proof of stake” mechanism. Likewise, the blockchain-based projects Cardano and Solana allow the use of so-called smart contracts.

Moreover, additional projects are emerging in the respective ecosystems, such as Solanart, a marketplace for so-called “non-fungible tokens”, or NFT for short. These can be used in decentralised finance (“DeFi”), for example.

Here, they help to realise security mechanisms that guarantee the uniqueness of transactions and the correctness of each submitted order. Ultimately, investors have an enormously broad choice of cryptocurrencies in which to invest.

However, crypto trading is particularly recommended for those investors who are extremely risk-averse. In addition, the following also applies to crypto trading: be careful when choosing a provider. Unfortunately, there are many documented cases of fraud and cybercrime in which crypto exchanges have played an inglorious role.

Weaknesses in online trading

Where there is light, there is also shadow, this statement also applies to online trading. Accordingly, in addition to the advantages, a number of disadvantages are also apparent, which interested private investors should include in their considerations:

  • In the case of wrong decisions, there is a risk of large losses.
  • Investors should already be well versed in trading and rely on reliable strategies.
  • The emergence of fraudulent trading providers has led to enormous risks of loss.
  • Compared to classical trading, it is rather hectic.
  • Investors should keep a constant eye on the course of prices.

Especially risky day trading is not recommended for capital investors who are dealing with the topic of trading for the first time. This is because the risk of not correctly assessing the development of prices is considerable, and corrections are difficult because of the time pressure.

Therefore, this form of trading is rather recommended for very experienced or particularly risk-affine investors. If someone belongs to this group of people, day trading is an option for action in order to generate results in a timely manner. In addition, one benefits, for example, from the elimination of fees for overnight positions.

Finally, these financing costs should also be included in an overall consideration of a financial investment. In addition, one is literally spared the rude awakening in the morning if there have been rapid and violent price changes. Such “gaps” arise quickly due to adverse reports about a company.

On the other hand, you quickly see the success as soon as you can report a profit at the end of a trading day. Otherwise, it is relevant for day traders to compare the trading fees of the different brokers. It may be advisable to opt for a flat rate.

This pays off especially if you trade with a high frequency and individually invoiced order fees would significantly reduce your profit.

Identify risks and dangers

In order not to unnecessarily increase the risks of online trading, it is recommended to ask yourself what kind of service provider you want to use for trading on the trading venues. From the experience of our law firm, some questions have emerged that can be used to identify possible risks.

With reference to the example of Quotex, these would be as follows:

  • Did the contact with Quotex come about as a result of an unsolicited telephone call?
  • Can regulatory warnings about Quotex be found?
  • Is Quotex controlled by a European financial regulator and is the company subject to government supervision?
  • Does Quotex guarantee exceptionally high surpluses and hide or downplay the dangers?
  • Are there any warnings from lawyers or law firms assisting clients who have suffered losses in connection with Quotex?
  • Is there an imprint on Quotex’s website and can credible information on the company’s registered office be found?
  • What experiences have other investors previously had with Quotex, and what opinions are expressed in forums?

What can be done in case of losses?

If you suspect that you have been defrauded in trading, it is advisable to block further payments immediately. This applies especially to the circumstance that the provider recommends additional payments to compensate for losses. In addition, one should attempt to recover the lost capital.

In doing so, aggrieved parties can seek investor protection and turn to the lawyers of our law firm. We consider both civil and criminal law options as well as possible claims for damages against the company and against payment service providers involved such as financial institutions.

“One can no longer speak of an exceptional case if a private investor loses his capital in the course of online trading. Many private investors are fooled by the professional behaviour of the service providers and only realise too late that they are not responsible for their losses.”

Our advice is therefore not to despair, but to act quickly and with commitment. Because the prospect of recovering the lost money is usually greater than the aggrieved investors assume. Would you like to talk to one of our lawyers about Quotex? Then you can go straight to our contact section here.