Born2trade CEO: “Everything is about gold now. Gold traders dictate industry standards and features”
Konstantin Rashap, CEO of Born2trade, says 70-90% of retail clients now trade gold, forcing brokers to compete on overnight swap costs, leverage and loyalty incentives rather than spreads alone.
Born2trade CEO and co-founder Konstantin Rashap says gold has become the dominant instrument for retail traders, with between 70% and sometimes 90% of retail clients trading the metal — a concentration he describes as impossible for any broker to ignore.
Gold is changing hands around $4,100–4,200 an ounce, roughly 24% below the record near $5,600 set at the end of January, according to CIBC Capital Markets figures cited by Rashap. The Federal Reserve is raising rather than cutting rates — including a 25 basis point hike in September — and the 10-year Treasury yield is above 5%, conditions that textbook analysis would associate with subdued interest in the metal.
Rashap, who has spent more than 25 years in brokerage and trading, reads the concentration as a sign of diminished trust in broader markets and investment instruments, pointing to geopolitical conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East as well as inflationary pressure that has built since COVID. Institutional flows point the same way: central banks bought 345 tonnes of gold in the first half of 2026, World Gold Council data cited by CIBC shows, and gold-backed ETFs attracted a record $30.7 billion in the third quarter.
Volatility and broker competition
January illustrated how quickly sentiment can reverse. Gold set a record of about $5,595 an ounce on 29 January and fell more than 9% the following day — its sharpest one-day decline since 1983 — after Kevin Warsh was named as the next Fed Chair. By late June it had slipped below $4,000, roughly 29% off the peak. Rashap expects gold to remain one of the most actively traded assets through the end of 2026 and most likely through 2027, with a plausible one-year range of $3,000 to $6,000. CIBC forecasts $4,500 for the fourth quarter and an average of $5,200 in 2027.
Against that backdrop, Rashap argues brokers are increasingly competing on the cost of holding gold overnight, leverage choice and loyalty schemes rather than spreads alone. Born2trade, which offers currencies, metals, commodities, indices, stocks and cryptocurrencies on MetaTrader 5, has introduced positive overnight swaps on long gold positions, a gold-linked loyalty programme and a low-commission, fast-execution account aimed at speed-focused traders. He also flags crypto deposits and withdrawals as the fastest and most flexible funding route for active clients.
On broker selection, Rashap says Tier-1 and Tier-2 regulation is increasingly a first criterion for clients seeking stronger investor protection, but is not on its own a guarantee of fair treatment. He argues ownership and top management should be publicly visible and reachable, and warns against firms promising fast profits or pressuring beginners, insisting the initiative to trade must come from the client. Market data cited is as of October 2026.
Source: Finance Magnates