Interactive Brokers Reports 5.6M Client Accounts in September, DARTs at 4.1M

Interactive Brokers reported 5.6 million client accounts for September, with daily average revenue trades (DARTs) reaching 4.1 million over the month. The figures put the US-listed brokerage's account base and trading activity at the centre of the day's broker news, alongside a broad set of operational and regulatory developments across the retail trading industry.

Elsewhere on the regulatory front, European Union authorities are questioning Binance's use of reverse solicitation, the mechanism by which firms argue a trade was initiated by the client rather than actively marketed. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority, meanwhile, opened a crypto authorisation window, and prediction-market platform Polymarket introduced new trading safeguards.

Product and platform updates

In product news, prop trading firm The5ers connected its trading accounts to artificial intelligence tools ChatGPT and Claude. EC Markets doubled its UK revenue, ThinkMarkets returned to profit, and US brokerage infrastructure provider Alpaca continued to advance its expansion into Southeast Asia. Brokerage Valbury added the DXtrade platform, while CFI launched seven-day gold trading.

There was also consolidation and consolidation-related activity in the prop and retail space. The brand rights to MyForexFunds were sold to a Dubai-based firm, and FundedSeat closed its operations. Germany expanded its efforts against trading fraud, targeting illicit operators in the retail derivatives market.

On the retail performance side, data highlighted that the top 1% of winning trading accounts capture 66.5% of profits — a dynamic that shapes how brokers manage risk. Capital.com broadened its offering with the addition of stocks and ETFs. In enforcement, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Cash FX, and Revolut moved into the Argentine market as part of its international expansion.