Weekly Roundup: iFOREX Cuts Outlook After Income Plunge; Who’s Liable When AI Trades?

Brokerage news this week was dominated by AI liability questions, ownership changes and shifting competitive dynamics in crypto and oil trading.

AI trading agents drew attention as brokers connect them to client accounts. Robinhood said users are responsible for how their agents are built and for the actions agents take, while lawyers and regulators expect firms to take on more obligations as the technology matures. More than 50,000 customers opened agentic trading accounts in the first weeks, trading millions of dollars per day. Possible safeguards include kill switches, circuit breakers and Know Your Agent requirements.

Scope Markets launched Scope Copy on MetaTrader 5, powered by PLUGIT's YOONIT technology, with more than 130 strategy providers after a beta that replicated over 500,000 trades. The tool allows inverse copying and performance fees between 10% and 50% with a high-water mark. Meanwhile, London Capital Group's Matthew Basi and David Worsfold took control of the UK broker through MBDW Holdings after acquiring stakes tied to Charles Sabet from Walder Wyss; the shares stemmed from FlowBank's 2024 bankruptcy. Cyprus-based payabl. reportedly agreed to sell half the company to ECM Partners for over €100 million, with CEO Ugnė Buračienė keeping the other half.

iFOREX cut full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $0.5 million-$2.5 million after July trading income fell 77% year on year to roughly $720,000. The broker cited yen strength after US-Japan intervention and low August volatility. New client numbers jumped 40% and deposits rose 8%, yet net cash stood near $10 million by August 17. In Poland, the KNF said its CFD review is still open with no timetable; XTB shares fell almost 7% from the previous Friday's close by Tuesday morning as the market weighed the over-95% contribution of CFDs to XTB revenue.

Oil geared products attracted stronger retail demand. Micro WTI futures volume grew 317% year on year, and the United States Brent Oil Fund saw $419 million in 2026 inflows as prices drew support from US-Iran tensions, shipping risks and attacks on Russian refineries. OPEC and the IEA nevertheless trimmed their global demand forecasts.

In crypto, Capital.com will serve UAE spot crypto clients through separately licensed affiliate Capital Vault UAE, which received a full federal virtual-asset licence from the Capital Market Authority. OKX Europe reported nearly 160% growth in EU app downloads in the 12 days after Binance withdrew its MiCA licence application in Greece, with inflows from Binance-linked accounts up eightfold; CEO Erald Ghoos still estimated that 95% of European crypto derivatives volume remains offshore.