Forex in Russia after the New Year, first impressions

The Russian Federation's new law regulating dealer activity in the forex market has created enormous panic among traders.

Fear of losing their money due to the banal blocking of brokerage company bank accounts by the Russian National Bank has led to clients withdrawing their funds en masse and frantically waiting for the financial world to be turned upside down in the new year.

However, despite the enormous panic and fear among traders, almost all brokers operated as usual and showed no signs of unrest.

Only a few directors spoke about the flaws of this law and hinted at the consequences, as a result of which even honest companies that paid all taxes to the state treasury would be forced to move to another jurisdiction, since they simply would not be able to compete with foreign competitors.

To be fair, our team was also keeping a close eye on the situation, expecting something dire. However, judging by our initial observations after the New Year, no radical changes have occurred. Of course, we had previously analyzed the potential impact of this law on the forex market and even concluded that if it were to actually come into force, nothing good would happen.

However, we couldn't even imagine that the law would be completely ignored by brokers. So, what can we see? Basically, nothing. Brokers continue to operate as usual, new client accounts are being opened, service updates are being made, and life goes on as usual.

I'd like to point out that almost all brokers have launched various promotions to encourage their clients, ranging from account deposit bonuses to various commission and spread reductions. Ultimately, we see that this law hasn't been an obstacle for brokerage companies . Moreover, according to client reviews on various forums, no one has experienced any problems with withdrawals.

Clients and taxes

Whatever anyone says, the vast majority of our citizens view the forex market as nothing more than a hobby or, at most, a supplemental income. Previously, traders were exempt from taxation, but with the new law, we all must pay taxes on our activities, and this falls on the shoulders of the company.

You'll agree that the prospect of paying extra income to the state isn't exactly a rosy one, especially since we all know how unstable this income is. Considering our tax system and the sheer number of clients each company has, the national regulator will almost always be able to pressure brokers with constant inspections, which is unnecessary for any company. Therefore, this is also one of the factors that discourages brokers from obtaining a license.

So what did the new year and this law bring us?

If you take a realistic look at the changes, there's simply nothing. I think it's no secret that most companies are registered in Cyprus and other offshore zones, and since the new year, these registrations have increased slightly. 

The only positive aspect of the law that everyone probably noticed was the radical reduction in advertising on television and other Russian-controlled websites. Overall, there haven't been any changes, and I don't think there will be any!