| Updated: Whether you are new to forex trading or conducting market research, this report provides an overview of the global foreign exchange market with statistics updated as of March 2026. It covers turnover, average daily trading volume, the most popular currency pairs, and key market participants. These statistics give a clear overview of the market’s scale and regulatory environment.
The forex market is the largest and most liquid financial market globally. There are millions of traders, financial institutions, and non-bank entities actively participating in the currency exchange market daily. To illustrate the scope of the sector, current data indicates that average daily turnover has reached $9.6 trillion in April 2025, a 28% increase from the $7.5 trillion recorded in 2022.
From forex trader archetypes to currency pairs and trading platforms, we have covered all of the factors that make the forex market significant. We will also consider the effect of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the forex sector, as even years later, there is an aftereffect worth looking into. While other markets suffered devastating losses, the forex industry and the overall trading sector saw exponential growth during the lockdown period due to increased volatility, resulting in a surge in daily and monthly active traders. This tendency has largely persisted into 2026.
We will also take a look at leading trading companies that represent a significant portion of the forex industry, as online brokers have been primary contributors to the sector’s growth. This report further identifies the regions and cities where forex trading is most popular, paying attention to areas where forex is expected to grow significantly.
Key Historical Events in Forex Trading
- The Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 introduced a formal international monetary system for currency trading between 44 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and several European countries. However, the forex industry had its beginning way before that. The first gold coins were created in the 6th century BC. Modern exchange systems began to take shape in the 19th century as major economies adopted the gold standard. In 1819, England officially adopted the gold standard, followed by the United States in 1834. Countries like France, Japan, and Germany also joined the others and accepted the gold standard in the 1870s. This could be considered the start of how we came to currency trading today.
- In 1985, the Plaza Accord was signed between France, West Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US in order to depreciate the US dollar versus major currencies. And in accordance with the agreement, the US dollar depreciated in relation to the French franc, the German Deutsche Mark, the Japanese yen, and the British pound sterling.
- Another important agreement in forex history is the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, which established the European Union (EU) and the euro currency. Today, the euro is the second most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, serving as a primary global reserve currency.
- In 1996, the internet made the forex market far more accessible, with several online brokers offering traders competitive prices on many currencies they could not easily trade before. MetaTrader 4 was the first platform that was developed for the purpose of making online trading easy and accessible to a larger number of individuals.
Size of the Global Forex Market
The size of the global forex trading market is massive, as its worth in 2020 was evaluated to be $2.4 quadrillion.
Breaking it down, the total foreign exchange turnover reported by BIS (Bank for International Settlements) for April 2022 amounted to $7.5 trillion per day, consisting of $2106.55 billion of spot trades, $3810.11 billion of FX swaps, $1163.40 billion of outright forwards, $123.94 billion of currency swaps, and $304.39 billion of options and other products.
Forex Daily Turnover for April 2022 (in billion US$)
The 2022 Survey introduced new categories to better distinguish “market-facing trades”, meaning transactions with customers or other unrelated entities that directly influence market prices. In contrast, “non-market-facing” trades are now separately identified and include back-to-back trades and compression trades.
Overall, non-market-facing trades totaled $895.22 billion, representing 13.54% of the $7.5 trillion global FX turnover in 2022. They accounted for 8.47% of spot turnover, 16.45% of FX swaps, 13.28% of outright forwards, 27.95% of currency swaps, and 10.51% of options and other products.
Source: www.bis.org
When comparing the data for April 2025 to the numbers reported for the same month in 2022, we see that the forex market saw a 28% growth, increasing from $7.5 trillion to $9.6 trillion. This was probably driven by extreme market volatility in that time period. There were aggressive and diverging central bank interest rate policies, which created sharp currency swings, in turn fueling greater speculation by institutions and retail traders. There was also an increase in hedging activities as part of market participants’ risk management strategies, which also likely contributed to this growth.
Forex Daily Turnover Net-Net Basis for April 2025 (in billion US$)
Source: www.bis.org
Forex Turnover Total Net-Gross Basis for April 2025 (in billion US$)
Source: www.bis.org
According to BIS, the OTC interest rate derivatives turnover amounted to a daily average of $5.2 trillion in April 2022. This indicated a 19% decline compared to data from April 2019. The reason for that drop was most likely the decline in Forward Rate Agreements (FRAs) turnover, which resulted from the LIBOR reference rates that affected contracts linked to the US dollar at the end of 2021. In April 2025, the average daily turnover of over-the-counter interest rate derivatives increased significantly to $7.9 trillion, representing an impressive rise of 59% compared to the previous survey period.
FX and Interest Rate Turnover 2004 – 2025 (in trillions US$)
Source: BIS Triennial Surveys from 2004 to 2025
In Europe, the 2024 Euro money market study revealed that the local market’s daily aggregate turnover reached €1.8 trillion in 2024, up 38% from 2022’s €1.3 trillion. In terms of individual segment growth, overnight index swaps surged the highest by 101%, while short-term securities suffered the steepest drop of 32%. The figures are based on data belonging to the 45 largest euro area banks.
Euro Area Market Activity Growth Rates 2024
Source: www.ecb.europa.eu
Forex Market Growth in 2019, 2022 and 2025 by Instrument
There were several factors leading to a large global forex turnover from 2019 to 2025. Some to be mentioned are the geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine, and the global pandemic restrictions preventing major reporting jurisdictions (like China and Hong Kong) from properly assessing local forex markets. Now, there has been enough data to indicate which instruments had the biggest impact on the forex market expansion from 2019 to 2022.
The two instruments that were the biggest contributors to the forex sector’s growth were spot trading and forex swaps. In 2022, forex spot markets accounted for 28% of the global forex turnover, a 2% decline from the share reported in 2019. Similar to the data in the previous triennial report, as the 2022 survey revealed that forex swaps represented the biggest contributor, accounting for 51% of the global turnover. This amount surpassed the 2019 numbers, marking a 2% growth.
The market share of outright forwards traded in 2022 was 15%, the same volume as in 2019. BIS reported a 4% share of the global turnover for forex options in 2022, a slight decline from 5% in 2019. Currency swaps accounted for 2% of the global forex market growth in 2022, which was the instrument’s share in 2019, as well. Based on the data for April 2025, forex swaps constituted the largest share of the turnover at 41.54%, closely followed by spot transactions at 30.83%. Outright forwards accounted for nearly one-fifth of the market at 19.22%, while options (6.61%) and currency swaps (1.8%) made up the remainder.
Forex Turnover for April 2025 by Instrument
Source: www.bis.org
Forex Turnover for April 2022 by Instrument
Source: www.bis.org
Forex Turnover for April 2019 by Instrument
Source: www.bis.org
Currencies and Currency Pairs Contributing to Forex Market Growth
In 2022, the USD remained the currency with the highest impact on the global forex market, being on one side of 88.5% of the currency pairs traded in April 2022. The trading volume of the currency slightly surpassed figures from April 2019 (88.3%). The USD was followed by EUR (30.5%), JPY (16.7%), and GBP (12.9%), which are the remaining currencies marking the highest trading volumes in April 2022. The biggest change in market share for April 2022 was with CNY, representing 7% of currency pairs traded in April 2022 from the 4.3% recorded in April 2019.
As for the most traded currency pairs, the USD/EUR remained the pair with the highest trading volume in April 2022, accounting for 22.7% of the global forex market turnover. This was a slight decline from 24.0% in April 2019. The pairs with the next biggest trading volumes in April 2022 were USD/JPY (13.5%), USD/GBP (9.5%), and USD/CNY (6.6%).
A total of seven currency pairs have been established as the major forex pairs to trade, often offering higher leverage and lower spreads to traders. These seven pairs comprise over 60% of the global forex turnover alone for April 2022, with the predominant number of trades happening only in these major pairs. All seven most-traded pairs have the USD on either side of the tickers. Looking at the latest data from BIS, the EUR/USD was again the most dominant pair, contributing 21.2% of the overall daily turnover. The next largest were USD/JPY and GBP/USD with 14.3% and 7.6%. The remaining four major pairs were fairly evenly split, with USD/CAD at 5.3%, and AUD/USD and USD/CHF both at 4.9%. The NZD/USD made up only 1.2% of the total turnover in April 2025.
Major Currency Pairs’ Contribution to Forex Turnover for April 2025
Source: www.bis.org
Volatility of Forex Trading Compared to Other Trading Assets
Despite the US dollar experiencing a fall following its big rally in 2022, it still remained the most traded currency in 2023. In a survey published by eToro, one of the biggest names in the forex sector, for the Q1 of 2023, forex trades surged to 19%, marking a significant year-to-year jump from 9% reported for Q1 of 2022.
Forex trades saw a great increase in volatility in Q1 2023, but other assets were also serious contributors to the surge in investments for that period. According to eToro’s analysis, investments in commodities rose to 27%, marking an 11% growth from the previous year. Meanwhile, investors with foreign bonds reached 17% (12% for Q1 2022), and those with alternative investments increased from 21% to 23%. Despite the performance in other asset groups, in Q1 2023, one of the best performers was the cryptocurrency market, steady at 29% of total trades.
eToro’s Percentage of Investors by Asset Type (Q1 2023)
Source: www.etoro.com
Dollar Confidence is on the Decline Despite its Trading Volume
Although the dollar has long remained the most traded currency in the forex market, long-term confidence and dollar-related assets interest appear to have waned. eToro analysts have found that the metric has dropped to 34% in Q2 2025, an 11% decline from the 45% confidence rate reported during the fourth quarter of 2025.
eToro also found that 48% of the 10,000 investors who participated in the survey have changed their investment strategies in anticipation of a weaker greenback. Almost 30% have turned to gold instead, while 24% showed interest in crypto. Looking at eToro’s latest quarterly survey from Q3 2025, retail investors have a somewhat paradoxical view of the US dollar. While half (50%) are taking concrete steps to prepare for its long-term weakening (a slight increase from 48% last quarter), the vast majority (83%) are still confident it will remain the world’s global reserve currency over the next decade. This majority includes investors who believe the dollar will weaken (33%), strengthen (22%), or hold constant (28%).
Forex Trading Participants
The forex sector has multiple participants that fall into different demographic groups. As long as the legislative framework allows such activities, any individual with reasonable capital can be a retail trader and participate in the forex market by placing orders on major, minor, or exotic currency pairs. However, there is more than the retail trader’s interest to consider. The forex sector also has other major participants like the major commercial banks of J.P. Morgan Chase, Citi, Barclays, and HSBC.
Data from June 2020 revealed that J.P. Morgan was the leading forex market trading service entity, with a market share of 10.78%. The major bank maintained its position from the previous year, when it had the biggest market share among the remaining banks participating in the global forex market.
Bank’s Forex Market Share 2020
Source: www.euromoney.com
As we can see, next up in 2021, J.P. Morgan still managed to stay in the top position, keeping the biggest market share among other major banks actively participating in the global forex market. With a market share of 11.41%, the bank was followed by UBS (10.2%), Deutsche Bank (8.49%), XTX Markets (6.69%), and Citi (6.18%).
Bank’s Forex Market Share 2021
Source: www.euromoney.com
2022 did see a shift in the top positions of banks with the biggest market share in the global forex sector, with Deutsche Bank taking the top position with a market share of 10.89%. Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan declined to the third position. UBS kept its second position, while State Street moved from the ninth position all the way up to the fourth place in the global forex market.
Banks’ Forex Market Share 2022
Source: www.euromoney.com
As key actors in the forex market, the banks we have listed above conduct currency trading on behalf of themselves as well as their clients.
Other major participants in the forex sector include central banks like the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, etc. The role of these institutions is to intervene in the forex market for the stabilization or to increase the value of their national currencies, depending on their goals. Hedge funds, mutual funds, insurance companies, pension funds, and big multinational corporations are also key participants in the global forex market.
Forex Trading Demographic
Typically, men are the predominant participants in the global forex trading sector, with women representing merely 12.4% of all traders in the market. Although men have been the dominating gender participating in currency pair trading since the establishment of the forex market, more female traders are starting to engage. However, while the numbers can differ depending on the region, we have data from a few major forex brokers to support the statement that men are still the bigger group of active forex traders.
A 2019 report issued by eToro showed that around 88% of their global users for that year were males. The following year, a 2020 survey conducted by AvaTrade revealed that approximately 15% of their forex customers were females. Meanwhile, in 2021, IG Group reported data showing that around 90% of the clients for that year were male traders, with just 10% of their forex clients being women.
When it comes to age, the majority of forex traders are in the age group between 25 and 34. Individuals between 35 and 44 years represent the group with the second-highest trading activity, followed by traders between the ages of 18 and 24. The lowest trading activity is among individuals between 55 and 64, as well as those over 65 years of age.
Forex Trading Activity Among Different Age Groups
Source: www.dailyforex.com
According to a survey carried out by eToro, younger traders between the ages of 18 and 34 are more active and bullish, possibly as they are more likely to use social media to do their investment research. Some 42% of respondents have reported that they trade to achieve financial independence. About 40% of young investors are also more likely to take a more active approach to trading, with 65% of respondents defining themselves as bullish traders. Some 34% of survey participants revealed that social media is their main source of investment information.
When comparing different types of social media outlets, the majority of investors prefer to get their information from financial websites. Facebook is the second-most preferred social media outlet that traders use to get updated on the latest forex trends.
Social Media Outlets Forex Traders Resort To
Source: www.dailyforex.com
In an AvaTrade survey carried out in 2019, with 1,000 participants from Canada giving their opinion on forex brokers, it was revealed that the majority of traders above the age of 35 years considered unregulated brokers to be riskier, leading to easier money losses. However, 32% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 believed they could easily lose more money when trading with regulated brokers who impose low leverage limits.
About 91% of participants in the survey reported they were trading with regulated forex brokers. Some 94% of high-volume investors with a yearly income of over CA$100,000 said they preferred regulated platforms, while only 83% of respondents with a yearly income of less than CA$50,000 considered regulated brokers to be safer.
In an eToro survey covering Q1 of 2023, it was reported that despite the ongoing geopolitical tension, investors were more confident in their portfolios, diversifying their investments and focusing more on foreign markets. For Q1 of 2023, 76% of respondents reported being confident in their portfolios, which is a 7% increase from the 69% of confident investors reported for the same period of the previous year. About 44% of eToro’s clients have increased their investments in 2023, with the predominant part of these investors falling under the category of wealthier and younger traders.
Traders’ preferences for home markets vs foreign markets have shifted in the last few years, as investors have gained the confidence to diversify their portfolios due to many factors. In Q1 2023, the percentage of global investors focusing on domestic equities dropped to 45%, compared to 51% reported in Q1 2022. The shift from domestic to foreign equities is most noticeable in the US, with the percentage of US traders investing in domestic equities declining to 42% in Q1 2023, compared to 60% in Q1 2022.
When it comes to geographic distribution, some countries have a more concentrated percentage of forex traders than others. According to data published by VT Markets, a global multi-asset CFD broker, Asia is the region with the highest number of online forex traders, with 3.2 million Asian investors trading currency pairs. Europe and North America are some of the bigger forex trading markets in the world as well, with each of the two regions reporting 1.5 million traders. Africa and the Middle East also fall under the category of regions with a high number of forex traders, while the least number of traders are based in Oceania.
Numbers of Forex Traders by Region
Source: VT Markets
Despite Asia being the region with the highest number of forex traders, the region with the biggest concentration of investors trading currency pairs is in Europe. With a total of 341,000 traders, the United Kingdom ranks as the country with the most forex investors. The United States takes second place with 335,000 traders, followed by Japan (223,000), Singapore (218,000), and Hong Kong (200,000).
Top 10 Countries with the Most Forex Traders
Source: VT Markets
Gaining Profit from Forex Trading and the Most Successful Traders in the World
While it is not necessary to be a wealthy investor to trade currency pairs, the majority of global forex traders fall under the category of somewhat wealthy investors. Based on recent statistics, on average, profitable professional traders enjoy an increase in funds between 5% and 15% per month.
- George Soros is one of the wealthiest forex traders in the world, with “Black Wednesday” being one of the biggest earnings in his forex trading career. On Wednesday, September 16, 1992, Soros took an extremely risky and massive short position against the British pound, which earned him $1 billion in profit. As of March 2026, Soros’ net worth has been estimated to be $7.5 billion.
- Stanley Druckenmiller is another top forex trader who has been recognized for his skills and knowledge by no other than George Soros. He was also a part of the Black Wednesday trade, bringing both him and Soros massive earnings. As of 2026, Druckenmiller’s net worth has been estimated to be $7.8 billion.
- Another representative of the wealthy group that banked on the success of “Black Wednesday” is Joe Lewis. Not only did he stack a hefty earning in 1992, but he was also extremely successful in short-selling of the Mexican peso in 1995. At the time of writing, Joe Lewis’ net worth is estimated at $6.9 billion.
Despite investors like these billionaires giving off the illusion that it is extremely easy to earn massive profits while trading currencies, it has been reported that only 37% of traders break even or enjoy some profit. Meanwhile, only some 15% of forex traders reported making an actual profit from their trading, so the odds are not typically in your favor.
Forex Trader Preferences and Trading Experience
Based on data released in 2020, the average trading experience of the predominant part of the global forex brokers’ client base is between 1 and 3 years (39% of respondents). The second-largest group includes traders with experience of between 0 and 12 months. Surprisingly, there are fewer well-experienced forex traders, with those having 10+ years of experience representing only 7% of all forex traders.
About 72% of forex traders start trading currency pairs without having any trading experience. That said, 70% of forex traders use Live trading accounts, while 30% have resorted to the use of Demo accounts to practice their trading.
Forex Traders Based on Their Trading Experience
Source: ForexSchoolOnline
Many forex brokers offer multiple trading platforms to their clients, but the majority offer their customers the option to trade on MT4. The platform is equally suitable for both beginners and experienced traders, making it the popular choice for 85% of forex traders. Meanwhile, some 6% of respondents have chosen the MT5 platform, and 5% have picked cTrader for their forex trades. About 23% of respondents have reported trading currency pairs with other trading platforms.
As for the volume of trades, on average, 41% of traders make between nine and 20 trades within a single month. Another 35% place between four and eight orders per month, while 14% make more than 30 orders per month. About 45% of respondents have reported spending 1-2 hours a day trading, while 14% have said they spend six hours or more trading.
Some 66% of traders use the daily charts, whilst 48% use the one-hour charts. If we compare profitable and unprofitable traders, we can see that 72% of those who earn profit from forex trading use daily charts. However, a big portion of unprofitable traders (62%) also use daily charts, so we should take into account that the results are mixed. A significant number of traders are willing to invest in learning materials for their trading sessions, with 53% of respondents reporting to have invested either in books, courses, or strategy testers in the last 12 months. However, 47% of traders have not purchased any materials to help them with their trading in the last 12 months.
Profitable traders have been reported to be more experienced (5.4 years) than unprofitable traders (2.5 years). Another discrepancy between the two groups was noticed in the average number of trading strategies that have been tested. While those who have gained profits have tried out about three trading strategies, those who have not been successful have tested four trading strategies on average.
Several factors can contribute to an unprofitable forex trading experience. The time dedicated to trading may be one of the reasons why traders fail to make profits. About 85% of investors who have dedicated more than four years to their trading are successful in generating profits. While the beginning of many trading journeys brings losses due to a lack of knowledge, 53% of traders stick to trading for less than a year. About 12% of traders who keep trading for one to three years have reported enjoying profits. However, only 8% of traders choose to continue trading for more than 4 years.
When it comes to the amount that forex traders spend on their currency pair trades, it has been reported that most traders (63.75%) have limited their forex trading expenses to less than 5% of their total budget. Some 13% of correspondents spend 5-15% of their income on forex trading, while 6.75% and 2.10% of traders reported spending 15-25% and 25-50% of their budgets on forex trading, respectively. Very few traders (0.40%) go beyond half of their overall budget, and 14% are unsure how much they spend on their forex trades.
Budget Amount Traders Spend on Forex Trading
Source: www.dailyforex.com
Popular Online Forex Brokers Contributing to the Growth of the Forex Market
The global forex broker market was estimated to be worth $5.2 trillion in 2023, with projections for 2032 predicting a market growth of 10.9%, reaching a market value of $13 trillion. Reporting dealers were the biggest contributors to the forex broker market growth in 2023. Meanwhile, the highest trading volume was recorded on currency swaps.
Current estimates by Technavio also suggest that from 2025 to 2029, the global forex market will expand by $582 billion. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), meanwhile, is expected to go up by 10.6% in the period 2024-2029.
In 2022, North America was the region that dominated the global forex broker market, with factors like the increase in income and trading expectations playing a major role in the region’s forex broker advancements. Growth is coming, however, as more brokers are expanding their reach to developing countries in the Asia-Pacific forex broker market in the coming years. Expectations are for that region to gain market share.
While some markets have been seriously injured by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the online brokers sector saw a huge increase in activity. There was a large increase in revenues for the forex market in recent years, as with expanded trading activity, especially among millennials, during the global pandemic, brokers like Robinhood gained bigger recognition and experienced a significant surge in platform user numbers.
If we compare the data between May 2017 and May 2021, we can see that Robinhood had growth in the number of active traders, surging 2,570.3% and reaching 9.3 million users in May 2021. Turning to the second quarter of 2025, we see that Robinhood reported having 26.5 million customers with funded accounts for a 10% increase from the same period a year earlier.
Robinhood’s Monthly Active Traders 2017 – 2021 (in 1000s)
Source: Statista
Yet another trading service provider that experienced a significant boost in active monthly traders between May 2017 and May 2021 was eToro. The platform started the period with about 69,000 monthly traders, then gaining 2,436.4% up to 1.6 million monthly traders in May 2021.
eToro’s Monthly Active Traders 2017 – 2021 (in 1000s)
Source: www.statista.com
We should also note that, based on eToro’s Q1 2025 report, the number of funded accounts jumped to 3.58 million. This marked a year-over-year increase of 14% from Q1 2024’s $3.13 billion. The popular social trading platform reported a 16% year-over-year increase in funded accounts for the third quarter of 2025, with their number reaching 3.73 million.
Another forex broker that saw a jump in monthly active traders after the global pandemic is WeBull. When comparing the data between May 2017 and May 2021, we can see that the broker experienced a growth of 747.52%, going from 341,070 traders per month to 3.1 million active monthly trading clients. For the second quarter of 2025, the broker reported having 24.9 million registered customers in total, representing an 18% increase from the same period a year earlier.
WeBull’s Monthly Active Traders 2017 – 2021 (in 1000s)
Source: www.statista.com
Another trading service company that finished the period between May 2017 and May 2021 with a significant number of active customers was Fidelity, with a total of almost 1.9 million monthly traders for May 2021. This marked a 346% growth compared to the 415,000 active monthly traders recorded four years before that. Fidelity’s digital platforms attracted $28.5 million unique visitors in the third quarter of 2025.
Fidelity’s Monthly Active Traders 2017 – 2021 (in 1000s)
Source: www.statista.com
One of the most prominent names in the forex sector, Interactive Brokers, also had a significant growth of active traders in the years that followed the global pandemic. From May 2017 to May 2021, we can see that the number of active monthly traders increased from about 45,000 to nearly 139,000. That is a 206% surge in the number of monthly traders using the trading services of Interactive Brokers. In the third quarter of 2025, the company reported a 32% year-over-year increase in the number of registered customer accounts, growing to 4.13 million.
Interactive Brokers’ Monthly Active Traders 2017 – 2021 (in 1000s)
Source: www.statista.com
With the massive size of the forex market, it is no surprise that more online brokers are joining the scene. They are also launching a wide range of financial services for their clients. Several brokers dominate at present, contributing to the growth of the global forex market.
- IG Group is a London-based fintech company established in 1974. Today, it caters to a wide range of investors, including forex. The company reported a FY2025 total revenue of £1.076 billion (~$1.4 billion), a 9% increase from the revenue reported for FY2024 (£987.3 million).
- The aforementioned eToro is another of the current top performers in the global forex broker market. In addition to active trader growth in the last few years, the company established itself as one of the prominent participants in the global trading sector. They reported total revenue of $931 million for FY2024, representing a 46% increase from $639 million reported in FY2023. The total number of traders with funded accounts at eToro stood at 3.5 million, and the company’s adjusted EBITDA for the year surpassed $303 million. During the third quarter of 2025, the company’s net income (GAAP) stood at $57 million, up 48% year-over-year from $39 million. Its adjusted EBITDA, meanwhile, increased by 43% year-over-year, reaching $78 million.
- Pepperstone is another leader in the global forex market, offering its customers a wide range of trading assets, including forex pairs. Pepperstone Limited, which is the UK-regulated entity of the trading company, reported trading revenue of £13.02 million (~$17 million) for FY2024, marking a 6.3% decrease compared to £13.89 million (~$18.14 million) reported in 2023. The decrease was mitigated by an interest income jump to £944,656, which sat at £240,484 the year prior.
- StoneX, which is the parent company of major broker platforms Forex.com and City Index, has reported operating revenue for 2023 of $2,914.1 million, marking a 38.3% growth compared to $2107.4 million recorded in 2022. As for 2024, the total operating revenue rose to $3,436.2 million, 18% higher than in 2023. The two leading broker companies are among the main contributors to the revenue growth of StoneX. As for 2025, the company’s net operating revenue jumped 7% to $492.1 million during the first quarter. Net income surged to $85.1 million, while the return on equity (ROE) hit 19.5%.
- After a surge in active traders following the global pandemic in 2020, Interactive Brokers kept its top position in the global forex market, likely due to its competitive prices and a huge variety of assets to trade. The net revenue reported by the company in 2024 was $5.2 billion, indicating a 21% year-over-year growth from the net revenue of $4.3 billion reported in 2023. The company’s quarterly performance has been positive as well. The reported revenue for Q3 2024 was a staggering $1.37 billion, a 19% increase from Q3 2023. In the first three quarters of 2025, the net revenue rose further to $4.56 billion. Net income for Q3 alone stood at $1.66 billion. The number of registered customer accounts stood at 4.13 million, a 32% increase. Client equity, meanwhile, advanced to $757.5 billion, 40% higher compared to Q3 2024. Stocks represented the largest portion of the company’s customer trading volume, seeing as it jumped by 67%. Interactive Brokers also saw its net interest income achieve a 21% jump from the same period last year, reaching $967 million.
Sustainability and ESG in Forex
The implementation of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in the forex industry is growing, with more brokers taking a new and sustainable approach to trading. This is a global market with multiple economies interacting with each other, which means the forex sector is affected by sustainability concerns.
The rise of AI is also further integrating into forex trading, with several research programs on how this advanced technology can be implemented into trading while maintaining sustainability. Naturally, this also includes improving AI integration, suggesting more responsible trading decisions.
In addition, several central banks have introduced some changes to their foreign reserves management policies to increase sustainability. According to a BIS survey from 2020, 66% of participants, which include reserve managers and official institutions, have reported that their central banks do not consider sustainability concerns when establishing operational strategies. However, the remaining participants noted that their central banks have introduced some ESG measures to their operations to meet legal obligations (4%), to satisfy stakeholders’ sustainability obligations (8%), or for other reasons (22%).
Using AI and Trading Tools for Forex Trades
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing a larger role in the development of the forex industry. Traders can resort to a range of AI tools to evaluate markets, keep track of trends, and even place orders. Some of the AI instruments used while trading currency pairs with any reputable forex broker include Automated Trading, Backtesting, Expert Advisors, and more.
A large number of traders have adopted the AI model of trading, with data showing that 65% of traders think that machine learning and AI tools can significantly improve their trades.
Do Traders Approve the Use of AI in Trading?
Source: www.dailyforex.com
While there are different tools traders can resort to when they are initiating forex orders, Trade Journals and Calculators are the tools approved by most. Economic Calendars, Financial Newswire, and Time Zone Converters are also approved by a large portion of traders – 82%, 78%, and 74%, respectively.
Which Trading Tools Do Traders Prefer?
Source: www.dailyforex.com
Trading calculators are extremely popular with forex traders. The ones calculating currency pips have been used the most (94% of respondents). Others widely used by traders help them convert different currencies, calculate their potential profit, and calculate volatility. With AI becoming a larger part of modern forex trading, it comes as no surprise that 88% of profitable traders have reported using robots in their forex trades.
| Additional Statistics Related to Forex Trading | |
|---|---|
| Forex Daily Trading Volume | US Forex Trading Market |
| Japan Forex Trading Market | Most Traded Forex Currency Pairs |
| US Dollar Share of Global Currency Reserves | US Forex Trading Demographics |
Conclusion
The forex industry represents one of the biggest markets in the world. It is even estimated that forex trading exceeds the global GDP by about 17 times. The daily forex turnover for 2025 was estimated to be $9.6 trillion, up by 28% from $7.5 trillion in 2022, with forecasts showing potentially bigger increases in the coming years.
With a dynamic history, agreements between major economies, and significant technological advancements, the global forex industry is booming. While some sectors experienced a decline in revenue due to the global pandemic, COVID-19 had a positive impact on the forex sector, with numerous online brokers experiencing a massive growth of active traders. This has led to further expansion of the already large forex industry, and many fintech companies are managing to keep the momentum and continue attracting more clients year after year.
The demographic stats show that forex continues to be a male-dominated industry, but female participation in currency trading is steadily increasing. Young adults make up the larger portion of active forex traders, and social media is often used by successful traders to stay updated about the latest forex trends.
While geopolitical conflicts, interest rate uncertainty, and other economic factors are responsible for the ongoing dynamics in the global forex sector, the industry outlook remains positive. Projections for the 2025-2029 period indicate the market will expand by $582 billion at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.6%.