Plus500 has joined the Bahamas Institute of FX and CFD Issuers, the industry body known as BIFCI, and it is in familiar company. FX News Group reported the membership on 13 August 2026, three days after the London listed broker published first half results showing record revenue and a second quarter that cooled. BIFCI's founders are Pepperstone, Capital.com and Trade Nation, and IC Markets signed up earlier in August. The club of big retail brands planting flags in Nassau is growing quickly.
The results explain the timing. Half year revenue reached $462.9 million, up 12 percent on the year, and net income came in at $151.9 million, figures chief executive David Zruia described as a record for a first half. Look quarter by quarter and the picture changes. Q2 revenue fell 9 percent from Q1 to $220.8 million, EBITDA slipped 4 percent to $91.8 million, and the shares have been rough company for investors since a July trading update, down 24 percent at one point and roughly a third below their 52 week high.
What BIFCI Actually Is
BIFCI is a not for profit alliance of licensed forex and CFD firms in The Bahamas that works with the Securities Commission of The Bahamas on consumer protection, fair competition and industry standards. That is the official line. The practical read is simpler. The Bahamas offers brokers a workable licence with far higher leverage than the FCA, ESMA or ASIC allow, and the industry body exists to make the jurisdiction look respectable. Welcoming Plus500, BIFCI said the arrival of another leading global trading provider reflects the depth of the forex and CFD industry that has developed in The Bahamas.
This is the part clients should watch. A trader who signs up under a Bahamas entity usually gives up the compensation schemes, leverage caps and negative balance rules that come with an FCA or CySEC account. The brokers know it. Offshore entities exist because a meaningful slice of clients will trade more, with more leverage, once the guardrails come off, and that slice is worth real revenue in a slowing quarter.
Five Big Brands, One Small Jurisdiction
Five recognisable names inside one Bahamas body in short order is not a coincidence, it is a strategy. Growth in the heavily regulated markets is mature and acquisition costs keep climbing — Plus500 paid an average of $1,283 to land each new customer in Q2. Offshore entities are where the margin lives. Regulators in London, Limassol and Sydney will eventually respond the way they always do, with warnings about which entity a client actually faces. Until then, expect more household names on the BIFCI members page.
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Nobody Joins a Bahamas Industry Body for the Conferences.
Plus500 returning $182.5 million to shareholders while quarterly revenue cools tells you management believes the core business is mature, and mature businesses go looking for looser jurisdictions.
Our advice does not change: the brand on the app matters less than the entity on the account opening form, and clients routed to Nassau should understand exactly which protections they left behind.
The listed brokers have made offshore look respectable. That does not make it equivalent.
About the Company
About Plus500
Regulator
FCA, CySEC, ASIC, DFSA | Securities Commission of The Bahamas
Jurisdiction
The Bahamas
Action Type
Joins BIFCI industry body
Penalty
None | Membership move
Plus500 is a CFD and trading group founded in Israel in 2008 and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Its entities hold licences from the FCA, CySEC, ASIC and the DFSA in Dubai among others, and the group has been building non OTC lines such as futures and prediction markets in the United States. For the first half of 2026 it reported $462.9 million in revenue, $151.9 million in net income and a cash position above $860 million, alongside $182.5 million in announced buybacks and dividends.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Plus500 regulated?
Yes, extensively. Group entities hold licences from the FCA in the UK, CySEC in Cyprus, ASIC in Australia and the DFSA in Dubai among others. The Bahamas connection sits alongside those licences, and the protections you get depend on which entity your account is opened with.
What is BIFCI?
The Bahamas Institute of FX and CFD Issuers, a not for profit alliance of licensed forex and CFD firms that works with the Securities Commission of The Bahamas. Its founders are Pepperstone, Capital.com and Trade Nation, with IC Markets and Plus500 joining in August 2026.
How did Plus500 perform in 2026 so far?
Record first half revenue of $462.9 million, up 12 percent on the year, with net income of $151.9 million. The second quarter was softer, with revenue down 9 percent from Q1 to $220.8 million and EBITDA down 4 percent to $91.8 million.
Does trading under a Bahamas entity change my protection?
Usually yes. Offshore entities typically offer higher leverage but sit outside schemes like the UK FSCS and outside ESMA style leverage caps, so the safety net is thinner if something goes wrong. Check the entity on your account form and compare brokers in our Best Forex Brokers in 2026 ranking.
Editor's note & source: Factual points drawn from FX News Group reporting and Plus500's own first half 2026 results. The BIFCI membership is not a regulatory action against the firm. This article is not investment advice. Last updated: 15 August 2026.