Currency pairs accounted for 13.7% of the trading volume reported by retail brokers in the second quarter, down from 26.8% a year earlier. Monthly FX volume across the brokers tracked by the industry fell to $4.2 trillion from $6.4 trillion.
Meanwhile, volume in index, commodity, equity and crypto CFDs rose over the same period to $26.3 trillion from $17.4 trillion, according to industry analysis. The overall market grew because the increase in these asset classes more than offset the decline in FX trading.
The five largest brokers now account for 41.8% of the volume attributed to named firms, with currencies representing just 4% of their combined trading volume.
Earlier this year, industry data showed that the five largest brokers’ share of tracked volume had barely changed between the end of 2021 and the end of 2025, standing at 38.4% and 38.2%, respectively. The latest figures show their combined share increasing in each of the following three quarters, based on the same group of 51 to 52 named brokers.
The five largest brokers, EC Markets, TMGM, IC Markets, IG Group and JustMarkets, have one thing in common beyond their size: FX accounted for only 4.0% of their combined volume in the quarter, down from 10.9% a year earlier. Three of the five brokers route all of their reported trading volume through MetaTrader.
The increase in the top five’s market share was not driven by overall growth among these brokers. Industry data showed that total market volume declined 9.3% between Q1 and Q2. The median named broker recorded a 12.6% decline, while 47 of the 51 brokers present in both quarters reported lower monthly volume.
Two firms largely explain the difference. EC Markets increased its volume by 23.6%, while TMGM maintained its previous level. By comparison, the other 49 named brokers recorded a combined decline of 12.3%. Within the top five, IC Markets, IG Group and JustMarkets each saw their volume fall by between 11% and 13%.
An August analysis of trading volume per active account also found that activity per account declined at 45 of the 51 brokers during the same quarter. One broker that reported a double-digit decline in Q2 ranked around the middle of its peer group on both overall volume and trading activity per account.
“Part of it is the trade itself,” Arkadiusz Jóźwiak, Editor-in-Chief at Comparic.pl, said. “The moves that have attracted retail money over the past year have been in metals, equities and crypto, rather than currency pairs.”
The findings come with one limitation. FX exposure is estimated for many smaller brokers, and those estimates were revised in the fourth quarter of 2025. Eighteen brokers saw their reported FX share shift sharply from 65-70% to 27-30% in a single quarter.
However, the decline remains evident even when those firms are excluded. Among the 32 brokers whose FX shares changed more gradually, the average share fell to 11.7% from 20.5%, with 30 of the 32 brokers reporting a lower proportion of FX volume. IC Markets, for example, saw its FX share fall from 19% to 10%, while Saxo Bank’s declined from 22% to 16%.
The FX figures are based on published quarterly tables that combine broker-reported data with industry estimates. Industry coverage expanded to 265 brokers in June, with 20% of the Q1 2026 figures classified as verified and 78% estimated.
A more detailed breakdown by broker ranking, individual broker performance and possible scenarios for the market share of the five largest brokers in the third quarter are included in the full industry analysis.