Is IQ Option legit or a scam?

In one paragraph

We found nothing to suggest IQ Option is a fake site that just collects deposits: a named company runs a working platform. That isn't the same as safe. No leading regulator licenses it, so if things go wrong there is no supervisor and no compensation fund to turn to. It appears in 3 official warnings or alert lists: CVM (Brazil), MAS (Singapore), and RBI (India).

Our checklist

Running since

2013

Licence from a leading regulator (FCA, CySEC, ASIC…)

No

Official warnings and alert lists

CVM (Brazil), MAS (Singapore), RBI (India)

Outside dispute body

No

Free practice account

Yes

Lowest deposit

$10

Smallest withdrawal

$2

Official site

iqoption.com

What we learned about IQ Option

IQ Option is one of the oldest brands here (2013), and its group owns a CySEC-licensed Cyprus company, but that company doesn't sell binary options. Trade options from Asia and your contract is with an unregulated offshore company. Singapore's MAS has kept the brand on its Investor Alert List since 2017, India's RBI lists it, and Brazil's CVM has an open sanction case. Check which company you sign with and remember the dormant fee after 90 days.

Warning signs

• ✕No licence from a leading regulator: no financial authority in your country will take up a dispute.
• ✕Listed in official warnings or alert lists: CVM (Brazil), MAS (Singapore), and RBI (India).
• ✕Not a member of any outside dispute body, so complaints only go to the platform itself.
• ✕Deposit bonuses carry volume rules that can freeze withdrawals until they are met.
• ✕The maths is against you: with a payout of at most 95% you must win over 51.3% of trades just to break even.

Points in its favour

• ✓About 13 years of operation, longer than many offshore brands last.
• ✓A free practice account, so you can try it without depositing.
• ✓A small minimum deposit ($10) lets you test a withdrawal cheaply.

Fake IQ Option sites and 'account managers'

Many 'I lost money at IQ Option' stories involve copycat sites, Telegram signal groups or so-called account managers who ask for your password or for transfers to a personal wallet. The real address is iqoption.com. Type it yourself or use the official app, never pay an individual, and never share your login or two-factor codes.

How to lower your risk

1. 1Start small, close to the $10 minimum.
2. 2Finish identity checks before you need a withdrawal.
3. 3Withdraw a small amount early, before adding more.
4. 4Say no to bonuses unless you have read the volume rule: a bonus can lock your balance.
5. 5Switch on two-factor login.
6. 6Use only money you can lose: most retail traders lose on fixed-time trades.

Quick answers