CFD Share of European Cross-Border Clients Falls to 6.7%, ESMA
European cross-border retail clients rose to 15.5 million in 2025, but CFDs' share slipped to 6.7%, behind MiCA-regulated crypto, ESMA reports.
ESMA's annual report shows CFDs made up 6.7% of reported cross-border retail client holdings in 2025, down from 11%, with an implied loss of about 100,000 CFD clients that is an estimate due to rounding.
According to ESMA's annual report, Europe's cross-border retail investment market added about five million reported clients in 2025. The total rose from 10.5 million to 15.5 million. CFD client numbers dipped to 1.3 million, and CFDs’ share of reported product holdings fell to 6.7%, down from 11% in the previous report.
That puts CFDs behind MiCA-regulated crypto-assets, which had nearly 1.6 million clients and an 8.4% share. This crypto number only covers products offered by traditional investment firms and credit institutions, not standalone crypto-asset service providers. Shares remained the most widely held product, with cross-border clients rising from 4.6 million to 7.3 million. UCITS funds grew from 3.9 million to six million clients.
The rounding caveat
ESMA rounds its product figures, so the implied loss of around 100,000 CFD clients is an estimate. The report tracks cross-border services under the EU/EEA freedom-to-provide-services regime, not domestic clients or local branch business. Firms only report if they serve more than 50 retail clients in a host country.
Totals do not necessarily count unique individuals. A person using several foreign firms or holding multiple products could be counted more than once. So the data show where reported client numbers grew, not that individual customers switched from CFDs. Execution-only services went to 87% of active clients, portfolio management to 11%, and investment advice to 0.8%.
The takeaway: CFDs lost share in ESMA's cross-border sample, but the numbers are rounded and may double-count, so they don't prove individual switching.
Summary written by Oh Cannot from the original report by Finance Magnates. Not financial advice.
