NFA BASIC + CFTC List Cross-Verification Tutorial | A Practical Guide to US Regulation

1. Why should we check NFA and CFTC?

The U.S. foreign exchange and derivatives markets are jointly regulated by the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) and the NFA (National Futures Association) .

• CFTC : A government regulatory agency responsible for approving and regulating futures, derivatives, and retail forex brokers.

• NFA : A self-regulatory organization. All legal foreign exchange traders must be members of NFA.

Investor FAQs:

• Is this platform really regulated by the NFA?

• Is the company's NFA ID authentic?

• Has it been named by the CFTC or included in the Red List warning list?

📌 Official inquiry portal:

• 🔗 NFA BASIC Query System

• 🔗 CFTC Registrants & Filings

• CFTC Red List Warning List

2. NFA BASIC Query Steps

1. Open the 🔗 NFA BASIC system .

2. Enter your company name or NFA ID .

3. View the results page and focus on checking:

• Membership Category : FDM (Foreign Exchange Dealer), FCM (Futures Commission Merchant), IB (Introducing Broker), CPO/CTA.

• Status : Active/Withdrawn/Barred.

• Disciplinary Actions : Whether there is a record of violations.

• Location : Whether the registered address is consistent with the official website.

3. Cross-verification of the CFTC List

Even if NFA BASIC has results, further cross-verification is necessary:

• Check CFTC Registrants to see if the company is registered.

• Check the CFTC Red List to see if your company has been named as an unregistered institution marketing to US clients .

📌Note : Once a platform appears on the Red List, it means that it is illegally targeting US investors.

4. Comparison of practical cases

✅ Compliance Case: OANDA Corporation

• NFA ID : 0325821

• Status : Active

• Category : FDM (Retail Forex Dealer)

• Registered address : 17 State Street, Suite 300, New York, NY 10004, USA

• NFA BASIC Page : 🔗 OANDA Query Results

• CFTC Registration Information : OANDA is also listed on the CFTC registration list

• Official website consistency : 🔗 OANDA US official website

• Result: Information fully matched → Compliant✅

❌ Risk Case: CryptoFXTrade

• Company statement : Claims on the official website that it is regulated by the United States.

• Actual situation : Not registered with NFA BASIC or CFTC.

• Evidence : CryptoFXTrade has been included in the CFTC Red List warning list .

• Result: Typical "fake US regulation" scam → High risk ❌

5. Common Scams and Warning Points

1. Misappropriation of NFA numbers

• The platform forges or misuses the real company's NFA ID.

• During verification, the company name/address was found to be inconsistent → Highly suspicious.

2. Deregistering a company impersonating

• Some companies have withdrawn (cancelled) , but still claim on their official website that they are "regulated by NFA."

3. Identity blur

• It is only an IB (Introducing Broker) , but pretends to be a "full license broker".

4. Red List Roll Call

• The CFTC Red List is the most intuitive high-risk warning signal, and appearing on the list indicates unregulated operations.

6. Summary of the Cross-Validation Process

🔄 Standard process:

1. Enter your NFA ID/company name in 🔗 NFA BASIC .

2. Confirm status (Active/Withdrawn/Barred) + verification category.

3. Verify registration on the 🔗 CFTC registration list .

4. Check for warnings on the CFTC Red List .

7. Investor Recommendations

• Three elements must be matched during verification: NFA ID + company name + address.

• Avoid all companies that appear on the CFTC Red List .

• If you find a suspicious platform, you can:

• 🔗 NFA Complaint Channel

• 🔗CFTC Whistleblower Program
  Submit a report.

8. Conclusion

• Cross-checking the NFA BASIC and CFTC lists is the most important means for investors to identify the authenticity of a forex platform.

• Never trust the "regulatory number" displayed on the official website alone, and cross-verify it through official channels.

• Compliant companies like OANDA have their information verified by the NFA/CFTC; while fake companies like CryptoFXTrade will be clearly named by the CFTC.

📌Further reading

• 🔗 FCA Register Official Inquiry

• ASIC Connect license query

• 🔗 BrokerHiveX Risk Scoring Methodology