ZoneOptions joins Banc de Binary and OptionWeb as licensed binary options brokers.

LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned that Binary Options broker ZoneOptions’ parent company Rodeler Limited has received its CySEC CIF license, making ZoneOptions just the third binary broker to be formally regulated in Cyprus.

The announcement should be made by CySEC in the coming days.

The first two brokers to receive CySEC licensing are Banc de Binary and OptionWeb, both of which run on the industry-leading SpotOption platform. ZoneOptions runs on the TechFinancials platform. (Note that SpotOption itself has a CySEC license, allowing it to act as a ‘binary market maker’ for several of its broker clients).

Last year CySEC regulated binary options, breaking ranks with other European financial regulators — in most other EU countries, binaries are either not regulated or (as in the UK) fall under the auspices of gaming regulations. Japan’s JFSA is also in the process of finalizing binary regulations, and reopening that market, after quietly shutting down all Japan binary brokers and all binary trading activity last fall.

We expect more binary brokers to become licensed in Cyprus in the coming months, as that product category heats up as an alternative to ‘straight’ Forex and CFD trading. We’ll keep you posted…

ZoneOptions used Cyprus regulatory advisory firm Map S.Platis as its advisor in receiving its license.

For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.