Limassol, Cyprus. George Theocharides, Chairman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, opened iFX EXPO International 2026 on Wednesday with a regulatory message for an industry facing tighter scrutiny, rapid technological change and a more demanding European policy environment.
Regulatory focus at opening
Addressing delegates at the City of Dreams Mediterranean, Theocharides outlined the main regulatory and supervisory issues shaping financial markets across the European Union, as Cyprus continues to play a more visible role in European financial services during its Presidency.
His keynote placed supervision at the centre of an event more commonly associated with brokers, fintech firms, payment providers, liquidity companies and trading technology vendors, reflecting the sector’s increasing reliance on regulation, compliance and market integrity.
Event scale and programme
The three-day event, running from June 16 to 18, is expected to attract more than 6,500 attendees, 200 exhibitors and over 120 speakers, making it one of the largest international gatherings for the online trading and fintech industries.
The conference opened on Tuesday evening with a welcome event at Columbia Beach, while the main exhibition floor and speaker programme began on Wednesday. Discussions are being held across the Speaker Hall and the newly introduced Mastery Hub stage.
Industry pressures reflected in agenda
The agenda focused on the pressures shaping the sector, including tighter supervision, trading infrastructure, payments, client acquisition, digital assets, artificial intelligence and changing behaviour among retail traders.
In the session titled “What They Don’t Tell You About Entrepreneurship,” Charles Savva, Managing Director of C.Savva and Associates, shifted attention from polished success narratives to the realities of building a company.
Speaking about his journey from Canada to establishing his own business, Savva highlighted the discipline, resilience and personal stability required to make difficult long-term decisions. His remarks focused on endurance, particularly in industries where pressure and uncertainty are part of daily work.
Discussion on risk and prediction markets
Risk was also a central theme in the session “Prop Under Pressure: Are Prediction Markets the New Trading Frontier,” where speakers examined whether the growth of prediction-based products represents a genuine change in retail trading or another form of speculation.
The panel featured Pere Monguió, Co-CEO of FXStreet, Abdullah Galib, Chief Strategy Officer at FundedNext, Libi Milshtein, VP Partnerships at Plaee, Haya Zaoui, Trading Business Analyst at Plus500, and Ruben Abitbol, Founder and CEO of RUBIK Prop Firm Consulting.