Poland’s
retail FX and CFD market expanded at its fastest pace in years during 2025,
with the total number of active participants climbing by roughly 50% to
approximately 370,000, while aggregate losses across all clients reached a
record 2.68 billion zlotys, according to data released by Poland’s Financial
Supervision Authority (KNF).
Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don’t!)
The annual
report from the KNF, which covers the full range of OTC derivatives traded
through supervised Polish brokerages, shows that the total value of losses last
year was nearly four times the total value of profits generated by winning
clients. The regulator counted 102,919 active clients who ended the year in
profit, compared with 266,818 who recorded a net loss, placing the share of
losing traders at more than 72%.
The data
builds on a pattern of
rapid market expansion seen in previous years, when Poland’s active trader count grew by 40%
in 2024 alone, already making the country one of the most active retail
derivatives markets in Europe.
Polish Residents Bear
1.63B Zloty Hit
Narrowing
the lens to Polish residents only, the data shows a somewhat more concentrated
picture. KNF counted 186,372 active Polish residents in the market last year,
up approximately 59% from the 116,903 recorded in 2024.
Their
combined losses totaled 1.63 billion zlotys, a 26% increase from the 1.29
billion zlotys recorded the previous year. Net profits generated by Polish
winning traders reached 439.5 million zlotys, up 44% year-on-year, but still
less than a third of what losing traders gave back to the market.
Jacek Jastrzฤbski, the KNF Chairman
โCompared
with the previous year, the share of clients who recorded losses increased
slightly,โ the KNF commented in the
report seen by FinanceMagnates.com. โAt the same time, the average
loss among losing clients declined, while the average profit of profitable
clients rose. Overall, the average result of active clients remained negative,
although the loss was smaller than in the previous year.โ
The average
loss per losing Polish resident fell from 15,749 zlotys in 2024 to 12,162
zlotys in 2025, which the KNF data attributes partly to a wider base of newer,
smaller-scale participants entering the market.
Average
winnings among profitable Polish traders also declined slightly, from 8,778
zlotys to 8,358 zlotys. The average net result across all active Polish
resident clients stood at minus 6,373 zlotys for the year, an improvement from
minus 8,442 zlotys in 2024.
Marcin Wenus, Invest Cuffs Foundation
“The
numbers confirm what we’ve been seeing in the market for some time,” said
Marcin Wenus, the Chairman of the Invest Cuffs Foundation. “Poland is now
unambiguously one of the largest retail derivatives markets in Europe, and the
pace of new entrants is accelerating. But the persistently high share of losing
traders, around 72% year after year, shows that participation and profitability
are growing at very different speeds.”
Retail Clients Remain the
Dominant Force
Retail
participants accounted for 99.9% of all active clients on Polish-supervised
platforms last year and represented 94% of the total nominal transaction value.
The KNF noted that its analysis encompasses not just currency pairs but the
full spectrum of OTC derivatives, including equity CFDs, commodity contracts,
and index products traded via Polish-licensed brokerages.
The
explosive growth in total client numbers is consistent with broader trends in
the Polish brokerage industry. XTB, the
Warsaw-listed fintech and one of Poland’s largest retail brokers, added 441,500
new Polish brokerage accounts in 2025, pushing Poland past 2.5 million total
registered securities accounts for the first time.
The
company’s Polish clients also traded 16
billion zlotys worth of securities on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2025, a 76%
jump year-on-year.
Loss-to-Profit Ratio Holds
at Near 4-to-1
Despite the
year-on-year moderation in individual loss sizes, the overall market structure
has changed little over the five-year window covered by the KNF report. Between
2021 and 2025, the share of active clients posting a loss has ranged from 70.6%
to 79.1%, with 2025 sitting at 72.2%. The absolute scale of losses, however,
has grown substantially.
Total
losses across all clients stood at 1.16 billion zlotys in 2021 and have more
than doubled in four years to 2.68 billion zlotys in 2025.
The
competitive dynamics in the Polish brokerage market intensified over the past
year, a development that may have contributed to the influx of new, less
experienced traders.
Germany’s
Trade Republic entered Poland in 2025, triggering a broader pricing war among
established local brokers, which in turn lowered the cost of entry for retail participants.
KNF Reiterates Risk
Warning
The KNF has
historically noted that OTC derivatives are high-risk products and should only
be used by investors with the relevant knowledge, experience, and an explicit
acceptance of the risk of losing all invested capital.
The
authority has been tracking this
data for years,
with the structural imbalance between losers and winners remaining a consistent
feature of the retail derivatives landscape across all European markets.
For now,
Poland’s retail trading community continues to grow faster than the pool of
profitable participants within it. Whether the entry of new platforms, better
investor education, or regulatory pressure can shift that ratio in the years
ahead remains an open question.
Poland’s
retail FX and CFD market expanded at its fastest pace in years during 2025,
with the total number of active participants climbing by roughly 50% to
approximately 370,000, while aggregate losses across all clients reached a
record 2.68 billion zlotys, according to data released by Poland’s Financial
Supervision Authority (KNF).
Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don’t!)
The annual
report from the KNF, which covers the full range of OTC derivatives traded
through supervised Polish brokerages, shows that the total value of losses last
year was nearly four times the total value of profits generated by winning
clients. The regulator counted 102,919 active clients who ended the year in
profit, compared with 266,818 who recorded a net loss, placing the share of
losing traders at more than 72%.
The data
builds on a pattern of
rapid market expansion seen in previous years, when Poland’s active trader count grew by 40%
in 2024 alone, already making the country one of the most active retail
derivatives markets in Europe.
Polish Residents Bear
1.63B Zloty Hit
Narrowing
the lens to Polish residents only, the data shows a somewhat more concentrated
picture. KNF counted 186,372 active Polish residents in the market last year,
up approximately 59% from the 116,903 recorded in 2024.
Their
combined losses totaled 1.63 billion zlotys, a 26% increase from the 1.29
billion zlotys recorded the previous year. Net profits generated by Polish
winning traders reached 439.5 million zlotys, up 44% year-on-year, but still
less than a third of what losing traders gave back to the market.
Jacek Jastrzฤbski, the KNF Chairman
โCompared
with the previous year, the share of clients who recorded losses increased
slightly,โ the KNF commented in the
report seen by FinanceMagnates.com. โAt the same time, the average
loss among losing clients declined, while the average profit of profitable
clients rose. Overall, the average result of active clients remained negative,
although the loss was smaller than in the previous year.โ
The average
loss per losing Polish resident fell from 15,749 zlotys in 2024 to 12,162
zlotys in 2025, which the KNF data attributes partly to a wider base of newer,
smaller-scale participants entering the market.
Average
winnings among profitable Polish traders also declined slightly, from 8,778
zlotys to 8,358 zlotys. The average net result across all active Polish
resident clients stood at minus 6,373 zlotys for the year, an improvement from
minus 8,442 zlotys in 2024.
Marcin Wenus, Invest Cuffs Foundation
“The
numbers confirm what we’ve been seeing in the market for some time,” said
Marcin Wenus, the Chairman of the Invest Cuffs Foundation. “Poland is now
unambiguously one of the largest retail derivatives markets in Europe, and the
pace of new entrants is accelerating. But the persistently high share of losing
traders, around 72% year after year, shows that participation and profitability
are growing at very different speeds.”
Retail Clients Remain the
Dominant Force
Retail
participants accounted for 99.9% of all active clients on Polish-supervised
platforms last year and represented 94% of the total nominal transaction value.
The KNF noted that its analysis encompasses not just currency pairs but the
full spectrum of OTC derivatives, including equity CFDs, commodity contracts,
and index products traded via Polish-licensed brokerages.
The
explosive growth in total client numbers is consistent with broader trends in
the Polish brokerage industry. XTB, the
Warsaw-listed fintech and one of Poland’s largest retail brokers, added 441,500
new Polish brokerage accounts in 2025, pushing Poland past 2.5 million total
registered securities accounts for the first time.
The
company’s Polish clients also traded 16
billion zlotys worth of securities on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2025, a 76%
jump year-on-year.
Loss-to-Profit Ratio Holds
at Near 4-to-1
Despite the
year-on-year moderation in individual loss sizes, the overall market structure
has changed little over the five-year window covered by the KNF report. Between
2021 and 2025, the share of active clients posting a loss has ranged from 70.6%
to 79.1%, with 2025 sitting at 72.2%. The absolute scale of losses, however,
has grown substantially.
Total
losses across all clients stood at 1.16 billion zlotys in 2021 and have more
than doubled in four years to 2.68 billion zlotys in 2025.
The
competitive dynamics in the Polish brokerage market intensified over the past
year, a development that may have contributed to the influx of new, less
experienced traders.
Germany’s
Trade Republic entered Poland in 2025, triggering a broader pricing war among
established local brokers, which in turn lowered the cost of entry for retail participants.
KNF Reiterates Risk
Warning
The KNF has
historically noted that OTC derivatives are high-risk products and should only
be used by investors with the relevant knowledge, experience, and an explicit
acceptance of the risk of losing all invested capital.
The
authority has been tracking this
data for years,
with the structural imbalance between losers and winners remaining a consistent
feature of the retail derivatives landscape across all European markets.
For now,
Poland’s retail trading community continues to grow faster than the pool of
profitable participants within it. Whether the entry of new platforms, better
investor education, or regulatory pressure can shift that ratio in the years
ahead remains an open question.
