Forex Expo Dubai 2026 opens at DWTC as the industry's biggest names crowd Halls 1 to 5
The Guinness-record holder returns for 22–23 September with 250+ exhibitors, a Super Elite sponsor tier led by GTCFX, Valetax, xChief, Funding Pips and Honor Financial, a dedicated B2B Zone and 140+ speakers. BBN breaks down who is here, what is new and what it means for traders.
DUBAI — The doors of the Dubai World Trade Centre opened at 10:00 this morning on what its organiser calls "the #1 global event for the multi-asset trading and fintech industry". Forex Expo Dubai 2026 runs today and tomorrow, 22–23 September, across Halls 1 to 5, and it arrives with a record to defend.
Last year's edition entered the Guinness World Records on 7 October 2025 for two titles at once: the largest attendance at a forex event and the most exhibitors at a forex event. For 2026 the organiser, Dubai-based HQMENA, is promising an even bigger floor with more than 250 exhibitors, over 30,000 attendees from more than 60 countries, and 140-plus speakers across multiple stages.
"Where the global trading ecosystem connects," is how the expo frames itself. On day one, that felt less like a slogan and more like a floor plan.
The expo in numbers
| Metric | 2026 target |
|---|---|
| Attendees | 30,000+ |
| B2B visitors | 4,990+ |
| IBs and affiliates | 3,990+ |
| Exhibitors and sponsors | 250+ |
| Speakers | 140+ |
| Countries represented | 50–60+ |
| Venue | Dubai World Trade Centre, Halls 1–5 |
| Opening hours | 10:00–18:00, both days |
Who is sponsoring: the top tiers
Forex Expo Dubai does not sell a single "title sponsor" slot. Instead it runs a tiered structure, and the top of that ladder is the Super Elite tier, followed by Elite, Global, Titanium, Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and a Start Up zone.
Super Elite sponsors confirmed by the organiser in its July announcement:
- GTCFX (Booth 54), the most visible brand on the floor this year
- Valetax
- xChief
- Funding Pips, the prop-trading firm making its presence felt on a stage traditionally dominated by brokers
- Honor Financial
The organiser's live directory shows eleven Super Elite stands in total. Industry reporting ahead of the event also placed Exness, MultiBank Group, Vantage Markets, VT Markets and XM in the top bracket, and all five logos appear in the expo's own "Trusted by 250+ global brands" reel. BBN treats those five as indicative rather than officially confirmed at the Super Elite level.
Elite sponsors named by the organiser include a who's who of the CFD and technology world:
- Brokers: EC Markets, TMGM, JustMarkets, FP Markets, PU Prime, Moneta Markets, CXM, VPFX, SGFX, FortressFX, UEXO, DPrime
- Prop and funding: FundedFirm
- Technology: MetaQuotes (the company behind MetaTrader 5), Aegeanlabs Software and Eplanet
The expo's prize page adds further Elite-tier logos including ADSS, Alpari, ATFX, CFI, Daman Markets, Equiti, FXTM, Ingot, StarPrime, Spectra Global, Winpro FX, Zitaplus and ABH Forex. Below that, XS.com is listed at the Global tier (Booth 64) and CentFX at Diamond (Booth 81).
Reader note: sponsorship tiers reflect what a company paid to be here. They are a signal of marketing budget, not of regulation, safety or execution quality. Check any broker's licence on the BrokerBazaar Regulation Explorer before opening an account.
The B2B story: where the real deals happen
For most visitors the expo is a trade show. For brokers, liquidity providers, payment companies and technology vendors it is a deal-making venue, and 2026 leans into that harder than before.
- B2B Zone. A purpose-built, quieter area away from the main halls. The pitch is "no fluff, just solid connections": face-to-face meetings between brokers, liquidity providers, PSPs, RegTech vendors and investors. The organiser is targeting close to 5,000 B2B visitors.
- GCC Majlis and VIP lounges. Networking spaces aimed at regional decision-makers, reflecting Dubai's role as the springboard into the GCC, wider MENA, South Asia and Africa.
- Match Making. A curated meeting programme that pairs vendors and brokers ahead of the show, run through the event's networking app.
- Trader's Clinic. New for 2026, a hands-on area where retail traders can sit down with analysts and platform specialists.
- Verified trader and IB features. The July update added dedicated features for verified traders and introducing brokers, including the IB and Affiliate pass tiers and a Gold Lucky Draw in which 18 registered and verified visitors walk away with 24-karat gold.
Passes are split into Visitor, Trader, Introducing Broker, Affiliate and Business categories. All include access to the exhibition floor and selected conference sessions.
On stage: the speaker line-up
The conference programme is spread across keynotes, deep-dive panels and technical workshops. Names on the 2026 speaker roster include:
- Aaron Hill, Chief Market Analyst, FP Markets (CMT, CFTe)
- Boris Schlossberg, President, BKForex, and co-author of Millionaire Traders
- Avramis Despotis, Founder and CEO of Tradepedia, speaking under the XM banner
- Abhay Kumar, Sales Director MENA and South Asia, TMGM
- Connor Woods, Global Head of Education, Taurex
- Dane Baker, Chief Commercial Officer, Kama Capital
- Anthony Wu, CEO, Sigma Trading Management
- Ahmed Yousre, PU Prime, and Danny Salman, Head of Market Research, CXM
A separate "Seminar by Experts" track and a webinar series run alongside the main agenda.
Why Dubai, and why it matters for Indian and GCC traders
Dubai's licensing regime, split between the onshore SCA and the DIFC-based DFSA, has made the emirate the preferred regional hub for global CFD brands. Many of the Super Elite and Elite sponsors at this expo hold UAE licences or are actively applying, and a large share of the floor is pitching directly to the region's fast-growing South Asian trader base.
For a trader in Mumbai, Riyadh or Nairobi the practical takeaways are simple:
- Regulation first. A big stand is not a licence. Cross-check every broker on the Regulation Explorer and pay particular attention to whether the entity you would actually be onboarded with is the regulated one.
- Prop firms are now mainstream. Funding Pips and FundedFirm holding Super Elite and Elite slots tells you where marketing money is flowing. Understand the evaluation rules and payout terms before paying a challenge fee.
- Compare costs, not swag. Spreads, swaps and withdrawal terms differ enormously between the brands on this floor. Use the broker comparison tool rather than the expo brochure.
What BBN is watching on day two
- Whether the organiser confirms a new attendance record ahead of the 18:00 close on 23 September
- Any licence or partnership announcements from the Super Elite stands, several of which have hinted at "major reveals"
- The uptake of the Trader's Clinic, the first retail-education format of its kind at this expo
BBN will update this story as the expo progresses. Sponsor tiers and booth numbers are taken from the organiser's live directory and its 15 July 2026 announcement, and may change during the event.
Broker Bazaar News is the independent media arm of BrokerBazaar. We do not accept payment for editorial coverage. BrokerBazaar is a comparison and information platform, not a broker, and nothing in this article is investment advice. Trading forex and CFDs carries a high risk of loss.