The Growth of the Finance Everything App

The article argues that crypto exchanges, neobanks and zero‑commission brokers are converging into multi‑asset “everything apps,” creating a structural competitive threat to traditional CFD brokers. Firms such as Coinbase, Kraken and Robinhood have expanded well beyond crypto into stocks, ETFs, futures, tokenized securities and banking products, benefiting from network effects and mobile-first onboarding of younger traders. Regulatory pressure on retail CFDs (leverage caps, marketing limits) is accelerating a strategic pivot by OTC brokers toward exchange‑traded markets; several large brokers have pursued acquisitions to gain listed‑markets licenses. The piece concludes smaller CFD firms must either serve remaining high‑leverage niches or invest in the tech and licensing to broaden into exchange‑traded instruments to stay relevant.