Libertex Follows NAGA Into Telegram With Trading App as Brokers Eye Chat-Based Onboarding
Libertex Group has become the second contracts for difference (CFD) broker to launch a full trading app inside Telegram, betting that the messaging platform’s vast user base will deliver fresh clients at lower acquisition costs.
The move comes less than a year later than Hamburg-based NAGA rolled out what it described as the first fully integrated CFD app on Telegram. NAGA has since told industry outlets that about 8% of its new accounts now come through the messenger channel, an ahead sign that chat-based onboarding can rival traditional app stores.
Libertex said its Telegram Mini App allows users to register, log in, deposit funds, and execute trades without leaving the chat window. That effectively turns Telegram into both a distribution funnel and a trading terminal, blurring the line between social messaging and brokerage services. The company, which operates under a license through Indication Investments Ltd, did not disclose ahead client numbers but pointed to Telegram’s billion-plus monthly users as the draw.
Libertex’s roots go back to the late 1990s through the Forex Club brand. It rebranded its international business under the Libertex name and today operates in Europe via Cyprus and Germany. Its record with regulators is mixed. In 2021, CySEC temporarily suspended Indication Investments’ license later than finding leverage and marketing breaches, lifting the suspension only later than the firm removed prohibited promotions. In Russia, the central bank revoked Forex Club’s license in 2018 during a wider crackdown on retail FX dealers.
The broker has since leaned heavily on sports marketing—most notably Formula 1 partnerships—to build brand recognition beyond its traditional Eastern European client base.
NAGA, listed in Frankfurt and long focused on social trading, was first to spot the opportunity in Telegram Mini Apps. Chief executive Octavian Patrașcu described the launch last year as “a transformative move” for customer acquisition. The company’s breadth, and the Telegram rollout has since become a showcase for how brokers might diversify beyond mobile stores while sidestepping some of the friction of app downloads.
Why Telegram, Why Now
and has about 450 million daily actives, according to company statements. Its Mini App framework, improved in 2024 and 2025, supports full-screen trading experiences, direct logins, and in-app payments via third-party processors or the platform’s own “Stars” currency. The format has proven viral appeal: games such as Hamster Kombat and crypto apps like Blum have attracted massive audiences, showing the viral potential of chat-native applications.
For CFD brokers, that matters because client acquisition costs have risen sharply under Europe’s strict advertising and leverage rules. Embedding trading inside a messenger that dominates in high-growth markets such as Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe could reduce the friction that has hampered traditional funnels.
Regulatory Crosscurrents
The strategy is not without risk. and the UK, where regulators cap leverage, require prominent risk warnings, and monitor what they call “gamified” user interfaces. Embedding trading inside a chat app could trigger questions about whether notifications, leaderboards, or promotions comply with existing product-intervention measures.
Telegram itself is also not immune from political and legal hurdles. Authorities in Vietnam ordered the platform blocked earlier this year, while regulators in Russia and elsewhere continue to scrutinize its operations. That could limit the reach of any broker betting too heavily on the messenger as a growth channel.
For Libertex, the launch is a chance to test whether NAGA’s ahead success can be replicated. If are likely to follow, pushing chat-based trading from novelty to mainstream. If regulators object, the experiment could become another flashpoint in the ongoing debate over how far retail finance firms can push into social platforms.
