LHFX is a direct MetaQuotes licensee, running official MetaTrader 5, regulated by FSC Mauritius and FSCA South Africa. Hugosway operates a grey-label MetaTrader clone, is not licensed by MetaQuotes, and holds no authorisation from any major regulator.
Before you deposit, check the licensing register of any broker you are considering. We have laid out every category we could compare. The differences are not subtle.
LHFX vs Hugosway at a glance.
| Feature | LHFX | Hugosway |
|---|---|---|
| MetaQuotes licensing | Direct MetaQuotes licensee. Listed on the official MetaQuotes broker registry. | Not a MetaQuotes licensee. MetaQuotes withdrew its MetaTrader 4 licence in 2023. Now operates a grey-label MetaTrader-style platform from a Russian supplier, not licensed MT4 or MT5. |
| Trading platform | Official MetaTrader 5 (MT5). | Re-skinned MetaTrader clone. Looks like MT4/MT5; not licensed by MetaQuotes. |
| Regulation | FSC Mauritius (Longhorn Ltd, license GB23202204). FSCA South Africa (LHFX SA PTY Ltd, FSP 52816). Both publicly verifiable. | No authorisation from FSC Mauritius, FSCA, CySEC, FCA, ASIC, or any other major regulator. Spain's CNMV issued a warning against Hugo's Way Ltd on 2 October 2023. The same operators ran EagleFX, which the US CFTC put on its RED list of unregistered foreign firms in July 2020. |
| Operating entity | Longhorn Ltd (Mauritius, GBC C200455). Disclosed in footer; verifiable on the Mauritius company register. | Offshore. No publicly verifiable regulated operating entity in any major jurisdiction. |
| US clients | Not accepted. US persons blocked at signup via IP gate and FATCA self-attestation. | Accepts US clients despite holding no US regulatory authorisation (CFTC, NFA, SEC). |
| Client fund custody | Client funds segregated from operating capital at tier-1 banking partners under regulator oversight. | No regulator-supervised segregation. Funds custodied in cryptocurrency rather than at regulated banks. |
| Commission | $3 per side | $3.50 per side (per their published rates) |
| Spreads | From 0.0 pips (raw) | Variable. Spreads on a grey-label clone are not market-verifiable the same way licensed MT5 spreads are. |
| Minimum deposit | $10 | Per their published rate |
| Leverage | Up to 1:500 (subject to regulator caps). | Up to 1:500. Higher leverage is permitted because Hugosway is not subject to any regulator's leverage caps. |
| Withdrawals | Typically under 20 minutes. Zero fees. Crypto, cards, bank. | Per their published times. Not subject to any regulator's complaint-handling requirements. |
The areas where LHFX offers a clear advantage over Hugosway.
LHFX is a direct MetaQuotes licensee, verifiable on the official MetaQuotes broker registry. Hugosway is not a MetaQuotes licensee and runs a cloned MetaTrader-style interface. If you cannot find a broker on MetaQuotes' own list, they are not licensed to run real MT5.
Longhorn Ltd is on the FSC Mauritius register under GB23202204. LHFX SA (PTY) Ltd is on the FSCA register under FSP 52816. You can look both up on the regulators' own sites in 30 seconds. Hugosway does not appear on the register of any major regulator.
Client funds at LHFX are held separately from operating capital, at tier-1 banking partners, under FSC Mauritius and FSCA oversight. Hugosway does not operate under regulator-supervised segregation and custodies client funds in cryptocurrency.
LHFX blocks US residents at signup because we are not US-regulated. A broker that accepts clients from jurisdictions it cannot legally serve is not protecting those clients. It is protecting its own deposit flow. We would rather lose the signup.
Longhorn Ltd (Mauritius, GBC C200455) and LHFX SA (PTY) Ltd (FSP 52816) are disclosed in our footer and on every legal page. The companies are registered, named, and reachable. You cannot tell who legally operates Hugosway from public sources.
If you have a dispute with LHFX, FSC Mauritius and FSCA South Africa both publish complaint procedures and supervise our conduct. With an unauthorised broker, your only recourse is the broker itself.
Categories where Hugosway operates differently from LHFX. These are not advantages for clients. Each one exists because Hugosway is not subject to the regulatory frameworks that bind LHFX.
Hugosway accepts US clients despite holding no authorisation from the CFTC, NFA, or SEC. US persons trading at Hugosway are doing so with a broker no US regulator has reviewed or approved, with no US legal recourse. LHFX blocks US residents at signup because we are not US-regulated. A broker that accepts clients from jurisdictions where it cannot legally operate is not serving those clients. It is harvesting deposits.
Regulators impose leverage caps because high leverage rapidly liquidates retail accounts. Hugosway is not subject to any regulator's cap because it is not authorised by any major regulator. LHFX operates within FSC Mauritius and FSCA limits because we are bound by them.
Authorised brokers are required to apply Know Your Customer and Anti-Money-Laundering checks set by their regulator. An unauthorised broker has no such obligation. For traders this means weaker identity protection on the account itself; for the broader system it means a venue for money laundering. LHFX applies KYC for withdrawals over $1,000 in line with our regulators' requirements.
Moving from Hugosway to LHFX takes minutes, not days.
$10 minimum deposit. Registration takes about 2 minutes.
Upload a government-issued ID. Most verifications complete within a few hours.
Deposit via crypto or card and place your first trade on MT5 or LHFX Trade.
$10 minimum deposit. Registration takes about 2 minutes.
Upload a government-issued ID. Most verifications complete within a few hours.
Deposit via crypto or card and place your first trade on MT5 or LHFX Trade.
Regulated by FSC Mauritius and FSCA South Africa. Direct MetaQuotes MT5 licensee. $10 minimum, $3 per side commission, zero fees on deposits and withdrawals.