National Bank of Georgia Warns Against Unlicensed Offers of CFDs, Binary Options and Prediction Markets

The National Bank of Georgia published a warning on 23 October 2026 for people who are considering investments. The regulator urges them to be careful and to check whether the company offering a financial product holds a licence.

Which products need a licence

According to the National Bank, intermediaries in investment products usually need a licence from the relevant regulator. Working without one may count as illegal entrepreneurial activity, which is a criminal offence under Georgian law.

The warning covers these products:

• shares, bonds and other securities, including tokenized securities;
• contracts for difference (CFDs), where the payout depends on how the price of an asset or indicator changes between opening and closing a position;
• binary options, where the payout depends on whether a set event happens by the expiry date;
• event contracts on prediction markets, if they are linked to financial assets or indicators.

The National Bank adds that the name of a contract is not decisive. Products sold as perpetual futures may also count as CFDs, depending on how they work.

How to check a company

The National Bank publishes three lists on its website, nbg.gov.ge: licensed brokerage companies, investment funds and asset management companies, and commercial banks. If a firm that offers you trading or investments is not on these lists, the regulator advises particular caution.

The list of commercial banks is also useful when you choose where to open a personal bank account in Georgia. The National Bank did not announce new rules in this warning. It explains which products already fall under the licensing requirements.

A day earlier, the National Bank warned about fraudsters who use its name on WhatsApp to push people into loans. Other common tricks that newcomers run into are described in the overview of safety in Georgia.