MetaTrader 4 and 5 banned from the App Store. The reason for the sanctions?

Mobile versions of platforms MetaTrader 4 and 5 disappeared from the App Store. September 24, 2022, users of mobile devices Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), have lost the ability to download the world's most popular trading platforms to their smartphones and tablets. What happened? The situation is not entirely clear.

MetaTrader 4 and 5 banned

There are many question marks. The main assumptions about the reason for removing the MT4 and MT5 applications lead to the theory that this is another wave of sanctions imposed by the West on Russia. The cult trading platform belongs to MetaQuotes Software Corp.. Although the company is registered in Limassol, Cyprus, it is no secret that it has Russian capital behind it. A representative of MQ, in Finance Magnates, denies that the sanctions were the reason "Confusion", saying:

"We don't believe Apple's actions are in any way related to Western sanctions against Russia."

The company says it's a matter of inconsistency with the App Store's review policy, and the matter is being cleared with Apple.

Interestingly, both applications are still available in the store for Android devices Google Play - the only question is whether this situation will persist or changes are still ahead of us.

Evidence that something is actually happening is the fact that American brokers have withdrawn from the MetaTrader 5 offer in recent days, replacing it with ... MetaTrader 4. Looking at the offer of the Forex.com broker, for European clients of MetaTrader 5 all the time is available for download:

Meanwhile, on the American side of this broker, MT5 was quickly replaced by… MT4.

The same fate befell Oanda's clients. Case?

The problem is not only for traders

On the surface, it may seem like only a minor inconvenience. After all, the situation only applies to people using Apple devices, and in addition, only to those who do not currently have the application downloaded. But the problem will be the inability to update the software, which may affect its development, and above all, security. In addition, if we ever change the smartphone, there is a chance that MetaTrader will not be downloaded from our iCloud account, because it will not be in the AppStore or on the list of "trusted applications". If anyone is brave to try if it actually happens - let me know :-).

It is also a serious problem for brokers who base their offer only on MT4 / 5. It is estimated that in 2020 nearly 80% of the market belonged to MetaQuotes products, and the platform itself is offered by over 750 brokers from around the world. It can be assumed that the number of users is hundreds of thousands or even millions. Mobile trading, while in Europe it may still seem something slightly exotic, in Asia active trading from a smartphone is something completely natural. And even if traders do not use a smartphone for daily trading, they often use the platform to view the market situation or check the status of open positions.

At the moment, it is not known whether this is the beginning, the end, or maybe just a temporary state of affairs, but in the place of brokers offering only MT4 / 5, I would consider diversifying the platform offer. Just in case.

Who can benefit from it?

Of course, this bad news also shows some kind of winners. They are brokers who decided to use an extensive platform offer a few years ago or created their own solutions. Although this solution is certainly much more expensive and problematic due to the need to create an appropriate IT department and infrastructure, it nevertheless ensures complete autonomy in terms of the platform. Brokers like XTB, Dukascopy or Saxo BankAlthough they have (or in the case of XTB - they had) MetaTrader on offer, it is only an add-on, which is only to complete the whole.

The question, however, is - are traders for whom essential are there mobile platforms, will they prefer to change the phone or the broker?