Top Markets Solutions Ltd Account Types & How to Open

At first glance, the account lineup at Earn (operated by Top Markets Solutions Ltd) might strike a trader as unusually sparse. There is only one live trading account on offer: the MT5 Sharp ECN. For a firm regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and targeting European retail clients, this simplicity is not necessarily a weakness. It reflects a no‑nonsense approach where the broker has decided to package all its core execution and market‑access features into a single, coherent product rather than dizzying clients with half a dozen tiers that differ only by minimum deposit or marketing label.

Our review found that this solitary account is broadly comparable to the “raw spread” or “ECN‑style” accounts found at larger cy‑regulated brokers, but without the usual parallel choice of a commission‑free, mark‑up account. The minimum deposit to open an MT5 Sharp ECN account is a modest $/€100 — low enough to be accessible, yet still demanding enough to encourage a serious attitude toward risk. Base currencies are limited to USD and EUR; there is no GBP or CHF base‑currency option at present.

Through the MT5 Sharp ECN account, traders gain access to more than 1 000 CFDs spanning Forex, metals, energies, commodities, indices, stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrencies. The website claims direct access to major exchanges in the US, Europe and Asia, though in practice the instruments are contracts for difference (CFDs) rather than physical exchange‑traded products. On a CySEC license, this is entirely standard and, importantly, ensures negative balance protection and segregated client funds.

The multi‑asset range is a genuine strength for a broker of this size. Forex traders can select from dozens of major, minor and exotic pairs; the commodities suite covers popular energies such as Brent and WTI, along with agricultural futures; and the equity CFD list, while not individually enumerated, is described as spanning hundreds of single‑stock names across multiple jurisdictions. The presence of cryptocurrency CFDs — with their own margin and commission structure — rounds out a portfolio that, in theory, meets the needs of a well‑diversified retail speculator.

That said, we note that the exact number of available symbols can change with market conditions and regulatory appetite. CySEC‑regulated firms are periodically required to curtail marketing of highly speculative products, and the crypto CFD segment may be especially sensitive in the future. For now, however, the breadth is competitive with many better‑known European brands.

Earn markets its spreads as “ultra‑competitive starting at just 0.1 pips” and in the MT5 Sharp ECN account details states “raw floating spread: from 0.0 pip”. The slight discrepancy between the two marketing statements arises because the starting‑from figure often refers to the lowest achievable spread on major pairs such as EUR/USD during liquid market hours, while the “from 0.0” claim is technically true before any broker mark‑up. In practice, spreads float and widen during news and volatile periods; the broker does not separately charge a mark‑up on ECN execution because it charges a commission instead.

The commission structure is where traders must do the calculation. For Forex, metals, indices and commodities, the fee is 0.007% per half‑turn (i.e. per side). For stocks and ETFs it is 0.25% half‑turn with a minimum of 15 EUR/USD per side; for crypto again 0.25% half‑turn. These are not trivial numbers. On a EUR/USD trade of, say, €100 000 notional, the round‑trip commission amounts to €14.00, which translates to roughly 1.4 pips when added to the raw spread; on a €10 000 trade in a single‑stock CFD, the minimum €15 half‑turn becomes punitive, effectively making small‑size equity CFD trading uneconomical.

We interpret this as a deliberate design choice: the MT5 Sharp ECN account is optimised for traders who can operate with reasonable position sizes and who value tight raw spreads over the convenience of zero‑commission trading. Casual traders who prefer the simplicity of all‑in spread costs may find themselves repeatedly surprised by the minimum commission on stock and crypto CFDs. The lesson is clear — before placing a trade, use the broker’s own list of swap points and spreads to model total costs for your intended size and instrument.

Under CySEC’s product intervention rules, retail clients are entitled to a maximum of 1:30 on major Forex pairs and varying lower caps on other instruments. The broker faithfully adheres to these limits: the account offers leverage up to 1:30 for retail traders, and the margin requirements page shows retail margin percentages of 3.33% (1:30) or 5% (1:20) depending on the instrument, in line with ESMA guidelines.

Clients who qualify as elective professional clients can request higher leverage: up to 1:100 for Forex, metals, energies and indices; up to 1:10 for agricultural commodities, equities and ETFs; and up to 1:5 for cryptocurrencies. Qualification requires meeting two of three criteria — sufficient trading volume in the past year, a portfolio above €500 000, or relevant professional experience in the financial sector — and the client must explicitly apply and acknowledge the loss of certain retail protections.

There is no indication that Earn offers higher‑leverage tiers beyond what CySEC permits. In other words, the broker does not facilitate “offshore” accounts with extreme gearing for clients routed through a separate legal entity, a practice seen at some cy‑regulated groups. This clean, single‑entity model is an understated advantage because it removes the confusion that plagues many brokers who maintain multiple brands with different leverage caps. For the disciplined trader, the retail cap of 1:30 may feel conservative, but it is a legally‑mandated safety net that has demonstrably reduced catastrophic loss events across the EU.

The MT5 Sharp ECN account lives up to its name in that it is tied exclusively to MetaTrader 5. There is no mention of a proprietary platform, no MetaTrader 4 alternative, and no web‑based or mobile application developed in‑house. The broker directs clients to download MT5 from its website, though naturally the application can also be obtained from the MetaQuotes store. This single‑platform focus is a double‑edged sword.

On the one hand, MT5 is a mature, full‑featured trading terminal. It supports the ECN‑style market‑depth display (DOM) that makes a raw‑spread account worthwhile, contains a sophisticated scripting language for algorithmic trading, and provides a multi‑asset interface that handles stocks, ETFs and commodities natively — something MT4 struggled with. On the other hand, traders who have built libraries of MT4 custom indicators or expert advisors will have to re‑code or abandon them. The lack of a browser‑based alternative may also frustrate those who cannot install desktop software on a managed work machine.

We did not find explicit mention of a demo account in the current website navigation, but it would be out of character for a CySEC‑regulated broker not to offer one. Most MT5 brokers automatically provide a practice account upon request. If a demo environment is important, we recommend contacting support directly, as the capability almost certainly exists even if it is not advertised prominently on the landing pages.

The deposit and withdrawal infrastructure is functional rather than flashy. Base‑currency accounts (EUR and USD) can be funded via bank transfer, Visa or Mastercard. The broker warns of an incoming transaction fee of 2.4% for card deposits — a significant bite that will make many choose SEPA transfer instead. Bank transfers take the usual 2‑3 business days to clear, and the website notes fees are applied according to each bank’s schedule.

Withdrawals are processed in up to 10 business days, which is slower than some of the digitally‑native fintech brokers but not unusual for a CySEC firm that must perform internal compliance reviews. The fee structure encourages European users: SEPA EUR withdrawals carry a flat €1 charge, while non‑SEPA international wires cost $5, and any intermediary bank fees are passed on to the client. The minimum withdrawable amount is a refreshingly low €5, so traders are not locked in by excessive thresholds.

A point worth monitoring is the absence of e‑wallet or instant payment methods such as Skrill, Neteller or PayPal. Several third‑party review sites mention Skrill and Neteller as funding options, but the official payments page we reviewed does not list them — they may have been discontinued or may be available only upon request. For the moment, we can only confirm card and bank wire as the default routes. Traders who rely on e‑wallets for speed should clarify availability with support before opening an account.

Like any CySEC‑supervised investment firm, Top Markets Solutions Ltd must comply with stringent anti‑money laundering (AML) and know‑your‑customer (KYC) requirements. While the broker’s website lacks a detailed step‑by‑step guide, the process can be assumed to follow the well‑worn path: online registration form, provision of a government‑issued ID and proof of address (utility bill or bank statement dated within the last three months), a short appropriateness test to assess the applicant’s knowledge of CFDs, and electronic acceptance of the client agreement, key information document and risk disclosures.

The CySEC licence number (158/11) and company registration (HE272810) are displayed on the site and can be verified on the regulator’s public register. This is the single most important check a prospective client can perform. In our tests, the company information matched exactly, and the regulator’s record shows the entity as authorised to provide investment services — cross‑border into other EU member states under MiFID as well.

Retail traders should expect to be asked about their employment status, source of wealth and trading experience during the onboarding questionnaire. Because the broker offers only one real‑money account and no “instant” no‑verification tier, the barrier to entry is slightly higher than at some offshore competitors, but that is precisely the point: KYC is the mechanism through which the EU’s investor‑protection regime is enforced. No account will be activated until the compliance team has reviewed the submitted documents, which can take a working day or two.

Operating under a Cyprus Investment Firm licence brings a suite of mandatory safeguards. Client funds are held in segregated accounts at reputable EU banks, separate from the company’s own operating capital. Negative balance protection is a regulatory requirement, meaning a retail client can never owe more than the balance of their account, no matter how violent a market gap might be. To date, we have not seen any warnings from industry databases suggesting that these protections are not being honoured.

Furthermore, by virtue of being a member of the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) for CIFs, eligible clients have coverage of up to €20 000 per person in the event the firm becomes insolvent and cannot return client assets. While no trader opens an account expecting to claim on such a safety net, its existence underscores why a CySEC licence matters: it anchors the broker in a world of routine regulatory reporting, capital‑adequacy monitoring and external audits.

These structural protections do not eliminate trading risk — the broker prominently displays that between 45% and 56% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider — but they do largely eliminate the risk of fraud or misappropriation. For a trader choosing an account, the certainty of segregated funds and negative balance coverage is a baseline that many unregulated or weakly‑regulated competitors simply cannot match.

The MT5 Sharp ECN account is an all‑in‑one ECN‑style product that bundles multi‑asset access, institutional‑grade execution via MT5 and a transparent commission schedule into a single package. The low $/€100 minimum deposit makes it accessible, but the cost structure — especially the stiff minimum commission on stocks and crypto — means it is best suited to traders who can operate with at least a few thousand euros and who value tight raw spreads over zero‑commission marketing.

We see the account appealing to two distinct groups. The first is the experienced retail FX trader who regularly uses limit orders, scalps small pip differences, and needs to see true market depth. The second is the professional‑elective client who moves up to 1:100 leverage and can absorb the higher account‑opening requirements in exchange for greater flexibility. For a complete newcomer, however, the lack of a simpler, spread‑only account may be a mild handicap: there is no cushion of a commission‑free entry level where costs are baked into the spread and easier to conceptualise.

In FXCanary’s assessment, the MT5 Sharp ECN account is a well‑constructed but narrowly‑focused product. It does what it sets out to do — provide a single‑point of entry to raw‑spread CFD trading under a genuine CySEC license — without adding unnecessary complexity. Traders who understand the arithmetic of commission‑plus‑spread pricing and are comfortable with MetaTrader 5 will find it a serviceable, regulation‑backed home for their speculative capital. Those wanting more hand‑holding, multiple account tiers or a proprietary platform will need to look elsewhere.