Capital.com has released its Q1 2026 trading update, reporting $1.27 trillion in client trading volumes between January and March 2026, compared with $1.14 trillion in the previous quarter. The total number of trades executed increased 81% year-on-year from Q1 2025. January was the most active month in the six-month period, with around $502 billion in trading volume, higher than October 2025, the next most active month, supported by rising gold prices and strong central bank buying. Average monthly active traders rose 10.9% compared with the previous quarter. The company noted that trading volumes depend on market conditions and may not reflect future activity levels, adding that leveraged products carry risk and are not suitable for all individuals. The company had also recorded strong growth in 2025. For the previous year, the company had recorded $3.42 trillion in client trading volume, up 92.1% from $1.78 trillion in 2024. What drove the volume in Q1 Q1 2026 was shaped by three major market events, each placing different pressures on trader decision-making. In January, gold prices reached successive record highs, driven by central bank buying at a 25-year high, a weaker US dollar, and ongoing geopolitical tensions, with the metal accounting for 59% of total platform volume for the month. In February, cryptocurrency markets saw heightened volatility as regulatory changes across key jurisdictions created uncertainty for participants. In March, continued conflict involving Iran and supply risks across the Middle East, along with an unexpected OPEC+ production cut, pushed oil volatility to its highest level in the observed period, leading to the largest single-day volume increase of the quarter. Capital.com said these conditions tested decision-making under pressure, an area its platform is designed to support. The Middle East contributed a significant share of total trading volume during the quarter, with the UAE ranking among the top three markets alongside Germany and the United Kingdom, in line with patterns seen in the previous quarter. The regional distribution reflects participation across jurisdictions where Capital.com is regulated. Q1 2026 brought three significant market events — gold at successive record highs in January, crypto volatility in February, and sustained Middle East conflict that drove two distinct waves of oil trading activity in March. Each event created a different kind of decision pressure for participants. Trading volumes of $1.27 trillion reflect those conditions. Capital.com exists to help people make better decisions under exactly these kinds of circumstances — not by predicting markets, but by giving clients the tools, context, and structure to manage their own behaviour when conditions are most demanding. That remains the focus. Tarik Chebib, CEO Middle East, Capital.com Most traded instruments Gold Spot was the most actively traded instrument in Q1 2026, accounting for around 59% of January’s platform volume as prices reached successive highs during the month. The US Tech 100 and Germany 40 were also among the most active instruments by trade frequency, with Germany 40 volumes rising 40% in January before declining sharply in March as European equities repriced geopolitical risk. Silver Spot volumes increased fivefold in January as traders expanded commodity exposure beyond gold, before returning to earlier levels in February and March. Oil markets and Middle East activity US crude oil was among the most actively traded instruments during the quarter, with Middle East tensions driving two distinct waves of activity. The first occurred on 2 March, when escalating conflict led to a 275% rise in active oil traders on the Capital.com platform compared with the previous Friday. Total oil trading volumes increased 649%, while trades executed rose 414% in a single session, making oil the second most-traded instrument by volume that day. The second wave came in late March, as continued conflict involving Iran and broader supply risks across the Middle East kept energy markets volatile. By 24 March, oil trading volumes were up 134% compared with the previous Monday, while the number of first-time oil traders rose 420% on that Tuesday alone, indicating that ongoing developments were drawing in new participants. Bullish positioning in oil stood at 56% long as of 24 March, slightly lower than 59% at the start of the week, suggesting some traders reduced their positive outlook on crude. Overall, oil volatility reached 36.1% in March, the highest level in the six-month observation period. Stop-loss adoption and risk management Globally, 22.4% of all positions included a stop-loss in Q1 2026, slightly higher than 22.1% in the previous quarter, with the highest adoption seen among Millennial and Gen Z traders. Usage varied across markets among active clients, with Sweden recording the highest voluntary adoption rate at 37.0%, followed by Germany at 32.3%, indicating stronger use of structured risk controls in Northern and Central Europe compared with the global average. The data shows that stop-losses performed as intended, with protected positions incurring smaller losses than those without them in every month of the quarter. In January, average losses on unprotected positions were roughly twice as high as those with stop-losses, with the gap widening through February and March as volatility increased. The Q1 data reinforces the value of stop-loss tools, particularly in volatile markets. Positions with a stop-loss consistently incurred smaller losses than those without one across every month of the quarter. In extreme conditions like March’s oil spike, the placement of stops matters — orders set too close to current price were triggered by normal market noise rather than a genuine change in conditions.Getting that calibration right is important. Capital.com publishes video guides and explainers on YouTube covering how to set and calibrate stop-loss orders, giving clients the context to make that judgement for themselves. Christoforos Soutzis CEO Europe, Capital.com Capital.com tracks stop-loss adoption as a key indicator of disciplined risk management and structured decision-making on its platform. More than half of the positions with stop-losses were closed after the stop-loss was triggered rather than by manual exit. The trigger rate averaged 54.7% in Q1, up from 53.7% in Q4 2025, suggesting that in a volatile quarter, most stop-loss orders were activated as intended. In March, oil volatility of 36.1% led to intraday price swings that exceeded many stop-loss thresholds, increasing trigger costs. While stop-losses limited losses that could have been larger, highly volatile conditions highlighted the importance of order placement as much as their use. The company added that not all stop-loss orders are guaranteed, and in volatile markets, they may not fully limit losses. Guaranteed stop-loss orders may involve additional costs. The post Capital.com Q1 trading volumes hit $1.27 trillion on gold, oil surge appeared first on Invezz
