Risk scorecard
Each area is scored 0 (clean) to 10 (worst). Higher means more risk.
Regulation
9/10 · CriticalNo licence on any register while taking deposits, plus a regulator warning-list hit (SC Malaysia, 2022) naming the exact domain. Not a fabricated or borrowed licence, so 9 rather than 10.
Identity & transparency
5/10 · ModerateIt discloses its entity, fee policies and a Nevis address, but that address is a registered-agent office with no named owners, it is an offshore shell, and the country it gives has shifted from Saint Vincent to Nevis.
Withdrawals & conduct
5/10 · ModerateFund-integrity concern is real (tester refused a withdrawal; 2 to 10 percent withdrawal fees), but there is no large, dated, multi-victim pattern; Trustpilot shows no complaints at all.
Reputation
6/10 · HighMultiple independent review sites flag it as high-risk or a scam and a regulator alert exists, while its own Trustpilot profile is all-positive with no negatives, consistent with managed reviews.
Website claims
5/10 · ModerateIt does not falsely claim a tier-1 licence, but it posts unverifiable marketing stats, markets risky options to beginners, and labels a footer section 'Regulation' while naming no regulator.
Operational history
4/10 · ModerateVerified operating history of roughly five years (broker content since December 2021; domain registered 2016). Established enough that youth is not the concern here.
Who they are
A quick desk file on the company behind the brand.
Quick facts about who runs CapitalBear.
- Brand: CapitalBear
- Legal entity: Digital Smart LLC (Nevis); card payments handled by Digital Smart CY Limited (Cyprus, reg. HE410889)
- Registered: Lighthouse Trust Nevis Ltd, Suite 1, A.L. Evelyn Ltd Building, Main Street, Charlestown, Nevis (business number L 22205)
- Website: capitalbear.com (trading at trade.capitalbear.com, affiliates at partner.capitalbear.com)
- Only licence: none; no regulator is named and no licence appears on any register
- Offers: forex, stocks, crypto, commodities, indices and ETFs as CFDs, plus binary, digital and 5-second options; minimum deposit 10 US dollars; leverage up to 1:500
- Not accepted: the United States, Australia, Canada and most of the European Union
- Age claim: founded 2021; the domain was registered in 2016 but shows no broker content before December 2021
Regulation
Who really oversees this broker, and what each licence is worth to you.
Proof of regulation on an official register: No
We could not confirm this broker on any genuine regulator’s register.
No licence claims on record.
Why we reached this verdict
How the evidence adds up.
We rate CapitalBear a likely scam and a high-risk place to put money. One finding carries most of the weight, and the rest support it.
- A regulator flagged it. The Securities Commission Malaysia lists capitalbear.com on its Investor Alert List (2022) for carrying on unlicensed capital market activities of dealing in securities. That alert names the exact website we investigated.
- It has no licence and still takes deposits. The site names no financial regulator. Being an LLC in Nevis is a company registration, not a trading licence, and Saint Vincent (the location it once gave) does not license forex at all.
- The products are high-risk. Binary, digital and 5-second options are short-term all-or-nothing bets that regulated markets restrict or ban.
- Getting money out is doubtful. Independent reviewers who tested the broker report being refused a withdrawal after depositing, and the stated withdrawal fee runs from 2 to 10 percent. The Trustpilot page is all positive with no negative reviews at all, which reads as managed rather than organic.
- The operator runs a stable of similar brands. Digital Smart LLC is also behind Exnova and CasaTrade, other unregulated offshore trading apps.
- Our read: on the balance of the evidence we assess the risk of fraud as high. We did not find a court judgment or a fraud charge against this entity, so we describe the conduct and the regulator alert rather than allege a crime.
Note on operating history: the 10.1-year track record rests on domain registration alone. No company incorporation date could be established, so this is an upper bound rather than a confirmed age.
Evidence ledger
Every finding, with its source and how strongly it points.
E1The Securities Commission Malaysia Investor Alert List names Capital Bear with the website capitalbear.com, flagged in 2022 for carrying on unlicensed capital market activities of dealing in securities. The entry matches the exact domain under investigation.
E2The broker accepts deposits from 10 US dollars for leveraged CFD and options trading while naming no financial regulator anywhere on its site.
StrongCapitalBear websiteE3No trading licence exists for CapitalBear on any regulator register. Nevis issues no forex licence (an LLC there is only a company registration), and the Saint Vincent FSA, the location the broker once gave, does not license or regulate forex.
E4Third-party reviews describe the product set as binary, digital and 5-second options plus CFDs on forex, stocks, crypto, commodities, indices and ETFs, with leverage up to 1:500.
ModerateFinanceFeeds / EarnForexE5Reviewers who opened an account and deposited report that a later withdrawal request was refused, and that withdrawal fees run from 2 to 10 percent.
ModerateTradingFinder / BrokersViewE6The operator, Digital Smart LLC of Nevis, runs several other unregulated offshore trading apps, including Exnova and CasaTrade, from the same corporate base.
E7The domain capitalbear.com was registered on 12 August 2016, but the Internet Archive shows no broker content before December 2021, consistent with the company's own founded-2021 claim.
E8The site footer names Digital Smart LLC (Nevis, business number L 22205) as the company and Digital Smart CY Limited (Cyprus, HE410889) as the payment processor. Our record lists the broker under Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
E9The broker's Trustpilot page shows a 4.4 of 5 score across 42 reviews with no 1-star or 2-star entries, a distribution consistent with curated positive reviews rather than an organic mix.
ModerateTrustpilotE10CapitalBear discloses its operating entity, registered address and fee and withdrawal policies, and restricts clients from the United States, Australia, Canada and most of the European Union.
ModerateCapitalBear website / EarnForexE11The 'SCA' United Arab Emirates warning repeated by several review sites does not appear on the UAE Capital Market Authority warning list; a search of that list returns no CapitalBear entry.
The other side
The strongest case in this broker’s favour.
In fairness, several things point the other way, and we weighed them.
- CapitalBear discloses its operating company, its registered address and its fee and withdrawal policies. Pure fly-by-night scams usually hide all of this.
- It blocks clients from the United States, Australia, Canada and most of the European Union. That is compliance-style conduct, not aggressive targeting of strictly regulated markets.
- It is not a clone. It trades under its own name and entity and does not borrow another firm's licence number or identity.
- It has run for about five years, and its Trustpilot rating is net positive, although the complete absence of any negative review looks curated.
- The widely repeated claim of an 'SCA' (United Arab Emirates) warning does not appear on that regulator's own warning list, so we did not count it against the broker.
What would change this
What we would need to see to revise the verdict.
Here is what would move our view, in either direction.
- The Securities Commission Malaysia removing capitalbear.com from its Investor Alert List.
- A genuine licence, evidenced on a recognised regulator's own register, held by the entity that actually takes client money.
- A clear, independent record of clients withdrawing funds reliably, which would ease the money-handling concern.
- In the other direction, verified demands for an upfront 'tax' or 'fee' to release funds, or a cluster of specific, dated withdrawal-theft reports, would push this to a confirmed scam.
Check it yourself
Official registers and warning lists. Verify every claim first-hand.
Securities Commission Malaysia - Investor Alert List
Search 'Capital Bear'; capitalbear.com is listed (2022) for unlicensed capital market activities.
CapitalBear official website
The broker's own site. It names no financial regulator.
UAE Capital Market Authority - Warnings
The UAE regulator's warning list. CapitalBear does not appear here, despite third-party claims of an 'SCA' warning.
OpenCorporates - Digital Smart CY Limited (Cyprus)
The Cyprus company (HE410889) that processes card payments. It is a plain company, not a regulated investment firm.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about this broker’s safety.
Is CapitalBear a scam?
We rate it a likely scam and a high-risk operation. Malaysia's securities regulator placed capitalbear.com on its Investor Alert List in 2022 for unlicensed activity, the broker holds no licence anywhere, and independent testers report being refused withdrawals after depositing.
Is CapitalBear a fraud?
We did not find a court judgment or a fraud charge against this entity, so we do not state fraud as a fact. What we can say is that the Securities Commission Malaysia flagged capitalbear.com for unlicensed capital market activities, clients report refused withdrawals, and we assess the risk of fraud as high.
Is CapitalBear regulated?
No. The website names no financial regulator. It is registered only as an LLC in Nevis, which is a company registration, not a trading licence, and no licence for it exists on any regulator register.
Can I withdraw my money from CapitalBear?
That is doubtful. Reviewers who tested the broker report that withdrawal requests were refused after they deposited, and the stated withdrawal fee runs from 2 to 10 percent. There is no reliable independent record of clients being paid out.
Is my money safe with CapitalBear?
No. It is an unlicensed offshore operation with no investor-compensation scheme, so there is no regulator or fund to protect your deposit if something goes wrong.
Who owns CapitalBear?
The brand is run by Digital Smart LLC, registered in Charlestown, Nevis, with card payments handled by Digital Smart CY Limited in Cyprus. The same operator also runs the Exnova and CasaTrade trading apps.
How old is CapitalBear?
It has operated as a broker for about five years. The company says it was founded in 2021, and the earliest archived broker page is from December 2021. The domain itself was registered in 2016 but shows no broker content before 2021.
What is CapitalBear's licence worth?
There is no licence. Nevis has no forex regulator, and the Saint Vincent FSA, the location the broker once gave, has publicly stated it does not license or regulate forex brokers. So there is nothing protecting a client here.
Is CapitalBear a clone of another broker?
No. It trades under its own name and its own entity and does not impersonate a regulated firm or use another company's licence number. Its problem is being unlicensed and regulator-flagged, not identity theft.
Did a regulator warn about CapitalBear?
Yes. The Securities Commission Malaysia listed capitalbear.com on its Investor Alert List in 2022. A separate 'SCA' United Arab Emirates warning that several review sites repeat could not be found on that regulator's own warning list.
What are CapitalBear's binary and 5-second options?
They are very short-term, all-or-nothing bets on whether a price rises or falls within seconds or minutes. These products are high-risk and are restricted or banned for retail clients in many regulated markets.
What should I check before depositing with any broker?
Find the licence number on the regulator's own register, confirm the licensed entity and website match the site you are using, read the withdrawal terms, and search the main warning lists for the exact domain. If any of these fail, do not deposit.
I was scammed by CapitalBear, what do I do?
Stop sending money, especially any 'tax' or 'fee' to release a withdrawal. Gather evidence (dates, amounts, screenshots, chats), report to your local financial regulator and to your bank or card issuer, and ask about a chargeback. Avoid recovery services that ask for an upfront fee.
What we recommend
The practical takeaway from everything above.
Our advice for anyone considering or already using CapitalBear.
- Treat it as high-risk and do not deposit.
- If you already have money there, request a full withdrawal now and keep records: screenshots, dates, amounts and chat logs.
- Do not pay any 'tax', 'fee', 'insurance' or extra 'deposit' demanded to release a withdrawal. That is the advance-fee pattern and the money does not come back.
- Be careful of anyone who later contacts you offering to recover your funds for a fee. That is usually a second scam.
- Check the record yourself on the Securities Commission Malaysia Investor Alert List and verify any broker on its regulator's own register before depositing.
This is an independent assessment of risk, not a legal ruling. Scores and verdicts follow the Wikilix broker-safety methodology and can change as new evidence appears. Review scores are treated with caution when a broker’s reviews look manipulated. Last reviewed October 5, 2026. If any detail here is out of date or incorrect, or you represent this broker, please contact us.
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