Wikilix
Contract reading

What Lightyear legally published, but does not want you to read

Every clause below is published by Lightyear itself, on its own website, today. The finding is not that the text exists. It is the distance between what a client is shown and what a client agreed to. Read from its own documents on .

Contracting entity: Lightyear Europe AS

withdrawalssole discretioncryptocustodydeemed acceptancehidden feebonus lockconflict of interestforced salejoint liability

Lightyear Europe AS runs a clean service with an unusually plain price list. The sharp edges sit elsewhere. Crypto you buy can never leave the platform, and Lightyear answers for a custodian losing it only if it acted deliberately. A suspension freezes every withdrawal with no deadline, and a signup reward can be taken back out of your other money.

Back to Lightyear

Contract risk

Harder than average
4.5/10

Where this contract sitsHow far this contract goes, overall. Under 2 is nothing beyond the ordinary; 6 to 9 means several clauses put money you have already earned at risk; 9 and above reads as designed to make payout refusable.

0510
CriticalClauses that can cost you money you have already earned or deposited, or that remove your ability to challenge it.
4
FlaggedEvery clause worth knowing about, at all three severities. Ordinary terms that every broker has are not counted.
20
DocumentsHow many of the broker's own legal files this reading is based on. Each one was downloaded and hashed on the date shown.
83
ContradictionsPlaces where a promise the broker makes in public is not kept by the clause that governs it.
3

How the 20 break downThe same flagged clauses, split by how much each one can cost you. Severity is our reading of the clause, not the broker's label.

Critical4
Warning13
Notice3

The numbers in this contractFigures taken from this broker's own clauses, so the labels differ from broker to broker. The four in the panel above are the same on every report.

1 of these 4 figures comes from a clause we rate critical, which means it can take your money or your profit rather than only delay it.

Critical30 daysWithdrawal limit. Jump to the clause this comes from.A suspension freezes withdrawals with no end date0.35%Fee you were not shown. Jump to the clause this comes from.A rejected order still costs you a currency conversion14 daysAccount limit. Jump to the clause this comes from.Fourteen days notice, and silence counts as agreement$10Bonus requirement. Jump to the clause this comes from.Signup rewards are randomised and locked for six months

What the documents say

20 clauses worth knowing about, worst first, each quoted from Lightyear's own files

01

Lightyear cannot send your crypto anywhere. It offers no wallet, supports no transfer to an outside wallet or platform, and holds the keys through a custodian. Selling the position back inside the app is your only way out.

Why this matters

You can hold the coin and you can sell it, and that is the whole of it. If you want the asset itself, or want it moved to another exchange, Lightyear has no way to give it to you.

Exhibit 1CriticalHarder than usualNew

Lightyear selbst bietet keine Wallets oder ähnliche Mittel zum Verwahren von Krypto-Assets in der Lightyear-App an und unterstützt auch keine Transfers von Krypto-Assets von der Lightyear-App zu anderen Wallets oder Plattformen. Aus vorgenannten Gründen können wir keine Krypto-Assets an Sie übertragen.
Clause Anhang 4, 2.5 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference
  • Worse together with Exhibit 2Lightyear cannot hand the coins over, and it does not answer for the firm that actually holds them.
02

Lightyear rules out its own liability for what a custodian or a third party broker does to your crypto. The clause names loss of crypto, cyber attacks and the custodian's own insolvency, and accepts the loss only where Lightyear acted deliberately.

Why this matters

A hack or a failure at the firm holding the coins becomes your loss, not Lightyear's. Clause 5.5 also lets Lightyear split a shortfall in the shared wallet across the clients in it, in proportion to what each held.

Exhibit 2CriticalRarely seenNew

Wir haften nicht für Schäden oder Verluste, die aus Handlungen oder Unterlassungen eines Verwahrers oder Drittbrokers entstehen, es sei denn, sie wurden durch vorsätzliches Handeln unsererseits verursacht.
Clause Anhang 4, 7.1 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference
Set against a regulated standard: FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus)

Firms licensed by the FCA and CySEC must keep client assets safe and stay responsible for choosing and monitoring whoever holds them. This contract keeps that responsibility in clause 5.7, then limits what Lightyear owes you if that firm loses the crypto to cases where Lightyear acted deliberately.

Lightyear is not licensed by these regulators, so this is a comparison of practice, not a finding of any breach.

03

Lightyear can revoke a signup reward it has already paid you. If the reward has gone from the account, it takes the same amount out of any other money you hold there. The terms count that deduction as authorised by you in advance.

Why this matters

Depositing to qualify and then withdrawing most of your own deposit soon after is one of the listed reasons for doing this. The terms never say how soon is too soon, and Lightyear decides.

Exhibit 3CriticalRarely seen

revoke and remove any Reward already granted from the customer's Lightyear account; and/or where the Reward is no longer available on the customer's account, reclaim the corresponding amount, including by deducting an equivalent amount from any other funds the customer holds with Lightyear.
Clause Clause 10 in Bedingungen für Anmeldeaktionen
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
04

Lightyear can freeze every deposit and withdrawal on your account while it has you suspended. The last ground in clause 34.2 is Lightyear's own decision, at its sole discretion. Nothing in the clause caps how long a freeze lasts.

Why this matters

Your cash and your shares stay inside the account until Lightyear lifts the suspension. Only the discretionary ground carries a 30 day warning, and even that falls away where Lightyear decides it has to act at once.

Exhibit 4CriticalHarder than usual30 days

Während einer Aussetzung können wir den Zugang zu einigen oder allen Diensten einschränken, die Bearbeitung von Aufträgen oder Transaktionen verweigern und/oder Ein- und Auszahlungen auf Ihrem Konto einfrieren.
Clause 34.4 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference
  • Worse together with Exhibit 13A document request you miss is a ground to suspend, and a suspension is what freezes the money.
05

A 0.35% conversion fee is charged when you submit an order, not when it fills. Clause 25.5 keeps the conversion and the fee in place even if the order is later rejected or cancelled. The converted money stays in your account.

Why this matters

You pay to swap currency for a trade that never happened, and you are left holding the wrong currency. Swapping it back costs you the same fee a second time.

Exhibit 5WarningHarder than usual0.35%

Bitte beachten Sie, dass die Konvertierung (und die Erhebung etwaiger Servicegebühren) bei Auftragserteilung erfolgt, auch wenn der Auftrag später abgelehnt oder storniert wird. In diesem Fall verbleibt das konvertierte Geld auf Ihrem Konto.
Clause 25.5 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference
06

Four separate clauses let Lightyear sell what you hold without a further instruction from you. Clause 17.10 covers instruments that become unavailable for legal, regulatory or risk reasons. The other three cover money you owe, unpaid fees and other people's fees.

Why this matters

A forced sale happens at whatever the market pays that day, and it is a disposal in your tax year whether you wanted one or not. Clause 14.4.3 also lets Lightyear pledge your securities to secure what you owe it.

Exhibit 6WarningHarder than usual

Sollten bestimmte Ihrer Instrumente aufgrund gesetzlicher, regulatorischer oder risikobedingter Einschränkungen nicht mehr verfügbar sein, erklären Sie sich damit einverstanden, dass wir diese Instrumente von Ihrem Konto zu den geltenden Marktpreisen verkaufen und Ihnen den Erlös gutschreiben dürfen.
Clause 17.10 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference

A rejected order still costs you the currency conversion

Lightyear charges 0.35% to convert currency, and clause 25.5 charges it when you submit an order rather than when it fills. A rejected order leaves you with the fee paid and the wrong currency sitting in the account. The rest of the fee list lives on Lightyear's website rather than in the contract, and other people's charges can move without notice.

Cost disclosure2 clauses flagged

Lightyear keeps its fee list out of the contract. Clause 25.1 points you to the website instead, and clause 26.9 says other people's fees can change without notice and cannot be listed in full in advance.

Why this matters

The prices you agreed to sit on a page Lightyear can edit. Clause 26.3 also puts every bank, card issuer and payment provider charge on your side of the line.

Exhibit 7WarningStandard wording

Unsere Servicegebühren sind auf unserer Website einsehbar und werden regelmäßig aktualisiert.
Clause 25.1 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference
Set against a regulated standard: FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus)

Firms licensed by the FCA and CySEC must give a retail client the costs and charges before they trade. Lightyear does publish its price list in full on one page, and keeps it outside the contract so it can be changed on 14 days notice.

Lightyear is not licensed by these regulators, so this is a comparison of practice, not a finding of any breach.

  • Only applies after Exhibit 11The fee page is changed through the same amendment clause that treats your silence as agreement.

Lightyear may pay you interest on your cash but does not have to. It sets the rate itself, and clause 15.11 lets it keep everything it earns above that rate.

Why this matters

Your cash can earn Lightyear more than it earns you, and the contract never tells you the gap. Close the account between payment dates and clause 15.12 cancels the interest that had already built up.

Exhibit 8WarningStandard wording

Wir können Ihnen Zinsen auf Ihr bei uns gehaltenes Bargeld zahlen, sind dazu aber nicht verpflichtet.
Clause 15.11 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference
Our own capture of lightyear.com, taken on Oct 8, 2026The claim, on German pricing page, heading above the table of chargesVisit this page on the broker's siteDownload the full size image file

Lightyear can freeze your withdrawals while it reviews you, with no deadline on the review

Clause 34.4 lets Lightyear freeze every deposit and withdrawal on a suspended account, and nothing in the contract caps how long a suspension runs. One of the grounds for suspending is Lightyear's own sole discretion. Crypto is a harder case again: Lightyear cannot transfer it to you at all, so selling it back inside the app is the only way out.

Exit conditions1 clause flagged

Termination starts a 30 day clock. Clause 34.6.1 makes you close every open position and withdraw what is left inside it, or inside another period Lightyear sets and tells you about.

Why this matters

Miss the deadline and Lightyear sells your holdings at whatever the market pays, and takes no responsibility for the price. Your money comes back only once everything you owe Lightyear is settled.

Exhibit 9WarningStandard wording30 days

müssen Sie alle offenen Positionen schließen und alle verbleibenden Gelder innerhalb von 30 Kalendertagen oder einem anderen von uns festgelegten und mitgeteilten Zeitraum abheben.
Clause 34.6.1 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference

What happens, and when

The stages this clause runs through, taken from the broker's own document
TriggerWhat the broker may then doClause
Day 0Termination takes effect and you have to start closing positions.34.6.1
Day 30The deadline to close every position and withdraw the rest passes.34.6.1
After the deadlineLightyear sells your remaining holdings at market prices and accepts no liability for the result.34.6.2
Once debts are settledThe money moves to your account and is paid out to you.34.6.3

Lightyear can take a signup reward back out of your other money

Lightyear's promotion terms let it revoke a reward it has already granted and deduct the same amount from any other money you hold with it. Depositing to qualify and then withdrawing most of your own deposit soon after is one of the listed triggers. 85% of personal account rewards are 10 to 15 euros, and no reward can be withdrawn for six months.

Promotion conditions1 clause flagged

Most signup rewards are small. Lightyear's own table gives an 85% chance of a reward between 10 and 15 euros on a personal account, and the money cannot be withdrawn for six months.

Why this matters

The reward sits in an account you cannot take it out of, and the six months run from the day it arrives. Sell the fractional share it bought and the lock follows the cash instead.

Exhibit 18WarningHarder than usual$10

For Rewards that can be withdrawn, they may be withdrawn only after 6 months (or longer as may be specified in the Lightyear App) have passed from receiving the Reward in the customer's account.
Quoted in Bedingungen für Anmeldeaktionen
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Four clauses let Lightyear sell your investments without asking you

Clause 17.10 lets Lightyear sell instruments that become unavailable to it for legal, regulatory or risk reasons. Three more clauses let it sell to collect money you owe, unpaid fees and third party fees. Lightyear can also change the agreement on 14 days notice and treat your silence as agreement, and clause 12.4 lets it close an account it thinks is day trading a free service.

Control of your holdings2 clauses flagged

Lightyear can change the whole agreement on 14 calendar days notice. Clause 30.2 treats you as having accepted the change unless you tell Lightyear, before it takes effect, that you are closing the account.

Why this matters

Reading every email from Lightyear is the only way to keep a term you agreed to. Your one other option is to leave before the change starts.

Exhibit 11WarningStandard wording14 days

Wir können diese Vereinbarung jederzeit mit einer Frist von 14 Kalendertagen ändern, sofern keine abweichende Kündigungsfrist gemäß Klausel 30.3 greift.
Clause 30.1 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference

Lightyear's commission free services must not be used mainly to exploit free trading. Clause 12.4 names frequent same day buying and selling without genuine investment intent. Lightyear decides on its own whether yours counts, and can close the account.

Why this matters

Genuine investment intent is never defined, and Lightyear judges it alone. Trading actively in ETFs, which carry no execution fee at all, puts you inside the wording of this clause.

Exhibit 12WarningHarder than usual

Sie dürfen nicht in einer Weise genutzt werden, die hauptsächlich auf die unlautere Nutzung des gebührenfreien Handels abzielt – beispielsweise durch häufigen Kauf und Verkauf von Instrumenten am selben Tag ohne echte Anlageabsicht. Wenn wir eine solche Nutzung feststellen, können wir nach eigenem Ermessen Ihre Aktivitäten beschränken, den Zugriff auf bestimmte Funktionen unterbinden oder Ihr Lightyear-Konto sperren oder schließen.
Clause 12.4 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference

The English terms decide, whichever language you agreed in

Clause 2.2 makes the English original of Lightyear's terms the version that counts in case of doubt, and clause 2.3 warns that a translation may not cover everything. The two language editions of the 16 September 2025 terms do not match: the Italian carries a clause 17.10 that the Greek edition does not. Estonian law governs and the Estonian courts settle any dispute.

Language and law1 clause flagged

The contract you read in your own language tells you the English version decides. Clause 2.2 makes the English original the one that counts in case of doubt, and clause 2.3 warns that a translation may not cover everything Lightyear gives you.

Why this matters

The wording in front of you is not the wording that binds you. The German contract still carries clause 5.14 of its crypto annex in English, and the German promotion terms switch into English exactly where the restrictions begin.

Exhibit 17WarningRarely seen

Wenn diese Vereinbarung und/oder andere Dokumente übersetzt und Ihnen in einer anderen Sprache zur Verfügung gestellt werden, gelten die englischen Originalversionen in Zweifelsfällen als maßgeblich.
Clause 2.2 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference
  • Worse together with Exhibit 18The reward is offered in German and the six month lock on it is set out in English.

Lightyear can ask for documents at any time, on its own clock

Clause 4.1.4 lets Lightyear demand identity, address, bank statements and proof of where your money came from at any point in the relationship, inside a timeframe it sets and never states. Missing that deadline is listed in clause 34.2.3 as a ground to suspend the account. A suspension can freeze withdrawals while it lasts.

Verification1 clause flagged

Lightyear can ask for your identity, your address, bank statements and proof of where your money came from at any point in the relationship. Clause 4.1.4 says you must answer inside a timeframe Lightyear sets, and never fixes what that is.

Why this matters

Missing a deadline you did not choose is listed in clause 34.2.3 as a reason to suspend your account. A suspension is what freezes your withdrawals.

Exhibit 13WarningStandard wording

Dies kann unter anderem einen Identitäts- und/oder Adressnachweis, Kontoauszüge und Dokumente zum Nachweis der Geld- oder Vermögensherkunft umfassen. Sie müssen diese Informationen innerhalb des von uns festgelegten Zeitrahmens bereitstellen.
Clause 4.1.4 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference
Set against a regulated standard: FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus)

Firms licensed by the FCA and CySEC must verify who a client is and where their money came from, and must stop serving a client they cannot verify. This contract adds that Lightyear alone decides how long you have to answer.

Lightyear is not licensed by these regulators, so this is a comparison of practice, not a finding of any breach.

Lightyear keeps what its conflicts earn, and buys your fractions back itself

Clause 24.2.2 removes any duty on Lightyear to account to you for a profit, commission or benefit from a deal where it has a material interest. On fractional shares Lightyear is the counterparty, and its own risk disclosure says a fraction cannot be moved to another broker. The only buyer for the part shares in your portfolio is Lightyear.

In plain words

On a principal basis, as your counterparty, means the broker takes the other side of your trade itself. Your loss is then the firm’s gain, so it has an interest in how your trade ends.

Both sides of the trade2 clauses flagged

Lightyear is not obliged to account to you for any profit, commission or benefit it collects on a deal where it has a material interest or a conflict of interest. Clause 24.2.2 removes that duty outright.

Why this matters

Lightyear does tell you that conflicts exist and publishes a summary of its policy. What this clause removes is your claim on the money the conflict produced.

Exhibit 14WarningStandard wording

Ihnen gegenüber Rechenschaft über Gewinne, Provisionen oder sonstige Vorteile abzulegen, die wir im Zusammenhang mit einer Transaktion oder Situation erzielen, an der wir ein wesentliches Interesse haben oder bei der ein Interessenkonflikt besteht.
Clause 24.2.2 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference
Set against a regulated standard: FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus)

Firms licensed by the FCA and CySEC must identify conflicts of interest, manage them, and tell a retail client where their arrangements are not enough. This contract keeps the telling, in clause 24.1, then drops any duty to pass on what the conflict earned.

Lightyear is not licensed by these regulators, so this is a comparison of practice, not a finding of any breach.

  • Worse together with Exhibit 15Lightyear is the buyer for your fractional shares and owes you no account of what it makes on the other side.

Lightyear is the other side of your fractional trades. Clause 19.6 promises it will always buy a fraction back from you, and the risk disclosure says a fraction cannot be moved to another broker at all.

Why this matters

The only buyer for the part shares in your portfolio is the firm that sold them to you. You also get no vote on them, under clause 23.3.

Exhibit 15WarningStandard wording

Wir ermöglichen Ihnen stets, einen Bruchteil des Instruments, das Sie von uns als Gegenpartei der Transaktion erhalten haben, an uns zurückzuverkaufen.
Clause 19.6 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference

Estonia's fund covers 20,000 euros, and no crypto at all

Lightyear Europe AS holds an Estonian investment firm licence and a separate Estonian crypto licence, and clause 29.1 puts the investor protection fund behind it at up to 20,000 euros for each investor. That figure is the European minimum, not a shortfall. Crypto is excluded from the fund by that same clause, and your cash can be held in a money market fund outside the client money rules unless you opt out.

Who stands behind it2 clauses flagged

Accepting the terms is accepting that Lightyear may hold your cash in qualifying money market funds. Clause 15.6 then takes that money outside the client money rules, and clause 15.7 leaves it to you to refuse in the app.

Why this matters

Money in a fund is an investment, not a cash balance, and the protections that follow it are the ones for instruments. You can say no, but only if you know the clause is there to say no to.

Exhibit 20WarningHarder than usual

Mit Ihrer Zustimmung zu diesen Bedingungen erklären Sie sich damit einverstanden, dass wir Ihr Geld in Anteilen qualifizierter Geldmarktfonds (QMMFs) halten, die den EU-Vorschriften und den Vorschriften des Landes, in dem Lightyear seinen Sitz hat oder gleichwertigen Standards des Landes, in dem der Fonds ansässig ist, entsprechen.
Clause 15.4 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference
Set against a regulated standard: ESMA (EU), CySEC (Cyprus)

Firms in the EU may place client money in a qualifying money market fund only with the client's express consent, and must let the client refuse. Lightyear takes that consent from your acceptance of the terms, in clause 15.4, and puts the refusal in the app.

Lightyear is not licensed by these regulators, so this is a comparison of practice, not a finding of any breach.

Lightyear Europe AS is the company you contract with, and Estonia's investor protection fund stands behind it. Clause 29.1 caps that cover at 20,000 euros for each investor, and excludes crypto from it entirely.

Why this matters

The cap is the European minimum, and it answers for Lightyear failing rather than for your investments falling. Crypto sits outside it, so a loss there has no scheme behind it at all.

Exhibit 19NoticeStandard wording$20000

Die Entschädigung deckt den Wert der Investitionen zum Zeitpunkt der Entschädigung bis zu einem Höchstbetrag von 20.000 Euro pro Anleger und Institution. Bitte beachten Sie, dass der Schutz des Investor Protection Sectoral Fund keine Krypto-Assets abdeckt.
Clause 29.1 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference
Set against a regulated standard: FCA (UK)

Firms licensed by the FCA sit behind a compensation scheme that pays a client up to 85,000 pounds if the firm fails. The Estonian scheme behind Lightyear pays up to 20,000 euros, and clause 29.1 keeps crypto out of it.

Lightyear is not licensed by this regulator, so this is a comparison of practice, not a finding of any breach.

  • Worse together with Exhibit 2Lightyear does not answer for a custodian losing the crypto, and no compensation scheme stands behind it either.

One ordinary clause lets Lightyear undo a mispriced trade

Clause 17.5 is the only clause in these terms that can take a gain back off you, and it is the standard obvious error clause most brokers carry. Lightyear needs a reasonable belief that an obvious error, a technical failure or a pricing problem affected the trade. No clause lets Lightyear void profit because it dislikes your trading.

Trade reversal1 clause flagged

Lightyear can cancel, reverse or change any transaction it reasonably believes was hit by an obvious error, a technical failure or a pricing problem. Clause 17.5 gives it that power with no liability attached.

Why this matters

A gain that came from a bad price can be taken back off you. The reasonable belief test and the narrow list of causes are the usual ones, and most brokers reserve the same right.

Exhibit 16NoticeStandard wording

Wir können ohne Haftung jede Transaktion stornieren, rückgängig machen oder ändern, von der wir begründeterweise annehmen, dass sie von einem offensichtlichen Fehler, einem technischen Ausfall oder einem Preisproblem betroffen ist oder gegen geltende Gesetze oder Vorschriften verstößt.
Clause 17.5 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference

Lightyear charges nothing for sitting still, but closes after a year

365 calendar days without a login is a ground for Lightyear to suspend, restrict or close the account, under clause 34.2.13. No fee applies at any point while an account sits idle, which puts Lightyear ahead of most brokers. For a buy and hold investor, the risk is the closure, not the cost.

In plain words

Dormancy means an account left unused.

Dormancy1 clause flagged

Lightyear charges nothing for leaving an account idle, which is better than most brokers. Clause 34.2.13 does let it suspend, restrict or close the account once you have not logged into the app for 365 calendar days.

Why this matters

A buy and hold investor who never opens the app can reach that point without doing anything wrong. Closure then starts the 30 day clock to sell everything you hold.

Exhibit 10NoticeStandard wording365 days

Sie haben sich 365 Kalendertage lang nicht in der Lightyear-App angemeldet;
Clause 34.2.13 in Nutzungsbedingungen (Kunde)
Downloaded from the broker's site on Open the reference
  • Worse together with Exhibit 9A year of silence can start a closure, and a closure gives you 30 days to sell before Lightyear sells for you.

Where the marketing and the contract disagree

A promise made in public, set against the clause that governs it

01

The crypto page calls the coins yours while the contract says Lightyear has no way to hand them over.

Said in public, in German

Sie sind der Eigentümer aller Ihrer Investitionen und Ihr Vermögen wird auf separaten Konten gehalten.

Word for word in English: You are the owner of all of your investments and your assets are held in separate accounts.

German crypto page, under the heading Ihr Vermoegen gehoert Ihnen, niemandem sonst

In the contract · clause Anhang 4, 2.5

Lightyear selbst bietet keine Wallets oder ähnliche Mittel zum Verwahren von Krypto-Assets in der Lightyear-App an und unterstützt auch keine Transfers von Krypto-Assets von der Lightyear-App zu anderen Wallets oder Plattformen. Aus vorgenannten Gründen können wir keine Krypto-Assets an Sie übertragen.

02

The page answers for Lightyear failing and says nothing about the custodian that actually holds the coins failing.

Said in public, in German

Im unwahrscheinlichen Fall einer Insolvenz von Lightyear erhalten Sie sämtliche Vermögenswerte zurück. Was Ihre Krypto-Assets einschließt.

Word for word in English: In the unlikely event that Lightyear becomes insolvent, you get all of your assets back. Which includes your crypto-assets.

German crypto page, trust section

In the contract · clause Anhang 4, 7.1

Wir haften nicht für Schäden oder Verluste, die aus Handlungen oder Unterlassungen eines Verwahrers oder Drittbrokers entstehen, es sei denn, sie wurden durch vorsätzliches Handeln unsererseits verursacht.

03

The pricing page closes the list at seven charges while clause 15.11 keeps an unstated margin on your cash.

Said in public, in German

Sie bezahlen uns für diese 7 Dinge … und für sonst nichts.

Word for word in English: You pay us for these 7 things, and for nothing else.

German pricing page, heading above the table of charges

We took a picture of this page. It is shown once, with the finding it belongs to. See our capture of lightyear.com

In the contract · clause 15.11

Über die von uns an Sie gezahlte Zinsen hinaus erzielte Zinsen behalten wir ein.

What changed quietly

First review of Lightyear, so no earlier review exists for comparison. Lightyear's own two published editions show what moved. The 13 May 2026 terms add a crypto annex, and with it the clauses that bar any transfer of crypto out, cut Lightyear's liability for a custodian's failure, and put crypto outside the investor protection fund.

  • ADDEDClause Anhang 4, 2.5 · 16.09.2025 to 13.05.2026

    The crypto annex arrived with the May 2026 terms, and with it the rule that crypto can never be moved out of Lightyear.

    Lightyear selbst bietet keine Wallets oder ähnliche Mittel zum Verwahren von Krypto-Assets in der Lightyear-App an und unterstützt auch keine Transfers von Krypto-Assets von der Lightyear-App zu anderen Wallets oder Plattformen.

  • ADDEDClause Anhang 4, 7.1 · 16.09.2025 to 13.05.2026

    A new liability rule for crypto cuts Lightyear's responsibility for a custodian's failure down to deliberate acts.

    Wir haften nicht für Schäden oder Verluste, die aus Handlungen oder Unterlassungen eines Verwahrers oder Drittbrokers entstehen, es sei denn, sie wurden durch vorsätzliches Handeln unsererseits verursacht.

  • ADDEDClause Anhang 4, 5.5 · 16.09.2025 to 13.05.2026

    The new annex lets a shortfall in the shared crypto wallet be split across the clients who held coins in it.

    Im Falle eines Fehlbetrags können entsprechende Verluste gemäß geltendem Recht anteilig unter den betroffenen Kunden aufgeteilt werden.

  • ADDEDClause 29.1 · 16.09.2025 to 13.05.2026

    A sentence added to the compensation clause takes crypto outside the Estonian investor protection fund.

    Bitte beachten Sie, dass der Schutz des Investor Protection Sectoral Fund keine Krypto-Assets abdeckt.

The documents this reading is based on

83 files, all published by Lightyear. Each shows when we read it and a fingerprint of its wording.

WIKILIX keeps the copy of each file it read, and does not republish it: what is published is the fingerprint of its wording. Download the file yourself and hash its text, lowercased with runs of whitespace collapsed, and a matching fingerprint means the wording quoted above is still the wording Lightyear publishes.

How this reading was done

Every clause above was read out of a document Lightyear publishes itself

This reading was published on .

Documents
1 of 83downloaded from the broker's site, and one read in full
Pages opened
80pages walked to find those documents, footer links included
Older copies
8earlier versions downloaded, 3 identical to the copy we hold by fingerprint
Marketing pages
11public pages set against what the contract says

Who the contract is with

Lightyear Europe AS

A European client contracts with Lightyear Europe AS, an Estonian company registered under number 16235024 at Volta tn 1, Tallinn. The Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority licenses it as an investment firm under number 4.1-1/31, and licenses certain crypto services separately under 4.1-1/147. Estonian law governs the contract and the Estonian courts settle any dispute. Two other companies appear on the same website and neither is your counterparty in Europe: Lightyear UK Ltd, which the footer names as the FCA authorised firm under FRN 987226 and which serves the United Kingdom, and Lightyear Financial Ltd, which holds the copyright line. The FCA number on this brand therefore belongs to a different company from the one these terms bind.

Quotations are copied verbatim from the documents named above, with the clause number and the page each one came from. Where a clause is quoted in another language, the original is shown first and the English is a translation.

The plain-language parts, what a clause means for a client, how ordinary it is, and how it reads against a regulated standard, are WIKILIX's analysis and are labelled as such on every card. This is a reading of public documents, not legal advice and not an allegation of wrongdoing.

In fairness, and what we could not check

A reader who knows the edges of the work can trust the middle of it

The whole price list sits on one page and says what is free: no account fee, no custody fee on ETFs, no charge for a bank transfer in or out, and nothing at all for leaving an account idle. The Savings Vault page states outright that it is an investment product with risk to your capital, names BlackRock as the fund manager, and shows the arithmetic behind the advertised 2.44%. The promotion terms publish the real probability table for a randomised reward, which almost no broker does, and they link every previous version with the exact dates it applied. Clause 27.1 keeps Lightyear liable for its own negligence and fraud, with no token cap on claims, and Appendix 1 lists a consumer dispute body or financial ombudsman for each country Lightyear serves.

This review covers three of Lightyear's contracts, the Greek and Italian terms of 16 September 2025 and the Greek terms of 13 May 2026, but none of the three was available in full. We then read the current German terms of 13 May 2026, the promotion terms and the price list on Lightyear's own website, and most clauses quoted here come from those pages. The review does not cover the English terms, which the contract says is the version that counts. We also did not read the risk disclosures, the order handling and best execution policy, the complaints policy, the privacy policy, the sustainability disclosure or the Hungarian TBSZ account terms. Because the three contracts are incomplete, the position of each clause in its document is not given. No readable earlier edition of the current terms was available, so the changes listed come from Lightyear's own two published editions.

How to check any of this yourself

Every quote above links to the Lightyear file it came from. This is what to do with it.

Open the three stepsFind the words in the source, work out the fingerprint, and read what a difference does and does not prove.

Open the source and search for the words

Every quote has a link under it. Open the file, or the web page, and search it for the words we quote. The clause number next to the quote tells you where to look.

If the words are not there any more, the source may have changed after we read it. That is worth knowing too. We keep the date we read it, and a code worked out from its wording, so the quote stays checkable.

What a fingerprint is

A fingerprint is a code worked out from what a source says. Change one word and the code changes completely. We keep two codes for every file we read, and the panel on each source shows both.

The first is the code of the exact file we downloaded. The second is the code of its wording alone, with capital letters lowered and runs of spaces collapsed. When the same words are saved as a new file, the first code changes and the second one stays the same.

Only the first code can be worked out on your own computer. Save the file, then run one of these, putting the name of the file you saved where the example is. The panel on each source prints the command with that source's real file name already in it.

macOS or Linux:
  shasum -a 256 the-file-you-saved.pdf

Windows:
  certutil -hashfile the-file-you-saved.pdf SHA256

The two codes are different from each other, and they are not meant to match. Comparing one against the other proves nothing.

What a difference means, and what it does not

A different file code on its own proves nothing. A PDF saved again with a new date inside it is a new file saying exactly the same thing.

A different wording code means the words themselves changed. That is the one that matters, and it is why we keep it.

Even then, a change is not proof of bad faith. Companies update their documents. What this report says is what the document said on the day we read it, and every quote carries that date.

A source that is a web page and not a file has no file to save, so only the code of its wording is shown.

How this report is made

Every clause quoted above comes from a document Lightyear publishes on its own website, downloaded and hashed on the date shown, with the clause number and page recorded so any reader can check it. We do not allege anything the documents do not say, and we do not judge Lightyear on anything other than its own published terms and its own public marketing. Where a clause has a qualifier that softens it, the report says so. Last read Oct 8, 2026.

If you represent Lightyear and a clause has changed, been withdrawn, or is being read out of context, tell us and we will re-read the documents and update this page. Corrections from the broker are welcome and are published with the reading they change. Contact us.

This is a reading of a contract, not legal advice and not a ruling on Lightyear. Whether its licence is real and current is a separate check on the broker profile.

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