Sudden Liquidation: How Deriv's "Leverage Trick" and Withdrawal Blocks Are Wiping Out Trader Account

The WikiFX Exposure Team has analyzed a surge of urgent complaints throughout 2025 concerning the broker Deriv. While the platform boasts high influence and multiple registrations, a darker pattern has emerged in the data: a sophisticated mechanism of sudden leverage reduction and “ghost” withdrawals that leaves traders with zero balance.

Anonymity Disclaimer: To protect the privacy of those who have stepped forward, all trader names have been omitted. The accounts and incidents described below are based on verified complaints lodged with WikiFX in 2025.

The “Leverage Switch”: A Technical Trap?

In the world of trading, leverage is a double-edged sword, but traders expect the rules to remain constant once a trade is open. However, our analysis of recent logs reveals a disturbing anomaly affecting Deriv users: the mid-trade leverage reduction.

Multiple traders have reported identical scenarios occurring in late 2025. One trader, whose ordeal occurred in August, reported holding a long position on the USD/INR pair. They entered the trade based on the advertised leverage of 1:200. However, at 3:00 AM—while the market was active—the system allegedly adjusted the leverage down to 1:50 without prior warning.

The result was catastrophic. Because the account suddenly required four times the margin to hold the same position, the system triggered an immediate liquidation. The trader reported that although the market price had barely moved, the forced closure wiped out an investment of over 700,000 currency units.

Another user reported a similar incident where a 1:1000 leverage account was secretly adjusted to 1:50 during a crude oil trade, resulting in a forced loss of nearly 7,000 Australian dollars. This pattern suggests that users are not losing money to bad market calls, but to sudden changes in the platform's internal rules.

The “Ghost” Withdrawal Phenomenon

While the leverage issue destroys active trades, another issue is plaguing successful traders: the disappearance of funds during the withdrawal process.

WikiFX has received numerous reports from the second half of 2025 describing a “debit without credit” error. Traders initiate a withdrawal, and the funds are immediately deducted from their Deriv trading balance. The transaction is marked as “successful” on the platform, yet the money never arrives in the user's bank account or digital wallet.

One user noted, “I made a profit and when I wanted to withdraw, they deducted money from my account but didn't credit my wallet. I complained, they said I must wait 10 business days. I still did not get my money.”

Even more alarming are reports of accounts being disabled entirely. A case recorded in September 2025 detailed how a trader's account was frozen with “false fraud allegations.” The broker allegedly unilaterally withdrew over $26,000 from the user's account without consent. It took 13 months of pressure and escalation to regulatory bodies before the user received a refund, highlighting that for some, the only way out is through external legal force.

The “KYC” Stall Tactic

When funds aren't simply missing, they are often held hostage behind a wall of bureaucratic demands. Traders have reported that after profitable periods, their accounts are frozen for “unusual trading.” To unlock the funds, Deriv support allegedly demands documentation that far exceeds standard Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols.

One trader reported being asked for six months of bank statements, proof of funds, and tax returns. Even after submitting these documents, the user was asked to pay a 10% “verification fee”—a classic red flag in the industry. Legitimate brokers deduct fees from the balance; they rarely ask for external payments to release existing funds.

Regulatory Audit: The Disconnect

Deriv presents itself as a highly regulated entity. However, a deep dive into the regulatory database shows a complex picture. While they hold several licenses, there are critical gaps and warnings that African traders must be aware of.

Deriv Regulatory Status Table

Note: The status “Exceeded” for the Cayman Islands license indicates the broker may be operating outside the permitted scope of that specific license. Furthermore, regulatory disclosures show that Indonesian authorities (Bappebti) have previously blocked hundreds of domains associated with this entity for operating without local authorization.

A Pattern of “Price Jumps”

Beyond withdrawals and leverage, technical anomalies in price feeds have triggered accusations of manipulation. Analysis of trader logs from August 2025 shows complaints regarding “price jumps” in the final seconds of binary or options contracts.

One detailed report claimed that when prices approached critical profit levels, quotes would jump 0.2 to 0.5 pips in the opposite direction within the last five seconds. The user alleged this occurred in 77% of their tracked cases, turning wins into losses. While market volatility exists, consistent adverse movement in the final seconds of a contract raises serious questions about execution fairness.

Conclusion and Warning

The disparity between Deriv's “AAA” influence ranking and the experience of individual traders is stark. The data indicates that while the platform is massive and holds various offshore registrations, specific mechanisms—sudden leverage reduction, withdrawal freezes, and excessive documentation demands—are causing significant financial harm to traders.

WikiFX advises all investors to exercise extreme caution. The presence of valid offshore licenses does not automatically protect you from the operational irregularities described above.

Forex and CFD trading involves a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The data provided in this article is based on actual complaints and regulatory records lodged with WikiFX in 2025. Please prioritize the safety of your principal over potential profits.