Technology

E8 Markets Exposes How Up to 89% of Retail Traders Lose Thousands Depositing With Brokers

Published

5 months ago

April 21, 2026

In Recognition of National Financial Literacy Month, E8 Markets Is Using One Trader’s $377k Payout Run to Raise Awareness of the Costly Dangers of Depositing With a Broker

DALLAS, April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — E8 Markets, a SaaS educational simulation platform for financial markets, is issuing a stern warning to retail traders of forex, futures, and crypto: deposit with a broker, and you risk losing thousands before ever gaining traction. The risks never show up in one clean sweep. They leak from the trader’s account through dozens of small, costly, and avoidable mistakes that compound until the trader’s money is gone.

“No one should have to lose $5,000 on a broker with little or no guidance or assurance of future success,” said Dylan Elchami, CEO of E8 Markets. “With our platform, any trader can start with as little as $36 in enrollment fees, get access to $5,000 in simulated capital, and gradually build their skills and earn performance-based payouts without risking their own capital in the market.”

Regulators Disclose The Real Risks for Retail Traders

In a December 2024 advisory, the CFTC stated that most individual traders lose money trading futures and foreign currency after fees and taxes. The CFTC’s Forex Frauds page notes that about two out of three retail forex traders lose money each quarter.

In Europe, ESMA reported that 74% to 89% of retail CFD accounts lost money, with average losses ranging from €1,600 to €29,000 per client. FINRA and the SEC’s margin bulletin both warn of how leverage can turn a normal loss into one exceeding the trader’s original cash investment.

Brokers profit even when their customers don’t. Trader losses accumulate through complicated order routing tactics, inaccurate or lagging market data, and rules designed to protect the broker rather than the trader. Traders pay heavily—not just for their own mistakes, but for not knowing what they don’t know about real-time trading in financial markets.

What Brokers Won’t Always Disclose (And Don’t Have to)

E8 Markets isn’t exposing a conspiracy. The real problem is that retail traders deposit money with brokers before understanding the pitfalls: volatility, leverage, hidden costs, tricky pricing and order execution, and the cost of learning under pressure.

Individual traders are outmatched by billion-dollar institutions trading with more capital, more speed, better data, and deeper execution experience. Brokers and intermediaries capture transaction revenue through spreads, commissions, and routing economics—costs that bleed from the individual investor’s account. These leaks slowly empty the trader’s deposit.

The SimFi™ Ecosystem: Protecting and Educating Traders

E8 Markets has created the first SimFi™ Ecosystem, giving traders the tools, community, support, and guardrails to learn how to trade financial markets without risking their own capital while earning performance-based payouts.

E8 has paid over $70 million in performance-based payouts to traders who learn and earn on its platform. Unlike brokers and fake prop firms, E8 benefits by gathering and analyzing real-time trading data from its users. This data drives tool development, guardrails, and educational materials that help traders navigate financial markets more effectively.

E8 users earn payouts in exchange for providing this real-time data, and the SimFi™ ecosystem becomes stronger and more reliable. This month, E8 is announcing a new loyalty program honoring Tom Gibbs, one of their top contributors and payout earners. The invitation expires April 30th and is only offered once a year during Financial Literacy Month. New users can start their SimFi™ journey for as little as $36, gradually building skills and earning payouts along the way.

The Success Story Behind the E8 Gibbs Loyalty Program

Tom Gibbs started as a small-town web designer and became one of E8’s top payout earners. His first payout—$414.95—took roughly 10 months to reach. From there, his progress accelerated as the SimFi™ Three Levers compounded: better decisions, more simulated capital, and repetition across multiple accounts. This process ultimately led Gibbs to over $377,000 in total payouts, including a single largest payout of $216,053.13.

“We think too many traders meet the market at the point of maximum pressure,” said Dylan Elchami, CEO of E8 Markets. “They are trying to learn, perform, and protect capital at the same time. Our view is that the better path is to train first, collect cleaner performance data, improve decisions through repetition, and only then decide how much live risk makes sense.”

A trader’s journey inside the SimFi™ Ecosystem is built on what E8 Markets calls the “3 Levers” of Trading Success:

The Lever

What It Does for the Trader

SimFi™ Performance Factor

Better decisions under structure, feedback, and guardrails

SimFi™ Capital Advantage

More simulated capital as behavior improves

Repetition Across Multiple Accounts

More reps, more familiarity, and more chances to compound discipline

These three levers explain Gibbs’ progress and the broader structure of the SimFi™ platform. His success didn’t start with a big payout—it started with that small $414.95 payout, which gradually compounded as he refined his strategy, became consistent, and earned the reputation and credibility to trade across over 20 SimFi™ Accounts. This final lever gave him the practice and scope to multiply his payouts until reaching $377k. It’s a different path from the common aspiration to “win big,” which often breeds bad trading habits that brokers capitalize on while the trader slowly empties their account making avoidable mistakes.

E8 Markets teaches that trading mastery doesn’t come from reading chart data alone. It comes from immersion in the SimFi™ ecosystem: the training environment, the challenge-to-performance pathway, measurement tools, coaching and mentorship, community support, and repeated exposure that helps traders understand how markets move. This empowers traders to earn payouts before risking personal capital.

For a preview of Gibbs’ full story, visit his biography page or join the Gibbs Club with E8 Markets loyalty discount code: GIBBS.

How the E8 Gibbs Loyalty Program Works

This month only, E8 Markets is announcing the GIBBS Club Loyalty Program. Eligible users have two options for getting started:

Option 1: 40% off E8 Signature on first purchase and enrollment

“The E8 Signature account is the perfect vehicle for users who want to start small and gradually build their skills and earn payouts with minimal upfront risk,” says Elchami.

Option 2: Users with more experience who want to go faster can start for 30% off first purchase of an E8 One account PLUS 20% off all additional accounts purchased.

Users pay a small enrollment fee to access their education and begin their SimFi™ Challenge. In this simulated environment, they prove they have the patience and discipline to qualify for performance-based payouts in the SimFi™ Performance Account.

As long as users follow E8’s Guardrails, they earn performance-based payouts and build reputation that qualifies them for more simulated capital to trade with, enabling them to scale their payouts. Users who don’t follow the guardrails are sent back to re-enroll in the E8 Challenge.

This is where the real power of the Gibbs Loyalty Program emerges: E8 is offering all new users one free account reset. If a user breaks guardrails and loses account standing, this reset allows them to re-enter SimFi™ Performance without repurchasing. This protects traders from losing weeks of progress to a few simple mistakes—giving them peace of mind that one lapse won’t derail their entire journey.

New users start immediately on the same 3 Lever Journey that made Tom Gibbs a top earner: better performance, more capital, more reps, better payout eligibility. Interested traders must enroll before the offer expires in April. For more on Gibbs’ journey and E8 Markets, visit the E8 website or watch their upcoming docu-reality series.

About E8 Markets

E8 Markets is a SaaS educational simulation platform for financial markets. Through its SimFi™-driven ecosystem, E8 combines live market data, simulated capital, structured challenge and performance programs, trader-performance telemetry, community, and continuous education designed to help traders review, reset, and refine behavior over time.

Built as a training ground for Forex, Futures, and Crypto, the platform helps traders develop discipline, consistency, and stronger decision-making without risking live capital or margin. Eligible participants may receive discretionary, performance-based payouts under program terms, subject to E8’s acceptance and licensing of performance data. E8 is not a broker and does not accept margin or deposits.

Important Disclosure:

Tom Gibbs’s experience reflects one participant case study under E8 Markets program rules and does not, standing alone, describe or predict what other participants may achieve. Individual outcomes vary materially based on participant skill, consistency, market conditions, risk management, compliance with program rules, eligibility, and E8 Markets’ acceptance and licensing of performance data. E8 Markets operates a SaaS educational simulation platform. Enrollment fees purchase access to an educational simulation and assessment; they do not purchase live capital, a brokerage account, a commodity interest, a security, or any investment opportunity. Any payouts referenced in this release are discretionary incentive disbursements under program terms, not trading profits, investment returns, or guaranteed earnings. No representation is made that any participant will achieve results similar to those described herein.

All trading activity referenced in this release occurred in a simulated environment. Hypothetical or simulated performance has inherent limitations and does not represent actual trading; results may differ materially in live market conditions. Nothing in this release is investment advice, financial advice, or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security, commodity interest, or other financial instrument. E8 Markets is not a broker and does not accept deposits or margin.

The GIBBS loyalty discount code is valid only for eligible purchases completed from April 7, 2026 through April 30, 2026, subject to applicable promotion terms and program terms.

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SOURCE E8 Funding LLC

Technology

The World Is Taking Notice: TIME Recognition Fuels VinFast’s Global Journey

Published

1 hour ago

September 11, 2026

On a rainy Tuesday morning in Paris, a driver waiting at a red light on Boulevard Haussmann might not immediately place the badge on the SUV beside them. Thousands of miles away, a driver in California might have a similar moment seeing the same badge on an American road. It is not German, nor one of the familiar Asian names that have become common across established automotive markets. It belongs to VinFast , a Vietnamese automotive brand that is steadily making its presence felt across Europe and North America, and whose global journey reflects a much larger story unfolding inside its parent group, Vingroup.

PARIS , Sept. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — That journey reached a new milestone this year. Vingroup has been ranked 340th in TIME’s World’s Best Companies 2026, produced jointly with the research firm Statista, placing it among the world’s top 350 businesses and marking a rise of nearly 500 places from the previous year. It is the only Vietnamese company to appear on the list for two consecutive years.

A Ranking Built on More Than Growth

TIME and Statista do not rank companies on size alone. Their methodology weighs three dimensions: revenue growth, employee satisfaction and sustainability transparency. Vingroup earned an overall score of 81 out of 100, rising from 817th to 340th worldwide.

The revenue figures behind that score are substantial. In the first half of 2026, Vingroup posted consolidated net revenue of VND 222.9 trillion, up 72 percent year on year, with profit after tax reaching VND 20.904 trillion, more than four and a half times the figure recorded over the same period in 2025. That growth was driven largely by the Group’s industrial manufacturing and real estate businesses, earning Vingroup an “Outstanding” rating on the revenue metric.

Employee satisfaction told a similar story of momentum. Vingroup climbed to 398th globally, up 496 places, in a workforce that now spans roughly 400,000 people across 12 countries.

On sustainability, the Group’s contribution came through a different kind of infrastructure – green transition projects, urban development, and long-term investment in the systems that sustain a livable city rather than a single quarter’s balance sheet. Vinhomes, the Group’s real estate arm, has extended this thinking through its ESG++ model, adding Regeneration and Resilience to the conventional three pillars of Environmental, Social and Governance work, applied across urban developments spanning thousands of hectares.

Two new business lines added to that picture in 2025: infrastructure, through VinSpeed’s high-speed rail projects connecting Ho Chi Minh City to Can Gio and Hanoi to Quang Ninh, and green energy, through VinEnergo’s projects across multiple provinces. Together, they represent an attempt to build not just individual businesses, but the connective tissue – rail, power and mobility – that a modern, low-carbon economy runs on.

Making the EV Transition More Accessible

Within that broader ecosystem, VinFast represents one of the clearest expressions of Vingroup’s global aspirations. The company’s expansion across Asia, North America and Europe is bringing the Group’s vision for a greener future to an increasingly international audience, while putting a Vietnamese automotive brand directly into competition in some of the world’s most established markets.

For customers considering a new automotive brand, however, global vision is only the starting point. The more important question is whether a new entrant can earn the trust required to become part of everyday life.

Research from the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility offers a useful, if counterintuitive, perspective. Surveying thousands of European car buyers, McKinsey found that Europeans open to considering an Asian market entrant show an overall 53 percent likelihood of switching to a new brand when they move to an electric vehicle – a figure that rises as high as 63 percent in the United Kingdom. Brand loyalty, in other words, is proving more fluid in the EV era than it was in the age of the internal combustion engine.

That shift creates an opening for new EV brands. But winning customers requires more than a competitive vehicle. It requires making electric mobility accessible while building the sales, service and ownership infrastructure that gives customers confidence throughout the ownership journey.

With an increasingly diverse and accessible product portfolio, VinFast remains committed to its mission of making electric vehicles more accessible to everyone and enabling customers to transition to green mobility with greater ease and confidence.

In Europe, the company is expanding its presence with products designed around local priorities of efficiency, design and accessibility, including the VF 6 and VF 8, while electric buses such as the EB 8 and the fully European-certified EB 12 further extend its contribution to the region’s transition toward greener transportation.

Across North America, the same vision is being supported by the expansion of VinFast’s sales and service network and the development of its Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program. Together, these initiatives are designed to build a more comprehensive ecosystem around the customer, extending beyond the vehicle itself to the services and support that shape the ownership experience.

Vingroup was the first Vietnamese company to qualify for TIME’s World’s Best Companies list in 2025, while VinFast has earned recognition among TIME100 Most Influential Companies and Asia-Pacific’s Best Companies of 2025. These milestones reflect growing international recognition of Vingroup’s and VinFast’s aspirations, capabilities and expanding global reach.

The latest TIME recognition for Vingroup therefore arrives at a moment when that global reach is becoming increasingly visible. For VinFast, the challenge and opportunity now extend across multiple continents , from European cities where a new badge is gradually becoming familiar, to North American roads where the company is building its presence and customer ecosystem.

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Technology

XLCS Partners advises CID Capital on its investment in Kaiser Garage Doors & Gates

Published

1 hour ago

September 11, 2026

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — XLCS Partners, Inc., a leading middle market investment bank, is pleased to announce it served as advisor to CID Capital on its investment in Kaiser Garage Doors & Gates, LLC (Kaiser).

Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, Kaiser is a leading installer and servicer of residential and commercial overhead doors and gates serving the Phoenix, Tucson, and White Mountains markets. With over 30 years of proven operations, the company has established a strong regional footprint, a reputation for quality and reliability, and long-standing customer relationships.

Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, CID Capital is a private equity firm with decades of experience partnering with high-quality, lower middle market companies. CID makes control investments in companies with a proven track record of success and works alongside management teams to provide strategic guidance, resources, and capital for the next phase of growth, combining a focus on founder- and family-owned companies with a collaborative approach to building long-term value.

Kaiser is the third platform investment made from CID’s latest fund, CID Capital Opportunity Fund IV, L.P. In conjunction with the closing, industry veteran Eric Farley stepped in as CEO to lead the business under CID’s ownership, partnering with Dean Bennett, COO, and the existing Kaiser team.

XLCS acted as buyside advisor to CID Capital in connection with its investment in Kaiser, which was completed on August 14, 2026. The engagement was supported by Jay Cremer, Vice President, and David Silva, Senior Associate.

About XLCS Partners, Inc.
XLCS Partners is a leading global investment banking firm providing M&A advisory services. Visit www.xlcspartners.com for more information.

Media Contact:
Kendra Span
kspan@xlcspartners.com
615-379-7783

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SOURCE XLCS Partners, Inc.

Technology

PlanetiQ Selected for NOAA’s Space-Based Environmental Monitoring IDIQ

Published

2 hours ago

September 11, 2026

Selection builds on PlanetiQ’s long-standing relationship with NOAA and adds thermospheric neutral density to its environmental data offerings

GOLDEN, Colo., Sept. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — PlanetiQ, a leading provider of commercial satellite-based environmental data, today announced that it has been selected as an industry partner under NOAA’s new Space-Based Environmental Monitoring (SBEM) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. Through the SBEM IDIQ, PlanetiQ will be eligible to compete for task orders to provide NOAA with two types of commercial environmental data: Global Navigation Satellite System-Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) observations for atmospheric profiling and ionospheric monitoring, and thermospheric neutral density data for satellite orbit prediction.

“This selection builds on our long-standing partnership with NOAA and expands the ways our data can support the agency, from high-resolution atmospheric and ionospheric observations to thermospheric neutral density for satellite orbit prediction,” said Ira Scharf, CEO of PlanetiQ.

The SBEM IDIQ, established by NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) through its Commercial Data Program. The contract has a five-year base period followed by a five-year option and is effective from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2036.

Under SBEM, PlanetiQ will provide data from its existing satellite constellation as well as additional satellites planned for launch later this year. The company’s GNSS-RO observations provide high-resolution atmospheric profiles for numerical weather prediction and measurements of the ionosphere, including Total Electron Content (TEC) and scintillation. PlanetiQ will also introduce thermospheric neutral density data as a new commercial data product for NOAA NESDIS, supporting improved satellite orbit prediction and space-weather applications.

“PlanetiQ has built its business around delivering high-quality GNSS-RO data with the precision needed to improve weather forecasting,” said Ira Scharf, CEO of PlanetiQ. “This selection builds on our long-standing partnership with NOAA and expands the ways our data can support the agency, from high-resolution atmospheric and ionospheric observations to thermospheric neutral density for satellite orbit prediction. We look forward to continuing to work with NOAA to advance weather forecasting and space weather applications.”

Per NOAA’s own press release, NOAA is expanding its procurement and use of new commercial environmental satellite data streams that will enhance weather forecasting and space weather monitoring. The SBEM IDIQ contract is a key part in the agency’s ongoing effort to boost U.S. weather forecasting capabilities.

PlanetiQ currently provides GNSS-RO data to NOAA NESDIS under the agency’s previous commercial data contract vehicle. The company’s most recent task order, announced in August, provides GNSS-RO and ionospheric data and bridges the transition to the new SBEM contract.

About PlanetiQ

PlanetiQ provides the highest-quality GNSS radio occultation (RO) data available from a commercial constellation of satellites, offering unmatched temporal and spatial resolution. The data drive accurate, high-impact weather and climate forecast models, helping improve Numerical Weather Prediction and AI forecasts, safeguard lives and property from severe weather. In 2025, PlanetiQ was awarded NOAA’s largest-ever contract for satellite weather data, valued at $24.3 million. PlanetiQ is a space-tech company that serves the most mission-critical government, defense, and industry leaders, including international weather agencies, enabling more resilient operations across sectors. Founded in 2015 and privately owned, PlanetiQ designs, builds, and operates the preeminent commercial constellation of GNSS-RO satellites, setting the standard for precision and reliability in atmospheric monitoring. For more information, contact info@planetiq.com

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SOURCE PlanetiQ