Is Stake legit in Australia? Stake vs Moomoo comparison(2026)

Is Stake legit in Australia?

If you’ve been searching for “is Stake legal in Australia”, “is Stake legit” or “is Stake safe” you’re asking the right questions before committing your money to any trading platform. The short answer is that Stake is indeed legal, regulated, and considered a legitimate provider in Australia. However, for a more meaningful assessment we need to consider regulatory framework, asset protection mechanisms, and overall platform security.

This guide covers every question you can have about Stake's regulation and safety — and pairs each answer with the equivalent facts about moomoo, so you can make a fully informed decision.

Who regulates Stake and moomoo?

Both Stake and moomoo are regulated by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, and both provide access to US markets through licensed broker-dealers. However, their regulatory structures differ.

Stake primarily relies on a single US clearing partner (DriveWealth), while moomoo operates through its parent company's clearing house Futu Clearing, the key difference is therefore more about clearing model and group infrastructure.

In addition, moomoo’s parent company, Futu Holdings, is publicly listed, adding an extra layer of transparency compared to Stake’s privately held structure.

The table below provides a detailed side-by-side comparison of Stake and moomoo’s regulatory licenses, custodians, and investor protection frameworks.

Both Stake and moomoo are ASIC-regulated and members of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, and use US Securities Investor Protection Corporation member clearing firms.

Which countries is Stake legal in? And where is moomoo available?

Stake is currently available in two countries:

• Australia — ASIC regulated, offering Australian and US stocks to users

• New Zealand — regulated by the Financial Markets Authority, and offeirng US stocks to users.

Stake previously operated in the United Kingdom but closed that business to focus on Australia and New Zealand. It has no presence in European, Asian, or North America.

Moomoo's parent, Futu Holdings, holds 52 financial licences globally. The moomoo brand currently operates in eight markets across three continents.

Stake operates in two countries. moomoo operates in seven. Moomoo's greater global regulatory footprint reflects the institutional scale and compliance infrastructure of the broader Futu group behind it.

Stake safe and secure features: Stake vs moomoo comparison

This is one of the most important questions for any investor. Here's exactly how each broker holds each type of asset.

Australian shares – CHESS sponsorship

Both Stake and moomoo are CHESS-sponsored brokers for ASX-listed stocks. CHESS (Clearing House Electronic Subregister System) is the highest standard of share ownership protection in Australia. It means your shares are registered in your own name on the ASX's official subregister, assigned to a unique holder identification number. Even if the broker went insolvent, your shares could not be claimed by its creditors as you own them directly.

How are your funds (Australian dollars) held?

Australian cash, at both brokers, is held in designated trust accounts at authorised deposit-taking institutions, fully segregated from the broker's own corporate funds as specified under the Corporations Act.

Moomoo's Cash Plus means you can earn meaningful interest on your uninvested funds but without a lock-in period.

US stocks and ETFs

Neither broker offers direct ownership of US stocks. This is not a weakness specific to either platform, but a structural reality of the US market. All US securities are settled through The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, meaning even US investors hold shares through a custodial chain. Both brokers use a clearing firm member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation to hold client securities.

Hong Kong Stocks (moomoo only)

Moomoo offers access to more than 3500 Hong Kong-listed stocks and ETFs, a market Stake does not provide acces to. HK stocks are held through a nominee/bare trust structure, which is the standard model for HK securities globally (there is no HK equivalent of CHESS). Moomoo holds HK shares as nominee on bare trust for clients' beneficial ownership.

Full asset custody summary

Account security

When you sign up with moomoo Australia, enable multi-factor authentication (SMS, email, authenticator app) in settings as soon as verification completes – this mirrors the security stack summarised above and takes only a minute.

Why many traders choose moomoo?

Moomoo has become Australia's most-downloaded trading app, since 2025 to date.* So why is it so popular?

Competitive cost on US trades

Moomoo and Stake use different brokerage structures for US trades, so the cost difference depends on order size. In the example above, moomoo is cheaper for smaller NVDA trades, while the gap changes as trade size increases. This suggests moomoo may offer a cost advantage in some scenarios.

More markets and tradable instruments in one account

With more markets and tradable instruments in one account, moomoo gives Australian investors broader access to global opportunities. While both moomoo and Stake offer trading in ASX stocks and US stocks and ETFs, moomoo also provides access to 3,500+ Hong Kong stocks, plus options on thousands of U.S. securities.

Professional-grade tools at zero cost

What typically costs hundreds of dollars per month on dedicated platforms comes free with moomoo: Level 2 market data with up to 60 bid/ask price levels, more than 100 technical indicators, more than 38 drawing tools, AI-powered insights, an advanced multi-dimensional stock screener, and free analyst reports and earnings data. For traders who make decisions based on data, this is a significant edge.

Backed by institutional scale.

Behind moomoo is Futu Holdings (Nasdaq: FUTU), a Tencent backed company holding 52 financial licences across eight countries. That institutional infrastructure – purpose-built IT architecture, a dedicated data security team, multi-layer account protection– gives traders confidence the platform is built to last.

Ready to see it yourself? Visit the moomoo website to register, download the app, and open your account. Then review disclosures, set up your secure access, and deposit when you are satisfied moomoo fits your goals.

FAQs

1. How legit is Stake?

Stake is ASIC-licensed, CHESS-sponsored, and has operated since 2017 with no major regulatory actions on record. Moomoo is also fully legitimate, backed by Futu Holdings (Nasdaq: FUTU), regulated across 8 countries.

2. How is Stake regulated?

Stake is regulated by ASIC (AFSL 548196) in Australia and FMA in New Zealand. Its US partner DriveWealth LLC is SEC/FINRA regulated and a SIPC member. Moomoo is regulated by ASIC (AFSL 224663) and uses Futu Clearing Inc as its US clearing arm (which is SEC/FINRA regulated and a member of DTCC and OCC) providing broader US market coverage including options.

3. What secure features does Stake offer?

Stake requires SMS-based 2FA on all accounts. Moomoo goes further with multiple 2FA options (SMS, email, authenticator app), trusted device management with automatic re-verification after six months of inactivity, explicit data encryption, firewall-segregated systems, and a dedicated data security team.

4. How reliable is Stake?

For straightforward ASX and US stock trading. But moomoo offers the same reliability with greater depth of data and powerful tools. Moomoo is a purpose-built platform offering 24/7 US trading capability, operating across eight markets. It is the more robust choice for active traders.

Source: Sensor Tower. Based on brokerage app download volumes in Australia from 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2026. The number of downloads in Australia is the combined total ofdownloads for the Moomoo App in Australian iOS and Android stores. Due to the change of App version, from 1 Jan 2025 to 7 November 2025, Moomoo App refers to Moomoo global app, from 7 November 20025 onwards, it refers to Moomoo Australia app. Ranking may change over time.