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Forex trading platforms education comparison

Taken from our forex broker comparison tool, here's a comparison of the education features for the best forex brokers for beginners.

How do I start trading forex?

Here are the 8 steps to start trading forex with a trusted broker:

• Study free educational material (check out my guide to the best free forex trading courses).
• Open a free demo account and practice.
• Learn how to use the trading software.
• Develop a trading strategy.
• Open a live account with a trustworthy, well-regulated forex broker.
• Deposit a small amount of risk capital.
• Focus on managing percentage returns.
• Only scale once you’ve established a consistent track record.

Tips for beginners:

• Before depositing real money, open a free demo account that lets you get a feel for how the broker’s trading platform works.
• After you’ve learned how to use the software and have practiced trading with the demo (virtual) account, move on to a live forex trading account with a trusted forex broker.
• Always begin with an amount of capital that you can afford to lose before deciding to invest more serious amounts.

Can I teach myself forex trading?

Yes, and while studying the fundamentals of forex trading won’t guarantee success in the forex markets, it's an important first step for beginner forex traders.

Check out this quick video where I break down some of the forex market fundamentals and some important facts about forex trading:

The best forex brokers also offer a wide range of free educational materials in a variety of formats. We’ve compiled some free beginner’s resources as well as some expert tips for beginners to aid you in your forex educational journey. You can also check out my guide to the best free forex trading courses.

Free forex trading educational courses and resources:

Expert tips for beginner forex traders:

Free versus paid educational content: Many forex education companies charge for their services, but our research has found that some of the best educational content is available directly from the online forex brokers themselves – though not all brokers offer comprehensive educational options.

Content from brokers versus third parties: Working with a trusted and regulated online broker gives you the added benefit of being able to reach out to their customer support team to speak with a trading specialist. Speaking with someone on the trading desk can help beginners find answers to general forex trading questions – but keep in mind that brokers cannot give you advice or recommendations on what to buy or sell.

Ease of use: Trading software can vary in quality from broker to broker, and some platforms can be far more complex to learn than others – especially if you have limited forex trading experience. Plus's simple platform design makes it a good one for learning the fundamentals. Some brokers, like IG, offer learning courses that feature progress tracking and quizzes designed to test your knowledge as you move through the material.

How to develop a forex trading strategy in ten steps

Here are some questions every trader should ask themselves when creating an investment strategy or forex trading methodology:

1. Set goals: What are the specific goals I want to reach with my trading strategy?
2. Manage time: How much time do I have each day to dedicate to trading?
3. Capital commitment: What is my ideal trading budget for accomplishing my goals, and what is the most I am willing to risk overall?
4. Trade frequency: What’s the number of trades I should aim for each week?
5. Factor risk/reward: What is the maximum risk/reward target for each trade that will still align with my goals, and what is my overall percentage risk tolerance?
6. Analyze price action and research: How will I identify trading opportunities?
7. Opening a position: How will I decide when to enter a trade?
8. Closing a position: How will I decide when to exit a trade early, or to modify my stop-loss/limit levels if my expectation of market conditions changes before my targets are reached?
9. Calculate your odds: What winning percentage do I need in order to be profitable (after accounting for my trading costs)?
10. Use your trading statistics: How long should I stick to my trading plan and establish a track record of results, before modifying my strategy or deciding to invest more money?

How much money do you need to trade forex?

The amount of money you will need to trade forex depends on several factors, including your expected trade sizes, risk threshold per trade, the available margin requirements from the broker (i.e., leverage), and any minimum deposit requirement to open your account.

Let’s look at an example:

Say that you plan to trade one mini lot (10, units) of the euro currency, and your forex broker offers a maximum of leverage. Your trading funds will need to cover at least 5% of the trade value just for the margin, and another €1 for every pip you plan on risking when the market moves against your position. Note: In this case, 1 pip is euros worth of currency.

That mini lot of 10, EUR/USD would require at least euros in margin (based on the leverage). If you wanted to risk no more than pips per trade you’d need another euros, bringing the required starting balance up to euros.

Let’s look at a couple of other examples of how this could break down in your forex trading account:

Trading a standard lot: Calculating for the above trading scenario, but for a standard lot (, units of currency), you’d just add an extra zero to each variable. The margin requirement would be 5, euros and the pip value would be 10 euros per pip. Risking pips would require 2, euros in risk capital, bringing the total to 7, euros.

Trading a micro lot: Likewise, calculating the same scenario for a micro contract or (1, units of currency per lot), we can just remove one zero from each variable. The pip value becomes 10 cents, the margin requirement would be 50 euros, and the risk capital (for pips) would require 20 euros.

Forex brokers with great educational content for beginners

1. IG

IG is my pick for the best forex broker for beginners in , largely due to its comprehensive, thoughtfully curated offering of educational content. I’m consistently impressed with the quality and quantity of IG’s seemingly endless collection of educational resources. Beginner forex traders at IG will find educational videos, articles, quizzes, and courses. IG has even developed a mobile app expressly dedicated to financial markets education. Check out my review of IG to learn more.

Check out a gallery of screenshots from IG's educational offering, taken by our research team during our product testing.

2. Saxo Bank

Traders at Saxo Bank gain access to high-quality information about financial markets with unique insights from Saxo Bank’s analysts and educators. Saxo Bank offers 20 high-quality video courses and dozens of articles dedicated to financial markets education. Additionally, Saxo’s market research content is so comprehensive and informative that I consider it a highly valuable educational resource. Whether I’m listening to the Market Call podcast to learn about stagflation, perusing the broker’s FAQs, or checking out Saxo’s high-quality research, I almost always learn something new about how markets function at Saxo Bank. Read my review of Saxo Bank to learn more.

Browse a gallery of screenshots from Saxo Bank's educational offering, taken by our research team during our product testing.

3. Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers has significantly expanded its scope of educational content for beginners in recent years. The IBKRCampus offers university-grade content alongside a wide variety of resources and learning materials for beginner forex traders. The broker’s Traders’ Academy portal delivers helpful content that covers basic topics and includes advanced learning courses, complete with interactive quizzes and progress tracking as you go through each lesson. The IBKR Student Trading Lab (STL) offers a companion tool for college finance courses – a great resource if you are a beginner studying finance. Simply put, it’s hard to stay on top of all of the excellent educational content available at Interactive Brokers, making it one of the best forex brokers for beginners in Learn more by reading my review of Interactive Brokers.

Take a look at a some screenshots from Interactive Broker's educational offering, taken by our research team during our product testing.

Which forex broker has the lowest minimum deposit?

There are several forex brokers, such as CMC Markets, that advertise a $ minimum deposit. This just means that you can open a live account and deposit whatever amount you’d like to start trading – there’s no minimum funding requirement.

The following five brokers have zero-dollar minimum deposit requirements for opening a live forex trading account:

Note: When deciding how much money to start with, be sure to keep extra costs in mind such as wire transfer fees and other transfer-related costs that may depend on your chosen payment method. It’s also important to consider the collateral (margin) you plan to use for your expected trade sizes.

Even if your forex broker does not have a minimum deposit requirement, you’ll still need a method for funding your account to place live forex trades. PayPal has become a popular way for forex traders to fund their trading accounts, due to PayPal’s extensive international presence and wide range of supported currencies. Check out our guide to the best PayPal forex brokers to learn more about using PayPal to fund your account, and to see our list of the best forex brokers that accept PayPal.

How do I choose a forex broker?

Your first step when choosing a forex broker is ensuring that holds regulatory licenses from reputable jurisdictions. Choosing a regulated broker that is permitted to offer services in your country helps you avoid potential forex scams. Also, by selecting a trusted forex broker that is well-capitalized, you reduce the risk of the broker going bankrupt and losing your deposit.

To select a forex broker, start by looking for brokers that are regulated in your country and any available consumer compensation funds provided as protection against bankruptcy. Next, read full-length forex reviews. Finally, compare your top two choices side by side to decide on a winner.

What are the most popular currency pairs?

The most heavily traded currency pairs by volume all include the U.S. dollar (USD), followed by the euro (EUR), Japanese yen (JPY), Great British Pound (GBP), Australian dollar (AUD), Canadian dollar (CAD), and Swiss Franc (CHF). This is according to the latest Triennial Survey by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which found that approximately 88% of all forex trades include the U.S. dollar. Check out Currency Pairs on Wikipedia for some more high-level information.

Note: The resulting pairs from these popular currencies are known as the "major pairs" and include the EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, CAD/USD, CHF/USD, and followed by the Chinese renminbi (CNY), which is the eighth most traded currency, but seventh most traded currency pair when combined with the U.S. dollar (CNY/USD).

Here is an excerpt from the Triennial Survey from BIS:

What is the best forex broker for beginners?

If you're a beginner looking for a thorough selection of educational materials, then IG is the best choice among forex brokers. We've also written an extensive guide for the best forex brokers in the U.S. for beginners, in addition to the brokers that support international traders.

Also noteworthy is Plus for its trading platform, which is great for beginners thanks to a simple layout that is easy to learn.

Can I get rich by trading forex?

While possible, getting rich by trading forex is rare. Practice and skill are required to make money trading forex. Successful traders strive to make trades that, on average, return larger profits (winners) than losses (losers) over time. Historically speaking, several hedge fund managers have been able to get rich trading forex.

For example, George Soros made over £1 billion in profit by short selling the British pound in , in what can be described (if one is prone to understatement) as a large bet. Read more about what's known as Black Wednesday on Wikipedia.

Tips for getting started with forex trading

Forex trading is complex and may not be suitable for everyone. Whether forex trading is right for you will depend on your individual financial situation, trading goals, and level of experience as a trader and investor. Beginners who are just getting started as forex traders should exercise caution; the majority of forex traders lose money.

That said, forex trading continues to grow in popularity. If you want to jump into the largest financial market in the world, here are my top 5 tips for getting started as a forex trader:

1. Open a forex trading account with a trustworthy forex broker. Read through your forex broker’s applicable terms and conditions (it’s always a good idea to read all the fine print) and complete the live account application process.

2. Fund your new brokerage account. You’ll need to choose a reliable deposit method (supported by your broker) for sending and receiving funds. Always make sure you are starting with an amount you can afford to risk.

3. Try out a free demo account. Starting with a demo account (also known as virtual trading or paper trading) lets you try out your broker’s platform and get comfortable with the broker’s offering – without risking any real money.

4. Create a trading plan. Even the best forex traders can lose money. The key to long-term success as a forex trader is to create a trading plan that helps you establish a consistent trading record, and keep your average losses low (relative to your average profits). Keep track of your trading plan (along with new forex lingo and trader jargon) in a dedicated trading journal. I suggest checking out eunic-brussels.eu's guide to the best online trading journals for some great resources.

5. Enter the forex market and place your first trade. Choose your desired trade size, and open a long position by clicking buy on a given currency, or open a short position by clicking sell. You are now a forex trader! Again, you should only risk funds that you can afford to risk.

Is forex trading profitable?

The majority of traders lose money. Therefore, to beat the odds and make money trading forex, you must have a trading strategy that focuses not only on identifying trading opportunities (i.e., signals when to buy or sell) but also calculates the optimum trade size relative to your balance. In addition, your target risk and profit levels should be determined in advance using a stop-loss order and limit.

This way, you have a plan on when to exit a trade – whether at a loss or profit. To be successful in trading, you just need to keep your average losses smaller than your average profit (though of course, that’s easier said than done).

Gambling versus investing: One of the reasons that so many traders lose money is that they take risks that are larger than their budget allows. Many traders treat investments as they would gambling, where their risk is uncontrolled or unbalanced.

If you want to increase your chances of trading forex profitably, treat it as an investment by focusing on limiting your risk relative to the target profit on each trade. In addition, look for trading opportunities that have a higher probability of reaching their profit potential – though these may be harder to find, it’s sometimes better to wait for the right opportunity, rather than jumping into the market just because it is there.

The Best Forex Trading Platforms for Beginners

eunic-brussels.eu Overall Rankings

Now that you've seen our picks for the best forex brokers for beginners, check out the eunic-brussels.eu Overall Rankings. We've evaluated over 60 forex brokers, using a testing methodology that's based on + data-driven variables and thousands of data points. Check out our full-length, in-depth forex broker reviews.

What Are Currency Pairs?

Currency pairs combine the currencies of two countries. Each currency has a value and the relationship of those values contributes to the price of the pairs. So does trader interest.

Currencies are always traded in pairs because when you buy or sell one currency, you automatically sell or buy another. (E.g., think about paying U.S. dollars when buying foreign currency for a trip abroad.)

In every currency pair, there is a base currency and a quote currency. The base currency is the first currency shown, on the left. The quote currency is the second currency, on the right.

The price for a currency pair is the amount of the quoted currency required to purchase one unit of the base currency.

So, for example, with the EUR/USD currency pair, EUR is the base currency and USD is the quote currency. A currency pair price of means that U.S. dollars are needed to buy one euro, or one euro is worth U.S. dollars.

Forex Trades 24 Hours a Day, 5 Days a Week

Foreign exchange (forex) traders have the luxury of more highly leveraged trading with lower margin requirements compared to traders in equity markets. But before you jump headfirst into the fast-paced world of forex, you'll want to know about the currency pairs that trade most often.

Here's a look at six of the most traded currency pairs in forex, with rankings based on the triennial survey by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

1. EUR/USD: Trading the "Fiber"

The most traded currency pair is the EUR/USD, most likely because of the global prominence of the economies of the European single market and the United States. It made up % of overall market share, as of the latest BIS survey. That's down from 24% market share in the previous survey. The high daily volume and liquidity of this pair ensure tight spreads for traders.

The EUR/USD tends to have a negative correlation with the U.S. dollar and Swiss franc (USD/CHF) and a positive correlation with the British pound/U.S. dollar (GBP/USD). This is due to the positive correlation of the euro, the British pound, and the Swiss franc.

2. USD/JPY: Trading the "Gopher"

The next most actively traded pair was the USD/JPY, with high liquidity and a market share of %, slightly higher than its prior %. This pair has been sensitive to political sentiment between the United States and the Far East.

It tends to be positively correlated to the USD/CHF and the U.S. dollar/Canadian dollar (USD/CAD) currency pairs. This relationship is due to the U.S. dollar being the base currency in all three pairs. USD/JPY also responds to changes made to interest rates by the Bank of Japan and the effect on the yen relative to the U.S. dollar.

3. GBP/USD: Trading the "Cable"

Trading in the GBP/USD currency pair represented % of forex market share, a small decrease from the prior survey in Again, the popularity and volume of trading in this pair reflect the strength of the British and U.S. economies.

The GBP/USD tends to have a negative correlation with the USD/CHF and a positive correlation with the EUR/USD. This is due to the positive correlation between the British pound sterling, the Swiss franc, and the euro.

4. USD/CNY: Trading the Yuan

The USD/CNY currency pair represents the relationship between the U.S. dollar and the Chinese renminbi, more commonly known as the yuan. Its market share grew to % from its previous % of market share in daily forex trades.

The U.S.-China trade relationship has been a volatile one, providing USD/CNY traders with plenty of speculative trading opportunities. Those interested in the USD/CNY should maintain awareness of developments in that relationship, as they could affect the pricing of the pair.

5. USD/CAD: Trading the "Loonie"

Market share for the USD/CAD currency pair increased to % from % in the previous survey three years ago. Interest rates in the U.S. and Canada will affect the price of this pair, reflecting the effects on the individual currencies. In addition, as oil is a major economic driver for Canada, its price will affect the price of Canadian currency. This in turn can have an impact on the currency pair.

The USD/CAD tends to be negatively correlated with the AUD/USD, GBP/USD, and EUR/USD pairs due to the U.S. dollar being the quote currency in these other pairs.

6. AUD/USD: Trading the "Aussie"

The AUD/USD currency pair captured % of forex market share, compared to its previous %. It tends to have a negative correlation with the USD/CAD, USD/CHF, and USD/JPY pairs due to the U.S. dollar being the base currency in these cases.

The value of Australia's currency is closely tied to the role and value of its exports in its economy. Therefore, a downward movement in that value could affect the AUD/USD currency pair value, strengthening the dollar to the loonie. The relationship between the interest rates set by the respective central banks can affect the currency pair price, as well.

The Bottom Line

Our list of the most actively traded currency pairs starts with the EUR/USD, which has the greatest trading volume. All six currency pairs offer the liquidity that investors who trade them need for profits.

However, various factors such as trade relationships, changing interest rates, economic upheaval, and country disputes, including war, can affect individual currencies (and thus pairs). So make sure that you're up to date on such news and information before leaping into the forex market so you can choose the most viable currency pairs to trade.

Content intended for educational/informational purposes only. Not investment advice, or a recommendation of any security, strategy, or account type.

Forex trading involves leverage, carries a high level of risk and is not suitable for all investors. Please read the NFA booklet Trading Forex: What Investors Need to Know prior to trading forex products.

Forex accounts are not protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).

Forex trading services provided by Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC. Trading privileges subject to review and approval. Not all clients will qualify. Forex accounts are not available to residents of Ohio or Arizona. Prior to a name change in September , Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC was known as TD Ameritrade Futures & Forex LLC.

Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC, a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant and NFA Forex Dealer Member. Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC is a subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation.

A forex dealer may be compensated via commission and/or mark-up on forex trades. Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC does not charge commission on forex transactions nor does it offer commission-based forex pairs. However, the cost of the trade is reflected in the bid/ask spread. Additional information may be found in its NFA and CFTC Disclosure Document.

The forex market is open from p.m. to p.m. daily, Sunday through Friday. Beginning at p.m., forex pairs may be opened at various intervals to ensure market liquidity. As part of routine daily maintenance, generally conducted between a.m. – a.m. and lasting approximately 2 minutes, the trading platform may not be available. Times referenced are Central Standard Time or Central Daylight Time, whichever is in effect. Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC utilizes JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. as its forex prime broker. Liquidity providers are JP Morgan, Citadel Securities, XTX Markets, and Virtu Financial.

TD Ameritrade was evaluated against 14 other online brokers in the eunic-brussels.eu Online Broker Review. The firm was rated #1 in the categories "Platforms & Tools" (11 years in a row), "Desktop Trading Platform: thinkorswim®" (10 years in a row), "Active Trading" (2 years in a row), "Options Trading," "Customer Service," and "Phone Support." TD Ameritrade was also rated Best in Class (within the top 5) for "Overall Broker" (12 years in a row), "Education" (11 years in a row), "Commissions & Fees" (2 years in a row), "Offering of Investments" (8 years in a row), "Beginners" (10 years in a row), "Mobile Trading Apps" (10 years in a row), "Ease of Use" (6 years in a row), "IRA Accounts" (3 years in a row), "Futures Trading" (3 years in a row), and "Research" (11 years in a row). Read the full article.

Forex trading exposes you to risk including, but not limited to, market volatility, volume, congestion, and system or component failures, which may delay account access and/or Forex trade executions. Prices can change quickly and there is no guarantee that the execution price of your order will be at or near the quote displayed at order entry (“slippage”). Account access delays and slippage can occur at any time but are most prevalent during periods of higher volatility, at market open or close, or due to the size and type of order.

This is not an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction where we are not authorized to do business or where such offer or solicitation would be contrary to the local laws and regulations of that jurisdiction, including, but not limited to persons residing in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UK, and the countries of the European Union.

TD Ameritrade, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, a subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation. TD Ameritrade is a trademark jointly owned by TD Ameritrade IP Company, Inc. and The Toronto-Dominion Bank. © Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

XBTFX is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk. Crypto assets are highly volatile and unregulated. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply. XBTFX does not provide services to any person that is a resident of certain jurisdictions such as the USA, Québec (Canada), Belgium, Belarus, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Yemen or any other jurisdiction where the services offered by XBTFX would be contrary to local law or regulation. XBTFX subscribes to globally accepted regulatory standards and accordingly, does not accept solicited clients from EU/EAA, Singapore, United Kingdom and Australia. This is not an exhaustive list of countries from which XBTFX does not accept solicited clients and is updated as required. XBTFX does not target EU/EAA clients. Customers should familiarize themselves with the FX rules applicable in their country&#;s before deciding to use XBTFX services. High Risk Investment Notice: Leveraged trading in foreign currency contracts and CFDs are complex financial products traded on margin intended for retail, professional and eligible counterparty clients. Leveraged trading is risky and may not be suitable for all investors. Ensure you understand the risks involved as you may lose all your invested capital. Most CFDs have no set maturity date and a CFD position matures on the date an open position is closed. Please read our &#;Risk Disclosure Notice&#;. XBTFX LLC . All Rights Reserved.

In case of dispute regarding the purchase online, you can use the site OPC

Did you know?

Over the last decades, the forex market in the US has emerged as one of the most regulated markets anywhere in the world. Rules that were introduced and backed up by Federal laws have made it very difficult for brokers and traders alike to operate in the US forex market. For many years, only three brokers operated in the US forex market: Oanda, GAIN Capital LLC (eunic-brussels.eu) and TD Ameritrade. Others were either put out of business or were forced to close down as a result of the strangulating environment created by the regulators, backed up by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of

What Changed?

After the global financial crisis of which had its origins in the US subprime mortgage market, there were general calls for better regulation of the various markets operating in the United States. The Dodd-Frank Act was a direct consequence of this agitation. This law strengthened the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission, enabling it to oversee not just the conventional financial markets, but also the swaps market which was valued in trillions of dollars.

Changes to the way business was conducted in the US financial markets were sweeping and aggressive. Some of the changes which were directly targeted at the retail segment of the market were as follows:

• A) Introduction of leverage caps in forex and options, pegging leverage at for forex majors, and for forex minors, and forex options trading.
• B) Elimination of hedging ability via the introduction of the First In, First Out (FIFO) Rule. Thus rule states that a position on an asset must first be closed before another can be opened on the same asset. The FIFO rule effectively ended the hedging style of traders placing opposing positions on the same asset.
• C) Stratification of traders in the FX market was institutionalized, as these rules were targeted at the so-called "unsophisticated" investors, defined as traders with assets that are less than $10million, as well as small businesses. Professional and commercial traders (investment banks) were largely exempted from these changes.

According to the CFTC, these rules were meant to protect the retail clients from overexposing their money to the market and from taking excessive risk. But to what extent these rules have actually protected the retail consumers of forex products in the US is anyone's wildest guess.

What the regulators of the US financial markets will not readily reveal, is that many traders in the US simply exited the US market and migrated their accounts to brokerage platforms in other countries. Forex brokers located in the US have had whatever market share they had badly eroded, and brokers without the kind of purposeful structure that the former US brokers suddenly emerged as less desirable but ready alternatives to traders who were unwilling to trade under the new conditions in the US.

In other words, the Dodd-Frank Act actually stifled the forex brokerage business in America and the statistics do not lie. During the good times, more than 40 retail FX brokers were serving both US and international clients. Ever since Dodd-Frank became law, that number dwindled to the three brokers mentioned above, and the international clientele base simply moved away from the US and on to brokerages in the UK, Europe, Australia and the Caribbean. A lot of the damage in the US forex brokerage business environment came as a result of the $20million bond which was imposed as a requirement for starting a forex brokerage business in the US. Tax reporting requirements have also scared off many brokerages from accepting US clients. Clearly, no foreign forex company wants to get the same kind of attention that Huawei got from the US government in , or what TikTok got in

What Are the Current Options for US Forex Traders?

In , some brokers made moves to re-enter the US market. Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic slowed down the process dramatically. Still, some new brokers managed to enter the US forex market in recent years, so traders now have more choice than before.

So what is the current state of the US market as it concerns US Forex traders?

1) Consumer-Friendly Regulators

Regulators in the US have made a series of changes designed to improve trading outcomes for US forex traders. For instance, the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has made its weekly CFTC Positioning Report (also known as the Commitment of Traders Report, or COT) more readily available. This report shows what the major players in the commodities and currency markets are doing. Using this information, summaries of which are found on some MT4 platforms of US forex brokers, traders can consider their positions against the backdrop of the institutional speculators are trading. This provides for more informed trade decisions.

Additionally, the CFTC is now more reachable as a number of channels are now open so the public can make complaints or submit inquiries and observations.

2) More Robust Database of Providers

Everyone working in the industry must be registered with the CFTC and NFA. The NFA has taken it a step further by requiring biometric registration of those who provide services to traders, be it brokerage services or fund management. This biometric information can be shared with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and this has been a strong deterrence against wrongdoing by brokers. When last did you hear of US forex brokers swindling customers of their funds?

The CFTC database of providers is very vast. All floor traders/brokers, introducing brokers, swap dealers, retail forex dealers, commodities pool operators (CPOs) and commodities trading advisors (CTAs) who are licensed to provide services to US forex traders are all on this database.

If you are approached by anyone claiming to be any of these, you can easily contact the CFTC for near-instant verification. Even those who are not listed on the CFTC database by reason of exemption must appear on the NFA database, and the reason for the CFTC exemption provided.

3) Expanded List of US-Regulated Forex Brokers

There used to be a time when more than 70 brokers operated in the US forex market. The Dodd-Frank Act thinned them out to just 3, and it remained this way for a nearly a decade. At the present day, there are now 8 regulated forex brokers in the US. Oanda, eunic-brussels.eu (GAIN Capital) and TD Ameritrade retained their positions, and are now joined by ATC Brokers, IG US, Interactive Brokers, Ally Invest and ThinkorSwim (now owned by TD Ameritrade).

4) Leverage Caps

The ESMA Rules in Europe forced all local brokers to set a leverage limit for all major FX currency pairs. In the US, this cap remains at the level introduced in US forex traders will continue to enjoy what now seems to be the most liberal leverage caps in the Tier 1 regulatory jurisdictions.

5) Credit-Based Funding for Customer Forex Accounts

Bank drafts and direct debits from a bank-linked ATM card are now the recognized means of account funding for US forex traders. The use of credit cards is now prohibited.

These are some of the changes that US forex traders have faced in also marked the year of the COVID global pandemic that has completely changed the face of the global economy. However, while many other economic sectors have been badly hit, forex trading and other forms of financial market activity have thrived. In fact, the massive job losses and furloughs across the world that left millions without a source of income, drove the same people to the financial markets. Many brokerages have witnessed a surge in new trading account registrations as well as inquiries about trading. COVID has changed the face of financial trading and it is likely that a number of changes as to how forex is traded in the US are coming.

What Does the Future Hold for US Forex Traders?

What changes can US forex traders hope to see in and beyond?

1) Pattern Day Trading Rule Remains in Effect

The Pattern Day Trading Rule (PDT) still exists. This rule states that all US day traders must maintain a minimum account balance of $25, on any trading account that operates on margin. Forex trading is leveraged, and retail forex traders are typically given a leverage of when trading forex majors, or for trading forex minors/exotic currencies.

The pattern day trading rule came into effect in as a measure from US financial market regulators to protect traders classified as "unsophisticated" investors from making risky trades in the market. This rule applies to traders who perform four or more forex trades in a period of five business days. The rule is simple: if you want to day trade, do it with a minimum of $25, and not from a small account.

So, what if you do not have $25, as may be the case with many of you? You can create scenarios that can make you exempt from this rule.

• A) You can open a brokerage account outside of the US, or if you are a US citizen based outside the US, open an account with a brokerage willing to take on your business.
• B) You can decide to limit your leverage provisions to or even eliminate the use of leverage completely.
• C) You can decide to increase the duration of your trades so that your trading frequency falls below the 4/week benchmark.
• D) Open accounts with different brokers if you must trade up to four or more times a week. Initiate these trades with different brokers so you are always below the 4 trades/week threshold. In other words, instead of setting up four trades on broker XYZ, you can open brokerage accounts with broker A, B, C and D and place one trade with each. Get the drift?
• E) Trade FX options instead of trading spot FX.

2) Changes to Margin Rules

In , new margin rules for US forex brokers were proposed. These changes followed the intense volatility that hit the forex and equity markets following the outbreak of the COVID pandemic. This period saw an unprecedented rush into the forex trading world by desperate individuals who were forced to look for alternative income when several industries went comatose at the height of the pandemic. Many of these people were first-time traders with very little or no experience in the market. The regulators felt that these changes were necessary to protect these new investors from the heightened market risks. These risks, though largely dissipated, still exist as central banks start to unwind from the pandemic stimulus programs that produced record inflation.

The proposed changes to margin requirements meant that broker-dealers would have to request their clients to maintain higher levels of account capital when trading volatile instruments such as leveraged securities, currencies and derivatives assets. Hitherto, major forex pairs attracted a leverage of (2% margin requirement), while minor forex pairs, exotic pairs and other volatile assets would come with a leverage or a 5% margin requirement.

A look at some of the trading portals of the US forex brokers shows that they have indeed implemented the proposed margin changes of to a large extent, if not fully. Some brokers have gone to the extent of individualizing the margin requirements for each specific asset. This move implies that you will find different assets with different margin requirements, even among similar assets, such as exotic forex pairs.

3) Rules Regarding Uncleared Margin

paved the way for the transition into the final phase of the Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR). These rules involve how buy-side participants in the forex market handle the initial margin and variation margin among all counterparties in the market. Compliance with the UMR 6 demands a consolidated margin threshold of 50 million units of either the EUR or the USD that must be adhered to, among other requirements.

The implementation of the uncleared margin rules has been in stages, with UMR 1 commencing in These rules were initially conceived in the aftermath of the global financial crisis to enable firms to handle risk better. So where is the standing of US forex brokers with these new uncleared margin rules?

These rules mean US forex traders can now access more expansive OTC liquidity pools. New futures and options contracts on FX pairs are coming on board, and US forex traders may have broader access to FX-based assets. Already, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has introduced FX futures contracts on the Euro on a short-term rate basis.

4) Trader Classification

A fallout of the Dodd-Frank Act of is that US forex brokers must now classify their traders based on trading experience, professional qualifications/experience, and amount of capital traded/notional trading volumes. This classification now separates US forex traders into "sophisticated" and "unsophisticated" investors. What is the implication of this classification?

One implication is that those traders classified as unsophisticated investors will be subject to the new margin rules described above. However, they will receive extra protections such as negative balance protection and have access to disclaimer details stipulating the risks involved in trading and the percentage success rate on each broker's platform. Sophisticated investors do not have these protections as they are deemed already knowledgeable enough about the risks associated with trading forex and CFDs. They also benefit from being given more generous leverage provisions.

Criteria to be fulfilled to match the classification of a sophisticated investor include the following:

1. At least one year spent on the trading desks of an investment bank or similar trading firm.
2. Has attained professional training/qualifications within the financial services industry.
3. Has access to capital that translates into a notional trading volume running into hundreds of millions of dollars per month or per quarter (exact requirements may vary).

You now have a chance as a US forex trader to choose your classification and enjoy the benefits of being in your chosen category.

5) Adoption of a New Dodd-Frank Rule

A new rule that took effect in November is the Dodd-Frank rule against trader conflicts. This rule was adopted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and it bars broker-dealers who deal in asset-backed securities from betting against any such assets they have sold to investors.

In other words, brokers and dealers who work on dealing desks or sell-side desks of investment banks can no longer short any asset they have marketed and sold to their clients as assets with growth potential. This practice was rampant in the lead-up to the global financial crisis and caused many retail traders to lose huge sums of money. This means that if you trade stock CFDs, for instance, and you have long positions on them, you can now be sure that there will be no price manipulation caused by actions such as a massive dump of such stocks by investment banks or dealing desks.

6) Changes to Investor Compensation

As a US forex trader who trades with US forex brokers, you are entitled to investor compensation if the company you are operating with goes bankrupt. Investor compensation is not provided for losses associated with your trading decisions and activities. If you are trading with an offshore brokerage, you may or may not have access to investor compensation, depending on where your account is domiciled. Many of the brokers listed on this website are members of one investor compensation fund or the other. Find out if the broker of your choice offers this feature.

If you are trading with a US-based forex broker, there is the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). This fund provides compensation cover up to a maximum of $,, with a cash limit of $, SIPC's protection covers funds in a brokerage account held with a firm under liquidation. It does not cover the decline or loss of value of your assets and certainly does not cover losses incurred due to trading, bad investments, or bad investment advice. Ensure that your US forex broker is a member of the SIPC if you are interested in this protection.

If you are trading with an offshore broker, ensure that they are members of the Financial Commission ($20, protection cap) if located in Caribbean islands. Other notable jurisdictions and their investor compensation schemes are:

• The UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) -> maximum cover of £50,
• The Association pour la Garantie des Dépôts Luxembourg -> provides cover up to €20,
• The Singapore Exchange (SGX) Fidelity Fund -> cap of SGD 50, and only on trades done on the Singapore Exchange.
• The Hong Kong Investor Compensation Company -> compensation of up to HK$,
• Investor Compensation Fund of CySEC -> covers up to €20, for accounts held with Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs). Similar limits exist for other EU regulators.

7) Changes to Trading Platforms

US forex brokers once were on the verge of delisting the MT4 and MT5 platforms (made by Russian company Metaquotes) as a result of Apple's ban of these trading software from its App store. The impasse has been resolved, and US forex traders have recovered access to these trading software. However, the MT5 is expected to become the more dominant of the two trading software going forward.

8) No Blockchains Yet, But AI is Starting to Creep In

A prediction that blockchain-based trading platforms might hit the US forex markets by has not come to fruition. However, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools has slowly but surely begun to gain mainstream attention among US forex traders. One of the tools that will become more visible in the immediate future is the eunic-brussels.eu tool. This tool is a strategy builder which allows any trader to use text to instruct the tool to build a trading strategy and automate it. Some brokers for US forex traders have adopted this tool, which also has mobile versions that can integrate seamlessly with mobile trading apps.

Along with these AI tools, there is also expected to be a growth in the algorithmic trading industry. A previous estimate saw sales in this industry hitting an estimated $ billion by the end of , representing a Compound Annual Growth Rate of % in the period under consideration (). Most of this growth was estimated by a MarketsandMarkets study to emanate from North America.

These estimates have since been revised upwards. CAGR for the industry between and is now set at %, reaching $ billion by the end of the decade. A lot of this growth is expected to come from AI tools, machine learning, big data and an increase in the market share of cloud-based solutions. North America continues the domination of this sphere, but the Asia-Pacific region is starting to make inroads as well.

These tools and resources are expected to become more accessible to the retail end of the forex trading space. US forex traders can see new products from some of the major players in this space, such as Virtu Financial, Thomson Reuters, Kuberre Systems, and Argo SE.

9) Increased Volatility on the US Dollar and Gold

As central banks across the world start to unwind the tight monetary policy regimens instituted to combat the inflation that followed the inflow of stimulus cash into the global economy, there will be increased volatility in the US Dollar and on gold. For and , it will be all about the commencement, speed and extent of interest rate cuts. Traders who trade USD pairs and gold will have plenty of market opportunities heading into the next two years.

Closing Note

One of the best things that consumers of any product can enjoy is the power to choose, and to be able to make that choice from a wide range of service providers. This is what the Dodd-Frank law has taken away from US forex traders… but things have changed. Aside from a few forex brokerages operating in the US, there are a number of offshore forex brokers expressing willingness to take US traders on their platforms.

There are a number of advantages and also drawbacks to this arrangement. In terms of benefits, this is what US forex traders will enjoy when they use the offshore brokers presented in the list above.

• A) The ability to hedge trades is a risk management tool. The FIFO rule basically prevents this from happening. Realizing this great folly in the US forex brokerage setup, the offshore brokers in the list provide above have created a system which allows traders to hedge, even if it means placing opposing positions on the same asset.
• B) The CFTC has argued that the leverage caps protect retail traders by stopping them from overexposing their capital and accounts to the market. The leverage caps imposed a high minimum capital requirement on forex accounts opened in the US. This requirement only served to lock out a large segment of the trading public. With the forex brokers for US traders introduced here, you get lower capital requirements you can actually meet. You also trade with a wider spectrum of leverage, which allows you to trade under non-restrictive leverage conditions.
• C) Your greatest asset as a consumer (the power to choose) is restored. You have a choice of not just a few brokers, but many ones. If a broker does not match your requirements, move to the next one on the list.

The brokers featured in the list above have been carefully selected to offer you a forex brokerage service that rivals what you can get anywhere in the world, and under non-restrictive conditions. They are great for beginners who can make a transition from a demo account to a lightly funded live account, just to ensure they can understand what live trading is all about before they get more heavily committed. ECN style accounts are also available for those who prefer to trade directly with the FX interbank market. There is a lot of choice for you as you go through this list of brokers, one after the other.

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