Currenex is mostly known for its deep pools of liquidity and advanced technology. What are the benefits and downsides of using the service?
Forex trading has been popular for some time now. As a trader, you might notice that there are many ways and methods to trade forex. In this case, you might want to try ECN trading. Electronic Communication Network (ECN) is a computer-based system that facilitates trades and connects traders and major brokerages so that they can directly trade between themselves without any third party.
The system basically displays the best available bid and asks prices from multiple market participants, and then automatically matches and executes orders at the best price possible. In other words, ECN is able to combine the capabilities of several liquidity providers (LPs) into a single platform and allow traders to choose their preferred liquidity source.
Assets offered on ECN brokers are mainly stocks and currencies; each has a separate technology to monitor the operation. Among all the ECN-related technology available, Currenex is one the most widely known on the market right now.
What Is Currenex?
It is a popular technology provider that offers high-quality performance and deep pools of liquidity for disclosed trade executions. The company has managed to partner with more than 60 global banks through the fix protocol, including Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, and Price Markets. Currenex also provides access to multiple brokerage firms, hedge funds, fund managers, and corporates. Clients can therefore request prices from various liquidity providers and place wide-ranged advanced order types.
There are two types of Currenex execution methods:
1. Executable Streaming Prices (ESP)
The first execution method offered by Currenex is the Execution Streaming Prices (ESP), which is available for forex spot and precious metals spot. It allows the user to see a list of streaming prices from various liquidity providers and choose the best price that suits their needs. Here are some of the benefits of using this method:
- Provides a real marketplace with hundreds of market participants and diverse liquidity sources.
- Allows participants to be passive or aggressive, earn spread or pay the spread, which facilitates continuous markets and price discovery.
- Displays precision pricing for each currency pair.
- Is able to provide multiple liquidity streams based on user's preference and relationship, hence able to create liquidity pools that are unique to each client's taste
- Offers a wide range of order types, allowing clients to customize their trades based on their risk tolerance
2. Request for Stream (RFS) or Request for Quotes (RFQ)
With this method, traders can request several liquidity providers to stream their prices. The LPs will then stream their prices in turn for a fixed amount of time. Consequently, traders will be able to convert the request for streaming into an executable streaming price to place an order. The following are the key benefits of using this method of execution:
- No minimum amount is required to trade. Odd lots and broken dates are allowed.
- No limit on the number of liquidity providers for each price request.
- A real-time comparison between the best price and all other prices available.
- Is able to capture all price quotes at the time of execution.
- Shows trade history to facilitate your transaction cost analysis (TCA) and audit trail.
- STP, workflow solutions, and trade history are available.
The Benefits of Using Currenex
- Multi-dealer Trading Platform Online
Currenex is currently used by thousands of traders and institutions from various areas of the world. Therefore, it is able to connect people from different areas and give access to various credible liquidity providers. In addition, users can see the live-streaming executable prices and place orders at the best prices. This is particularly beneficial for those who are into hedge funds. - White Label Solution
Due to the fact that many retail traders may not be able to trade directly with Currenex, the company offers a white label solution to many retail brokerages. This way, retail traders can access the platform and enjoy trading with a number of liquidity providers. However, bear in mind that depending on the liquidity providers that the broker chooses, traders may only be able to access the benefits accordingly and not as much as those with direct access to the platform. - Convenient to Use
Currenex can be accessed with a regular computer, so it's very easy to use. With the combination of the broker and the platform's services, traders can enjoy various features to make optimize trading execution. - Spread Benefits
Typically, the spread is something that most traders would want to avoid because it can affect their overall income from trading. Like it or not, they must deduct a small percentage of their earnings in every order, which can be burdensome for scalpers who usually trade multiple times in a single day. But in Currenex, floating spreads can go as low as 0.4 points on average and there's even a chance of zero spreads. Currenex is able to offer low spreads because the system involves many of the largest market makers. Thus, it's easier to the most favorable price for each transaction and reduce the spread. - Fast Execution
Another advantage offered by Currenex is the speed of execution. Orders can be made in seconds with a single click. Conveniently, the execution speed also won't be affected by market conditions and other factors, so the program won't slow down even during major news releases and such. Furthermore, Currenex has a great customer support team that is always ready to help its clients.
The Downsides of Currenex
Currenex is more suitable for experienced, institutional, and corporate traders. The platform is considered to be pretty complicated for beginners and focuses more on prices and depth of market rather than charting techniques. Also, due to its sophisticated technology, the fees and deposit requirements are rather high. The platform's accessibility is also limited as there's still no mobile trading app available for Currenex. Lastly, there are only a handful of brokers that support Currenex, so it's not widely available for average forex traders.
5 Best Currenex Brokers
Despite its limited availability, some popular brokers do offer trading with Currenex. Here are some examples to begin with:
1. IC Markets
IC Markets is a popular ECN broker from Australia that was established in 2007 with the aim of bridging the gap that exists between retail and institutional clients. IC Markets is regulated by ASIC since 2009. The broker offers 63 currency pairs and at least 41 CFDs on indices, metals, cryptocurrencies, and futures. The spread is also pretty low compared to other brokers. When it comes to trading platforms, IC Markets offer MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and cTrader. All of them use a high level of web security.
IC Markets is an online forex broker operating under the company of International Capital Markets Pty Ltd. Traders under the Australian jurisdiction are provided with the trading service of IC Markets AU that is headquartered in Australia and licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
On the other hand, non-Australian traders who open an account in this broker are registered under IC Markets SEY that is based in Seychelles, and regulated under the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (SFSA). The dual operation is a result of the relatively new rules from ASIC that prohibit their regulated broker to offer trading services outside Australia.
Classified as an ECN broker, IC Markets provide clients with MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader as platform trading options. This broker also follows market trends to include Cryptocurrencies as one of its products, enriching its already wide selection of trading assets that include Currencies, Indices, Metals, Energies, Softs, Stocks, as well as Bonds.
The minimum deposit in IC Markets is in the middle range compared to other ASIC-regulated brokers, as it reaches $200 for every client. Market analysis materials are also prepared regularly for trading insights on IC Markets's official website, proving their competence to serve their traders with important contents created by market experts that work specifically for them.
For payment methods, IC Markets allows funding and withdrawal via wire transfer, credit card, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, FasaPay, UnionPay, as well as Bitcoin via BitPay. The more interesting aspect from this broker is its multi-base currencies that include USD, AUD, EUR, GBP, SGD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, and CAD.
As the trading technology in IC Markets is highly equipped with co-located servers and extremely low latency (especially on cTrader), the broker is widely known for its capability in hosting traders with the special needs for high-frequency trading as well as scalping.
To sum up, IC Markets is a fitting destination for active traders looking for a well-regulated broker. IC Markets is also flexible in terms of base currency and payment methods, signaling their commitment to welcome traders beyond their home country. As of late 2019, IC Markets provided their website in 18 international languages including English, Korean, Indonesian, French, Spanish, Italian, Malay, German, and Chinese.
2. Exness
Exness is a globally known forex broker that was founded in 2008. Exness is highly popular and has a monthly trading volume of over $180 billion and over 80,000 active traders. The broker offers access to no less than 120 financial tradable assets including forex, cryptocurrency, stocks, and indices. The broker is considered safe as it is regulated by several top-tier regulators. Apart from that, the broker also has great customer support that's available 24/5 and supports 13 languages.
The choice of broker is adjusted to the needs of each trader. If you are a trader who only needs a basic platform and trading features with the best attributes, then Exness can be your best choice.
Exness covers its lack of feature variations with other advantages like low spreads starting from only 0.1 pip. This is very suitable for traders who use scalping strategies (Scalper). Spreads on major pairs in certain account types can also be as low as 0.0 pip, depending on market conditions.
Not only that, but traders can also enjoy other advantages such as automatic fund withdrawals. Exness processes the majority of client withdrawals instantly, without manual checks; however, withdrawals may be subject tos depending on the payment provider or method of choice.
The safety of traders' funds is also guaranteed as Exness is one of the European-based STP/ECN brokers. Exness's ability to become an official partner of the Real Madrid soccer team for 3 years, starting July 2017, also provides evidence that the company has high solidity.
Deposits and withdrawals may be made 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, it is important to note that the company shall not be liable fors in processing deposits and withdrawals if suchs are caused by the payment system.
Traders do not need to worry about transaction fees when depositing and withdrawing. Exness doesn't charge any transaction fees to traders even though some charges may be incurred depending on the payment provider of choice. A variety of payment methods are provided for traders, including Wire Transfer, Bank Card, Neteller, Skrill, and many others.
The financial reports and metrics on the Exness website are audited quarterly by Deloitte, one of the four largest public accounting firms globally.
Moreover, Exness is one of the mote transparent brokers in the online trading industry. Traders can find out all information about this company on the website, such as trading volume, number of active clients, client deposits, company funds, and many more.
The platforms provided by Exness vary in MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Web, and Mobile platforms. This makes it easy for traders when trading on Exness, as they can also access Exness platforms anywhere and anytime.
Over the years, Exness has developed into a broker that attracts traders. Trader's trust is further enhanced by its compliance with financial regulations like the FCA and CySEC.
One measure of client confidence can be put on the trading volume. By December 2018, their clients' monthly trading volume reached USD348.4 billion and active traders around the world surpassed 50,342.
Through the program offered by Exness, traders also have the opportunity to earn extra income by becoming their partners. From the Introducing Broker (IB) program, partners can earn up to 33% spread commission from every new client that registers with them.
Additional income can also be obtained from Exness Partners. Traders can get a spread commission of up to 25% per transaction made by traders who register through an affiliate link.
When trading with Exness, clients can also make use of its free VPS hosting services. A VPS (Virtual Private Server) offers increased reliability and stability for traders as they can maintain their trades and expert advisors without interruption in the event of unexpected technical issues, such as internet or electricity downtime.
From the review above, it can be concluded that Exness is a favorite broker for traders because of low spreads and flexible account types. This condition is very suitable for traders with limited funds but is in need of more opportunities to get maximum profit. This broker is also well known for its maximum support on both new and existing partners.
3. OctaFX
Founded in 2011, OctaFX is another well-known forex broker providing ECN trading for its clients. The company presents MetaTrader and cTrader as their main trading platforms to provide access to all major currency pairs and commodities with leverage of up to 1:500. Originally, OctaFX's main focus was limited to the Asian market. But in recent years, the company has expanded its reach and has served more than 300,000 traders in more than 100 countries.
4. Alpari
Alpari is a reputable forex broker that was founded in 1998 and relaunched in 2014. It is under the regulation of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of the Republic of Mauritius. Alpari provides access to over 250 markets in assets like forex, stocks, indices, metals, and cryptocurrencies. It offers both MetaTrader 4 and 5 trading platforms that can be accessed via desktop, web, and mobile apps. Whether you are a novice or expert trader, Alpari is a great choice for forex trading. For instance, beginners can enjoy trading with demo accounts and get access to various educational materials.
Alpari International is one of the largest forex brands. They always try to work hard to make sure traders make the best trading and investment decisions. Established on 24th December 1998, Alpari has started from a small group of men who are looking to start a business in finance in one of the most economically precarious years in Russia's history.
During 20 years of experience in the forex industry, there are about 2 million traders choosing Alpari as the broker to trade with. Alpari has a head office on the 5th Floor, 355 NEX Tower, Rue du Savoir, Cybercity, Ebene 72201, Mauritius. The company is regulated in St.Vincent and the Grenadines (the licensed number is 20389 IBC 2012), IFSC Belize (the licensed number is IFSC/60/301/TS/18).
This broker uses MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, both of which offer great flexibility, charting tools, and an easy-to-use interface. For higher volumes, the company also provides the Alpari International Direct platform which offers enhanced features for advanced investors.
The company offers an array of live trading accounts to choose from. Each one offers different opportunities and allows traders to trade in different ways. All of their accounts use USD, EUR, GBP, and NGN as the options for base currency. But, NGN accounts are only available to clients in Nigeria.
Each kind of account has a different spread. At Standard Account provides spreads from 1.2, the spread of Micro Accounts is from 1.7, and ECN Account and Pro Account have spread from 0.4. A trader can open an account in Alpari and opt to trade currencies (FX majors, FX minors, FX exotics, and FX RUB), spot metals, spot commodities, stock trading, spot indices, and crypto-currencies.
A trader can find out what the minimum spreads, pip value, swaps, and trading session times are for each instrument before start trading. If the trader is still not sure where to begin, they can found the answer in a guide provided by Alpari on their official website.
Their guide to trading is designed to break down the terminologies and answer the most frequently asked questions by traders. A trader will be trading more quickly and with more confidence in no time.
Besides, Alpari offers PAMM (Percent Allocation Management Module) which allows a trader to choose their desirable Account Manager. This allows traders to have a chance in gaining more profit without advanced knowledge of forex trading. These managers usually have a wealth of experience in the markets, with tried-and-tested strategic trading decisions.
This program also gives opportunities for well-seasoned traders to become Strategy Managers. As Strategy Managers, they can use their trading experience and earn more from profitable trades. They have privileged access to Alpari's advanced programs and all the tools they need to cultivate a massive following of investors. The investors then will help Strategy Managers to earn more through commission fees up to 40%.
Their website also provides various Forex Trading Strategies. Because to increase the chance to profit, it's important to know as much about the markets and the trading strategies behind them as possible. Alpari believes that strategies provide traders with a roadmap for trading, reducing panicked decision-making that can occur in the heat of the moment. In other words, trading in Alpari allows traders to learn about any kind of forex trading strategy.
For educational purposes, the company provides Trading Webinars, one of the variants of technology that allows users to hold seminars, talk shows, and discussions online, without having to communicate face to face.
Alpari creates a very convenient funding and withdrawal experience for each trader. A trader can transfer with any kind of methods, such as e-payment (example: FasaPay, Local Transfer, TC Payment, etc), credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, and Maestro), E-Wallet (Neteller, Skrill, VLOAD, TC Pay Wallet, WebMoney, Perfectmoney, Bitcoin), and bank transfer. If there's been no trading activity on the trader account for at least 6 months, an inactivity fee of 5 EUR/USD/GBP will be applied.
All Back office transfers are processed during standard business hours, 03:00-19:00 GMT+2 (GMT+3 during DST), Monday-Friday. If traders still feel confused, they can contact Alpari's team by any method, such as Live Chat, Telegram, or email.
5. AvaTrade
AvaTrade is an Ireland-based forex broker that was founded in 2006. Apart from being headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, AvaTrade also has offices in other countries including Japan, Australia, and the British Virgin Islands as well as sales offices in Paris, Milan, Madrid, Mongolia, Beijing, Nigeria, Santiago, and Johannesburg. AvaTrade offers more than 250 tradable assets consisting of 60 currency pairs, major stock indices, cryptocurrencies, commodities, bonds, individual stocks, and ETFs.
Avatrade can be called one of the most well-rounded brokers that support almost all trading styles. Not only allowing hedging, scalping, and expert advisor (EA), Avatrade also completes their service with One-cancels-the-other order (OCO) and AutoTrading in many variants of automated trading systems.
AvaTrade was founded in 2006, with the primary mission to empower people to trade with confidence. If traders are still confused about what is the best broker for supporting trader's trading, AvaTrade perchance option of traders, because it has been evaluated and honored for some of the industry's most remarkable financial and technological achievements that it provided to clients.
In 2019, the Dublin-based broker got achievement from Daytrading.com as The Best Forex Broker 2019. Besides, the company is honored as Best Forex Broker, Best Bitcoin CFD Trading Provider of the year, and Best Affiliation Programme in the European area.
Furthermore, for traders who have high mobility, AvaTrade provides many platforms that allow traders to trade using laptops and mobile phones. The availability of the free Autochartist tool in the platforms is the best support for both novice and experienced traders because it makes it easier for them to find trading opportunities without the need to glance at charts all day.
The Autochartist free signal is provided in Gold Account, Platinum Account, and AVA Select. By opening an account in AvaTrade, traders don't have to pay for getting a full Autochartist service. Autochartist itself is a market scanner tool that can detect trading signals from various technical perspectives.
Traders can access AvaTrade in many variants of platforms, such as AvaTradeGO, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Automated Trading, Mac Trading, Web Trading, Mobile Trading, and AvaOptions.
In terms of regulation, AvaTrade is regarded as a superior broker because it has a lot of credible licenses. That way, even with deposits of up to ten thousand dollars, security can be guaranteed. Applying the Segregated Account system, AvaTrade is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland (No.C53877), ASIC Australia (No.406684), JFSA Japan (No.1662), and South Africa (FSP 45984).
Can traders lose more than their deposit abruptly in the event of high volatility? AvaTrade explicitly answers no, as traders have negative balance protection.
With a minimum deposit of USD100, AvaTrade offers various leverage depending on the trading instruments; whether it is forex (starts from 30:1), indices (starts from 20:1), commodities (starts from 5:1), ETFs (starts from 5:1), or cryptocurrencies (starts from 2:1).
AvaTrade has committed to a set of values in relation to customers. Therefore, the company provides the best trading experience, offering multilingual customer service and the most sophisticated and user-friendly trading platform.
New traders can also learn forex trading in the Education tab on AvaTrade's official website. Traders will find a wide collection of articles, video tutorials, and more tools that will assist them every step of the way. It is an important requirement as the forex market might be a bit overwhelming and even scary at times, so traders need to make sure that they are fully prepared to begin trading in the real account.
There are many types of account types provided by AvaTrade. There is also an Islamic Trading Account, which is uniquely provided for Muslim Traders. Islamic account type is similar to a regular one with one key difference; it is not subject to any special fees or interests (swap-free), which sits well with the finance principles of Sharia Law.
If traders have felt confident for forex trading, traders can choose AvaTrade as an ideal choice. The minimum deposit and various platforms offered to make it a suitable destination for even beginners who would like to try forex trading for the first time.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Currenex is a popular technology provider that provides deep pools of liquidity for the forex community. Currenex is particularly suitable for institutional and hedge fund traders because it is able to provide a wide array of prices from multiple liquidity providers and is able to execute trades in a matter of seconds.
But if you are a retail trader and want to try Currenex, you can use the white label option through certain brokers to get access. For that particular reason, many brokers use Currenex to enable an ECN-like service in their MetaTrader platforms.