5 Steps to Develop a Forex Expert Advisor

5 Steps to Develop a Forex Expert Advisor - What is a Forex Expert Advisor? A Forex Expert Advisor is an algorithmic tool that traders use to make trading decisions. We are in the era of high frequency trading (HFT) where most of the trading decisions are made by algorithms. These algorithms are developed by experience coders who use complex mathematical models to predict future market prices. One hedge fund manager who has managed to do really well in this is James Simons who runs a hedge fund called Rennaisance Technologies. This is a hedge fund whose most employees are not business professionals but mathematics and physics PhDs. He has managed to beat the market for more than 20 years. Another hedge fund manager, Ken Griffin who runs a leading HFT company has also beaten the market for years.

See Also: Forex Trading Signals - Understanding the Basics

How then can you create your own Forex Expert Advisor?

1. Have the Basic Knowledge - First, if you want an algorithm to make decisions for you, you need to have the basic knowledge of how these systems work. You can achieve this by reading books and watching videos of how this is done. There are many books available that you can download and read. The best book is known as The Trading Black Box which gives a step by step guide on how algorithms are formed. Reading and watching videos will help you make informed decisions. It will also help you determine whether you want to go on with it or not. Remember that some coding knowledge will be needed in this. Also, you must learn to sacrifice a lot since creating your advisor will take a lot of time. At this stage, you might decide to go on with the design or simply use algorithms that have been created before.

2. Technical Indicators - A good forex expert advisor combines a number of technical indicators and gives each one of them a ‘role to play’. For instance, in a double exponential moving average (EMA) situation, if the two lines cross in a bullish manner, then the advisor will advise that a buy trade be opened. Therefore, you should now select the technical indicators to use when coding. Some experienced coders have also come up with their own technical indicators which they incorporate in their trading. For advanced algorithms, it will involve the use of many technical indicators. In fact, one advisor I saw had more than 20 technical indicators. However, you can have an algorithm with a few indicators which will perform better than a more complicated one.

3. Code - After gathering all the materials you need, to develop your own forex expert advisor you should start coding. The programming language used for this type of coding is MQL5. You should be good with it. There are other platforms that allow you to drag and drop your code. One of them is provided by FXPRO which is a leading broker. Depending on your programming skills, this will take a few weeks or months.

4. Testing the Code - After developing the code, you need now to perform a number of tests. These tests will help you fine tune the algorithm. The first test that you need to do is known as backtesting. In backtesting, you take historical data and run your code through it. Then, you should observe the results. If the results are not good, you should try and fine tune the algorithm to make it better. In this testing, you should submit the algorithm to all market conditions. Then, you should use live data for a month to see how the algorithm is performing.

5. Live Execution and Further Development - After testing and backtesting the system, you should now be ready to use your own forex expert advisor to make trades. This should only be done after subjecting the algorithm into tests for an extended period of time. In live execution, you are now using your own money to trade. For a few weeks or months, you should keep observing the system and how it executes trades. After one year of live execution, now you are ready to have the algorithm trade for you. You should also spend some time doing further development to the system. If this system works well, now you can start developing a new system based on another thesis.

A Guide to Developing Algorithmic Trading Strategies

 
A Guide to Developing Algorithmic Trading Strategies - Trading is an excellent opportunity for one to make money. In fact, since the whole idea of day trading was introduced to ordinary people, the fact is that many people have quit their jobs to become day traders. In fact, I recently held a conversation with a young Kenyan guy who is making a fortune as a day trader. In the past, this was not possible because the software to execute the trades was not available. In addition, the information was not available to retail traders.

Many people have made and lost money in equal measures. In fact, I recently heard a story of a 45 year old banker who resigned from a top job to day trade. He ran out of cash a few days after starting out. Similar stories have been told a lot in the past.

Therefore, for you as a trader, it is very important to remain vigilant and to use viable strategies to avoid making these losses. There are hundreds of strategies out there. These strategies have been tested and proven for a very long time. Therefore, as a trader, the idea is to find a few strategies and use them in different types of markets. In this article, I will introduce you to algorithmic trading and highlight a few details about how to develop your own trading strategy.

What is algorithmic trading?

Algorithmic trading is a concept where you use different codes to align your technical indicators to that. In the past, algorithmic trading was a preserve of people with a lot of coding experience and expertise. Today, anyone without all this knowledge is able to develop his algorithms and executing them using a simple drag and drop strategy. Drag and dropping strategy is one where you take previously developed tools and dragging them in order. After you have developed your algorithmic tools, you can deploy them to execute the trades when you are there and when you are not. You can also develop algorithms to automatically alert you once a particular market meets your trading expectations.

See Also: Basics of Algorithmic Trading: Concepts and Examples

Key components of trading algorithms

To develop a good algorithm to trade, a number of items are needed. One, you need indicators. The whole idea is to act when certain criteria of technical indicators are met. There are many technical indicators that you can use. However, I recommend that you combine only a few indicators that you have mastered well in your trading experience. I recommend using the following: Moving Averages, Parabolic SAR, Stichastics, Relative Strength Index, and Relative Vigour Index. By having this set of indicators, you will be at the right direction.

The next component of algorithms is the inputs. These inputs are usually assigned to the other nodes to create an algorithm. There are usually four types of inputs available which include: string, integer, Boolean, and number.

Next, we have the variables. There are usually various corresponding variables for each data type. These data types are: Boolean, number, text, and date time. These variables will tell the algorithm what to do and when.

The next important aspects are mathematical features which include: +, -, and = among others.

Last but not least, the logic are very important. They include: And, and Or. For instance, you can direct the algorithm to open a buy trade when the RSI value is 29 and the Stochastics is at 28. Here, you can use both.

Backtesting

One of the most important aspect of developing algo tools is setting the duration. For a day trader, it would be erroneous to use long-term values such as a 200 day moving average. The fact is that it won’t tell you the right thing. Therefore, you should use short term durations in developing your programs.

After you have developed your Expert Advisor (another term for algotithms), the most important thing you should do is backtesting it. If you have not done this, you can be certain that you won’t succeed. Backtesting gives you a chance to take your algo back in time and see how well it has performed. If you find that it has not done well, chances are that it won’t do that well in future. So, you should avoid it. Alternatively, you can recreate and backtest it until it works properly.

Basics of Algorithmic Trading: Concepts and Examples

 
Basics of Algorithmic Trading: Concepts and Examples - Algorithmic trading (automated trading, black-box trading, or simply algo-trading) is the process of using computers programmed to follow a defined set of instructions for placing a trade in order to generate profits at a speed and frequency that is impossible for a human trader. The defined sets of rules are based on timing, price, quantity or any mathematical model. Apart from profit opportunities for the trader, algo-trading makes markets more liquid and makes trading more systematic by ruling out emotional human impacts on trading activities.

Suppose a trader follows these simple trade criteria:

  • Buy 50 shares of a stock when its 50-day moving average goes above the 200-day moving average
  • Sell shares of the stock when its 50-day moving average goes below the 200-day moving average


Using this set of two simple instructions, it is easy to write a computer program which will automatically monitor the stock price (and the moving average indicators) and place the buy and sell orders when the defined conditions are met. The trader no longer needs to keep a watch for live prices and graphs, or put in the orders manually. The algorithmic trading system automatically does it for him, by correctly identifying the trading opportunity.

Algo-trading provides the following benefits:

  • Trades executed at the best possible prices
  • Instant and accurate trade order placement (thereby high chances of execution at desired levels)
  • Trades timed correctly and instantly, to avoid significant price changes
  • Reduced transaction costs (see the implementation shortfall example below)
  • Simultaneous automated checks on multiple market conditions
  • Reduced risk of manual errors in placing the trades
  • Backtest the algorithm, based on available historical and real time data
  • Reduced possibility of mistakes by human traders based on emotional and psychological factors
See Also: Algorithmic Trading Strategies

The greatest portion of present day algo-trading is high frequency trading (HFT), which attempts to capitalize on placing a large number of orders at very fast speeds across multiple markets and multiple decision parameters, based on pre-programmed instructions. (For more on high frequency trading, see: Strategies and Secrets of High Frequency Trading (HFT) Firms)

Algo-trading is used in many forms of trading and investment activities, including:

  • Mid to long term investors or buy side firms (pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies) who purchase in stocks in large quantities but do not want to influence stocks prices with discrete, large-volume investments.
  • Short term traders and sell side participants (market makers, speculators, and arbitrageurs) benefit from automated trade execution; in addition, algo-trading aids in creating sufficient liquidity for sellers in the market.
  • Systematic traders (trend followers, pairs traders, hedge funds, etc.) find it much more efficient to program their trading rules and let the program trade automatically.
Algorithmic trading provides a more systematic approach to active trading than methods based on a human trader's intuition or instinct.

Algorithmic Trading Strategies

Any strategy for algorithmic trading requires an identified opportunity which is profitable in terms of improved earnings or cost reduction. The following are common trading strategies used in algo-trading:

Trend Following Strategies: The most common algorithmic trading strategies follow trends in moving averages, channel breakouts, price level movements and related technical indicators. These are the easiest and simplest strategies to implement through algorithmic trading because these strategies do not involve making any predictions or price forecasts. Trades are initiated based on the occurrence of desirable trends, which are easy and straightforward to implement through algorithms without getting into the complexity of predictive analysis. The above mentioned example of 50 and 200 day moving average is a popular trend following strategy.

Arbitrage Opportunities: Buying a dual listed stock at a lower price in one market and simultaneously selling it at a higher price in another market offers the price differential as risk-free profit or arbitrage. The same operation can be replicated for stocks versus futures instruments, as price differentials do exists from time to time. Implementing an algorithm to identify such price differentials and placing the orders allows profitable opportunities in efficient manner.

Index Fund Rebalancing: Index funds have defined periods of rebalancing to bring their holdings to par with their respective benchmark indices. This creates profitable opportunities for algorithmic traders, who capitalize on expected trades that offer 20-80 basis points profits depending upon the number of stocks in the index fund, just prior to index fund rebalancing. Such trades are initiated via algorithmic trading systems for timely execution and best prices.

Mathematical Model Based Strategies: A lot of proven mathematical models, like the delta-neutral trading strategy, which allow trading on combination of options and its underlying security, where trades are placed to offset positive and negative deltas so that the portfolio delta is maintained at zero.

Trading Range (Mean Reversion): Mean reversion strategy is based on the idea that the high and low prices of an asset are a temporary phenomenon that revert to their mean value periodically. Identifying and defining a price range and implementing algorithm based on that allows trades to be placed automatically when price of asset breaks in and out of its defined range.

Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP): Volume weighted average price strategy breaks up a large order and releases dynamically determined smaller chunks of the order to the market using stock specific historical volume profiles. The aim is to execute the order close to the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP), thereby benefiting on average price.

Time Weighted Average Price (TWAP): Time weighted average price strategy breaks up a large order and releases dynamically determined smaller chunks of the order to the market using evenly divided time slots between a start and end time. The aim is to execute the order close to the average price between the start and end times, thereby minimizing market impact.

Percentage of Volume (POV): Until the trade order is fully filled, this algorithm continues sending partial orders, according to the defined participation ratio and according to the volume traded in the markets. The related "steps strategy" sends orders at a user-defined percentage of market volumes and increases or decreases this participation rate when the stock price reaches user-defined levels.

Implementation Shortfall: The implementation shortfall strategy aims at minimizing the execution cost of an order by trading off the real-time market, thereby saving on the cost of the order and benefiting from the opportunity cost of delayed execution. The strategy will increase the targeted participation rate when the stock price moves favorably and decrease it when the stock price moves adversely.

Beyond the Usual Trading Algorithms: There are a few special classes of algorithms that attempt to identify “happenings” on the other side. These "sniffing algorithms," used, for example, by a sell side market maker have the in-built intelligence to identify the existence of any algorithms on the buy side of a large order. Such detection through algorithms will help the market maker identify large order opportunities and enable him to benefit by filling the orders at a higher price. This is sometimes identified as high-tech front-running.

Technical Requirements for Algorithmic Trading

Implementing the algorithm using a computer program is the last part, clubbed with backtesting. The challenge is to transform the identified strategy into an integrated computerized process that has access to a trading account for placing orders. The following are needed:

  • Computer programming knowledge to program the required trading strategy, hired programmers or pre-made trading software
  • Network connectivity and access to trading platforms for placing the orders
  • Access to market data feeds that will be monitored by the algorithm for opportunities to place orders
  • The ability and infrastructure to backtest the system once built, before it goes live on real markets
  • Available historical data for backtesting, depending upon the complexity of rules implemented in algorithm


Here is a comprehensive example: Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) is listed on Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX) and London Stock Exchange (LSE). Let’s build an algorithm to identify arbitrage opportunities. Here are few interesting observations:

  • AEX trades in Euros, while LSE trades in Sterling Pounds
  • Due to the one hour time difference, AEX opens an hour earlier than LSE, followed by both exchanges trading simultaneously for next few hours and then trading only in LSE during the last hour as AEX closes


Can we explore the possibility of arbitrage trading on the Royal Dutch Shell stock listed on these two markets in two different currencies?

Requirements:

  • A computer program that can read current market prices
  • Price feeds from both LSE and AEX
  • A forex rate feed for GBP-EUR exchange rate
  • Order placing capability which can route the order to the correct exchange
  • Back-testing capability on historical price feeds


The computer program should perform the following:

  • Read the incoming price feed of RDS stock from both exchanges
  • Using the available foreign exchange rates, convert the price of one currency to other
  • If there exists a large enough price discrepancy (discounting the brokerage costs) leading to a profitable opportunity, then place the buy order on lower priced exchange and sell order on higher priced exchange
  • If the orders are executed as desired, the arbitrage profit will follow


Simple and Easy! However, the practice of algorithmic trading is not that simple to maintain and execute. Remember, if you can place an algo-generated trade, so can the other market participants. Consequently, prices fluctuate in milli- and even microseconds. In the above example, what happens if your buy trade gets executed, but sell trade doesn’t as the sell prices change by the time your order hits the market? You will end up sitting with an open position, making your arbitrage strategy worthless.

There are additional risks and challenges: for example, system failure risks, network connectivity errors, time-lags between trade orders and execution, and, most important of all, imperfect algorithms. The more complex an algorithm, the more stringent backtesting is needed before it is put into action.

The Bottom Line

Quantitative analysis of an algorithm’s performance plays an important role and should be examined critically. It’s exciting to go for automation aided by computers with a notion to make money effortlessly. But one must make sure the system is thoroughly tested and required limits are set. Analytical traders should consider learning programming and building systems on their own, to be confident about implementing the right strategies in foolproof manner. Cautious use and thorough testing of algo-trading can create profitable opportunities.

Algorithmic Trading Strategies

 
Algorithmic Trading Strategies - The stock market is the most volatile investment portfolio so much so that every investor should think twice before entering. With that said, it is also the most lucrative way to increase one's investment as one can earn triple their invested capital minus any administrative fee and other fees. Mastering the stock market however would require patience as well as understanding how the market works. With many of us interested in the stock market but not inclined to quitting our daily jobs, online investing is one viable option to consider. Algorithmic trading is a popular strategy that many online investment companies make use of to make trading decisions.

Algorithmic Trading

Algorithmic trading involves the use of computer software that utilizes algorithmic programmes to identify potential purchases. Many online investment companies make use of algorithmic trading software and strategies to do trading. Basic arbitrage is just one of the strategies that make use of data such as interest rates to check for any market inefficiency. Another strategy is the use of transaction cost reduction, benchmarking, gaming and icebergs.

High Frequency Trading

One of the popular algorithmic trading methods is the high-frequency trading or HFT that is employed by many popular trading companies. The platform makes use of computer algorithms to move in and out of positions in the stock market in just few seconds thus earning high returns of the companies that employ it. The HFT makes use of several arbitrage including market making, ticker taper trading, events, statistical, news-based and low latency.

Benefits of Algorithmic Trading

One of the benefits of algorithmic trading is that it saves time and provides convenience for the trader. As the financial market is bombarded with millions of information, processing all the information would require time which prevents one from making any decisions and losing opportunities. With the platform, the computer software uses several algorithmic processes that eliminate and filter out unnecessary information and focus on the important ones. As this takes a few seconds or minutes to process, traders can easily identify and spot opportunities and make better trading decisions.

See Also: Binary Options Trading and Bitcoin

Another benefit is that the emotional impact is eliminated in the process. As human emotions play havoc with a trader's decisions, fear of loss of capital or greed can directly impact the outcome of the trading decision. With the use of the trading platform, decisions are made from factual basis and allow the traders to reap profits instead of losses. It also provides traders with an edge against other traders especially those who rely on old market strategies.

Forex Chart Types And How To Choose The Best

 
Forex Chart Types And How To Choose The Best - Forex trading is a very lucrative line of investing. However, to be successful you would need to make serious decisions such as the currencies to pair and when to do so. You may need to do plenty of research to be able to maximize your profits. There are so many ways of predicting currency value movement to help you make the right decision and Forex trading charts are some of the best in making the comparisons.

The charts are designed to show performance of particular Forex currency. Using the charts, you can check the historical performance of the same, so you can determine how suitable it is to make a move. The charts record several prices in specified timeframes making it possible for you to view high price, average and low price of a currency you are interested in compared with others. With this information, you will be able to do trades of the stock as predicted by the charts. The charts are definitely helpful for any serious Forex trader or investor.

See Also: The Best Forex Trading Signals

Forex chart types

The charts come in different types and the most popular and commonly used are bar charts, candlestick charts and line charts.

Bar charts - They are a bit complex and designed to show opening and closing prices. Using these charts you can also view highs and lows. They contain a vertical bar which indicated lowest traded price at the bottom during a specified time period. At the top of the bar is the highest price paid indication. The bar also has a horizontal hash on left side showing opening price and on the right side of the horizontal hash is the closing price. A bar simply means one segment of time, whether it is an hour, day or week.

Line charts - The line charts are simple to use and read. They have a line running from one closing price to the next. When the two periods are together, it becomes possible to see the general price movement of the currency pair within a given period of time.

Candlestick charts - These charts are very similar to bar charts only that they come with graphic formats that are much more attractive and pleasant. They use a vertical line to indicate high to low range. In this kind of charting, the middle block of the line which is largest indicates range between opening and closing prices. This block is usually color filled when the currency closes lower that it opened. The candlestick charts are majorly for visual aid because they have the same information found on bar charts. Most traders prefer the candlestick charts because they are easy to interpret and give beginners an easy time figuring out chart analysis. They are also easy to use and the patterns come with exciting names to help you remember what they mean.

Common charting periods

The different trading charts all illustrate price movement over a period of time. This means that there are charting periods you should get familiar with depending on what matters to your trades. The market view can drastically change when you switch to a different time horizon.

Monthly charts - They are Forex trading charts that illustrate price movement over a longer time horizon. Long term investors will find these kind of charting most suitable; they can represent years of price data for that particular market.

Weekly charts - They also make good options for investors and trader with a longer term time horizon. If you wish to analyze intermediate term time, you will find these charts appropriate. They are usually used to analyze periods in six months excess.

Daily charts - They are one-day interval charts and are the most commonly used charts by investors. They analyze periods in six weeks excess and come in handy for short and intermediate term time periods.

Intraday charts - These charts illustrate the movement of prices within the daily opening and closing bells of the given market. They can be divided into Intraday hourly charts, 15 minute charts and even 5 minute charts. These shorter period charts are great for scalping and day trades that last few minutes, a few hours to a few trading days.

Why use the charts?

Forex trading can be very profitable when approached strategically. The trading charts offer a much easier way for investors and traders to make their decision because they:

  • Come with multiple time frames that allow traders to see market patterns and trends easily
  • Have customizable tools that allow every trader to get a fit that is just right for their trading needs
  • Feature overlay of a number of indicators for each currency pair or commodity in the market
  • Offer assistance to traders, especially in making decisions in real-time


Most brokers offer the charts free to trader who choose to use their platform. This way, they are able to keep them active in the market. You may have immediate access to the trading charts as soon as you open an account with your Forex broker of choice. Alternatively, you can choose to pay for the data feed whose price will depend on the markets being traded. Using a broker is a much more affordable option and you may want to consider this, especially if you are just starting.

Choosing the best chart

A good chart should be easy to use on any given platform. You really do not want to take forever trying to be proficient in using software because you may just lose too much of valuable trading time.

The charting package that you choose should also give you an easy time downloading and setting up. Most packages include detailed setup instructions as well as user manuals which ease your learning.

Choose a charting package that offers trading indicators for different trading strategies. You should be able to see where your trades take place without necessarily being overwhelmed by too much coding.

Consider the time frames so you can get updates under the most appropriate intervals matching the investing window you are interested in.

Learn More About Real Estate Investment Trust

 
Learn More About Real Estate Investment Trust - A real estate investment trust, or REIT, is a real estate company that works in much the same way that mutual funds do. The idea behind these trusts was to provide every individual in the U.S. an equal chance make investments with their money like those who are more affluent commonly invest in mutual funds.

Income Producing Real Estate

The term "Income Producing Real Estate" refers to any land and improvements that have been made on it, such as office buildings or rental properties. An REIT has the option for investing in these properties, providing them with income that is generated by collecting rent or through the investment of mortgages or mortgage securities that will serve the dual purpose of financing the property and generating income through interest.

Investments by the trust are done through the purchase of stock. Whereas shareholders obtain benefits by purchasing and owning stocks in other corporations, those who own stock in an REIT will receive part of the income that is created through their investment without being required to purchase or finance property.

Different Types of Real Estate Investment Trusts

These trusts are far from being a new idea. In fact, they are all around us. Some examples include:

  • Apartment Complexes
  • Houses
  • Student Housing
  • Shopping Malls
  • Cell Towers
  • Hotels


These properties are found in any state and they account for millions of dollars in the country's income through jobs and investments each year. In addition, REITs are located around the world, an idea that has been adopted in similar form by almost 30 other countries. This provides the option for individuals to invest in properties in locations around the world.

Equity VS Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trust

There are many different benefits offered by these trusts, most of which are classified as being either an Equity or Mortgage Trust. Those classified as an equity trust generate most of their revenue from rent. Mortgage Trusts, on the other hand, generate their revenue largely form interest that is earned from mortgage investments or from securities that are backed by mortgages. The large majority of the trusts (9 out of 10) are Equity trusts.

An REIT may be registered publicly with the SEC with shares listed and traded as major stock exchanges. Another option is to publicly register with the SEC without listing or trading the shares on the exchanges. Finally, they may be private and not be registered with the SEC.

How to Qualify as a Real Estate Investment Trust

In order for a company to qualify as a REIT, they must invest a minimum of 75% of their total assets in real estate and derive a minimum of 75% of their gross income in rent that is acquired through real property, interest from mortgage financing of real property or from selling real estate. They must also pay a minimum of 90% of all taxable income as shareholder dividends annually and the must be a taxable corporation. The company is also required to be managed by a board of directors or by trustees.

Binary Options Trading and Bitcoin

 
Binary Options Trading and Bitcoin - Binary options have been becoming more and more popular in the last 2 years. This type of trading has been desired among new traders as they don't need to actually buy anything, just predict whether the asset will move up or down in specified time frame. Those trades are happening in short time frames (30 sec, 1 min, 5 min) but might be months too. If the trader predicted wrongly, they will obviously lose their money. If the trader was right in his/her prediction, they will receive 80-85% payout, depending on the broker.

Binary options are sometimes referred to as 'all-or-nothing options', 'digital options', or 'fixed return options' (FROs), which are traded on the American Stock Exchange.

Bitcoin (BTC) is a digital currency which is created and held electronically and no one controls it. "Bitcoin is an online payment system invented by Satoshi Nakamoto, who published his invention in 2008, and released it as open-source software in 2009. The system is peer-to-peer; users can transact directly without needing an intermediary.Transactions are verified by network nodes and recorded in a public distributed ledger called the blockchain. The ledger uses its own unit of account, also called bitcoin. The system works without a central repository or single administrator, which has led the US Treasury to categorize it as a decentralized virtual currency. Bitcoin is often called the first cryptocurrency... "

Bitcoin as a currency in binary options trading

Bitcoin is now widely used currency and many trading platforms accept it as a method of payment for their clients' trading deposits. There are many benefits using Bitcoin as a currency. The first benefit is "the fact that the cost of transaction is the lowest among all forms of online payment. This is the very reason why Bitcoin was created in the first place, to lower the cost of online transaction. Since there is no central authority managing Bitcoin, no service fee is paid when receiving or transmitting payment." Another reason for traders to use Bitcoin as a currency is that Bitcoin itself is tradeable and they can earn extra Bitcoins that way.

"By having all the trading transactions denoted in Bitcoin, a trader is able to shield himself from the fluctuation of this crypto currency while at the same time earn more of it through profits earned in trading."

Bitcoin as a commodity in binary options trading

With a recent popularity of Bitcoin and its acceptance as a currency, many binary options platforms started using Bitcoin as one of the currencies to trade. so as an asset. Stockbrokers are seeing the value in trading BTC against flat currencies, mainly versus American Dollar.

Today there are 2 main types of Bitcoin binary options platforms:

1. First-generation brokers - binary options platforms that allow trading on Bitcoin
First generation brokers - brokers who offer Bitcoin trading:

  • Coinut - only Bitcoin options exchange platform; programmed as a robust and distributed on Linux operating system coinut.com
  • BTClevels - Bitcoin binary options trading platform; with or without registration, hassle free btclevels.com
  • 24 Options - one of the first brokers who started offering BTC as an asset 24option.com


2. Second-generation brokers - platforms that offer both Bitcoin funding and Bitcoin trading
Second-generation brokers - brokers who offer Bitcoin funding and trading:

  • Traderush binary platform - accepts BTC deposits traderush.com
  • Nadex trading platform -accepts BTC funding and allows BTC trading; offers limited risk, short-term trading, transparency and full regulated market nadex.com
  • Satoshi Option trading platform - accepts BTC funding and allows BTC trading; doesn't require account registration neither personal details. Payouts are near instantaneous and the service is accessible from anywhere in the world satoshioption.com
  • BTCOracle platform - Bitcoin only platform - allows BTC funding and trading offering few wallet options and full transparency btcoracle.com
  • Bitstamp platform - As above, BTC only platform - allows BTC trading and funding but requires login bitstamp.net
  • Bitcoin Wisdom - allows trading 3 digital currencies, Bitcoins, Litecoins, Altcoins versus other flat currencies and requires login bitcoinwisdom.com
  • Beast Option - allows BTC funding and trading of Bitcoins and Litecoins; guarantees fairness in pricing regardless of market fluctuations beastoptions.com


When choosing a Bitcoin broker it is important to check their terms and conditions, paying a particular attention to the information whether their Bitcoin Assets are stored in "Deep Cold Storage". It means that Bitcoins are insured and stored offline, where they are not susceptible to hackers.