Forex brokers are financial companies that provide access to the Foreign exchange market by linking retail and institutional capital and the network of banks that offer liquidity.
How to Choose a Forex Broker?
These are the key issues to keep in mind when choosing Forex brokers:
ENSURING THE SAFETY OF FUNDS
Is the Forex broker regulated by a trustable authority such as FCA UK, ASIC, or even CySEC?
Is the Forex broker headquartered in a safe country?
Does the Forex broker operate for more than 3 years in the market?
FUNDING METHODS, TRADING PLATFORMS, AND ASSET INDEX
Are the available funding methods suitable to your needs (internet wallets, debit cards, etc.)?
Are the available platforms and asset index suitable to your needs (Forex pairs, Metals, Indices, Crypto, etc.)?
BE AWARE OF THE TRADING COST
What is the spread on liquid Forex assets such as EURUSD and GBSUD?
What are the trading commissions (if any)?
What are the overnight rates on the Forex pairs you will likely trade?
Are there any withdrawal fees and/or maintenance (inactive) fees?
Table: Compare Forex brokers and their trading terms
Categories of trading fees when using the services of a Forex broker
Trading Spreads & Commissions
Some brokers charge only spreads, others charge spreads and trading commissions. There are also zero-spread accounts that charge only commissions.
The spread is the difference between the ask and bid and it is measured in pips
A pip means Percentage In Points and represents the 1/100th of 1%. For example, when the EUR/USD Ask/Bid is 1.1700/1.1701, then the difference is 1 pip (0.0001)
Trading commissions are based on your volume and should be measured on a full-round lot basis. Usually, Forex brokers charge between $6 and $10 per full traded standard lot ($100,000)
SWAP Charges for Maintaining Positions Overnight
Positions that are kept overnight become the subject of overnight (SWAP) rates. This can be positive or negative for your account's balance.
Other Fees
Deposit/Withdrawal Fees
Maintenance/Inactive fess.
Cryptocurrency Brokers (Crypto Exchanges)
A cryptocurrency exchange (or cryptocurrency market) is an online business that offers cryptocurrency trading and the exchange of conventional fiat money for digital currencies. You can store your digital currencies in a wallet.
A cryptocurrency wallet is an electronic wallet that can receive, store, and send a particular cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc,). Most cryptocurrencies have an official wallet but other third-party wallets as well. There are several types of cryptocurrency wallets:
Hardware wallets (store digital assets into USB-like devices)
Online wallets (built-in wallets into crypto exchanges)
Software wallets (store digital assets on PCs or mobile devices)