ECN refers to an electronic trading platform designed to match long and short trading orders automatically. In the Foreign Exchange Market, ECN works as an electronic bridge linking tier-1 liquidity providers with Retail Traders. The whole process is done via an ECN Forex broker. The liquidity providers of ECN Forex trading consists of central banks, retail and investment banks, investment firms, market makers, retail and institutional Forex traders. The great advantages when trading with an ECN Forex Broker are (i) the tight spreads, and, (ii) the fast order execution without price manipulation.
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These are some Forex brokers offering segregated client bank accounts. All the following companies have been operating in the market for at least 5 years.
CFD BROKER
SAFETY OF FUNDS
TRADING TERMS
PLATFORMS / ASSETS
ACCOUNT INFO
BROKER'S INFO
■ ROBOFOREX
US TRADERS: NO
ISLAMIC ACCOUNTS: YES
EXECUTION: ECN/STP
REGULATION:
- IFSC/60/271/TS
ACCOUNT SEGREGATION:
- YES
CORPORATE INFO:
The broker was founded in 2009 and it is based in Belize
CUSTOMER SUPPORT:
- English
- Arabic
- Russian
- Portuguese
- Spanish
- Kazakh
- Malay
- Czech
SPREADS
EURUSD: 1.0
GBPUSD: 1.4
USDJPY: 1.2
COMMISSIONS:
No
SCALPING: YES
AUTOMATED TRADING: YES
SLIPPAGE: 0.3 pip
LEVERAGE: 1:30
PLATFORMS:
- MetaTrader-4, MetaTrader-5, MT4 for iPhone and Android
- cTrader
- WebTrader
PAMM: NO
DEMO: YES
FREE VPS: YES
RoboForex welcomes scalpers and algorithmic traders
ASSETS:
40+ Forex currency Pairs
Stocks and stock-indices
Precious Metals
Energy Assets
Soft Commodities
Cryptocurrencies
MIN. DEPOSIT:
$10
DEPOSIT FUNDS:
- Credit Cards
- Bank Wire
- Skrill
- Neteller
- UnionPay
- Western Union
- PerfectMoney
TRADING PROMOTIONS:
- Cash Bonus
- Trading Rebates
KEY POINTS
- Fast and low-cost trading
- Free VPS, PAMM Accounts
- cTrader
► Open a Real/Demo account with RoboForex
■ IC MARKETS
US TRADERS: NO
ISLAMIC ACCOUNTS: YES
EXECUTION: ECN / STP
REGULATION:
- ASIC (Australia -license 335692)
ACCOUNT SEGREGATION:
- YES
CORPORATE INFO:
The broker was founded in 2007 and it is based in Australia.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT:
- Chinese
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Spanish
SPREADS
EURUSD: 0.1
GBPUSD: 0.3
USDJPY: 0.5
COMMISSIONS:
$7.0 / lot
SCALPING: YES
AUTOMATED TRADING: YES
SLIPPAGE: 0.8 pip
LEVERAGE: 1:30
PLATFORMS:
- MetaTrader-4, MetaTrader-5, MT4 for iPhone and Android,
- cTrader, Mobile cTrader, cAlgo
- WebTrader
PAMM: YES
DEMO: YES
FREE VPS: YES (100 round turn lots per calendar month are required)
ASSETS:
- 56 currency pairs
- 4 major metals
- Equities (12 index CFDs)
- Energies (Brent and WTI)
MIN. DEPOSIT:
$200 for the MT4 account and $1,000 for the cTrader account
FUND METHODS:
- Bank Wire
- Credit Card
- Skrill
- Webmoney
- Neteller
TRADING PROMOTIONS:
- Trading Rebates
KEY POINTS
- Tight Spreads
- cTrader and cAlgo plus MT4
- Low latency
► Register a Real or Demo ECN Account with IC MARKETS
■ LQDFX
US TRADERS: NO
ISLAMIC ACCOUNTS: YES
EXECUTION: ECN
REGULATION:
- N/A
ACCOUNT SEGREGATION:
- YES
CORPORATE INFO:
The broker was founded in 2015 and it is based in Malta
CUSTOMER SUPPORT:
- English
- Arabic
- Russian
- French
- Italian
SPREADS
EURUSD: 1.1
GBPUSD: 1.4
USDJPY: 1.2
COMMISSIONS:
No
SCALPING: YES
AUTOMATED TRADING: YES
SLIPPAGE: 0.8 pip
LEVERAGE: 1:30
PLATFORMS:
- MetaTrader4, Mobile Traders
PAMM: NO
DEMO: YES
FREE VPS: NO
LQDFX welcomes scalpers and algorithmic traders
ASSETS:
- 70 Forex Pairs
- Dow Jones, Nasdaq, S&P, and 9 more stock market indices
- Gold, Silver, and Copper
- COCOA, COFFEE, and SOYBEAN
- Crude and Natural gas
MIN. DEPOSIT:
$20
DEPOSIT FUNDS:
- Credit Cards
- Bank Wire
- Skrill
- WebMoney
- Neteller
- FasaPay
- UnionPay
- UPaid Card
TRADING PROMOTIONS:
100% Cash Bonus
- The minimum deposit to claim the bonus is $250
- You can withdraw the bonus, after trading it ($5 per full traded round lot).
KEY POINTS
- Good asset index
- 100% welcome bonus that you can withdraw
► Open a Real/Demo account with LQDFX
The Basic Features of the Electronic Communication Network (ECN)
The ECN network is designed to collect, display, and execute trading orders automatically without any intervention. Trading on an ECN network provides tight spreads, fast order execution, and full anonymity. These are some key points that differentiate trading via the Electronic Communication Network to other trading practices.
(1) Variable Spreads
- Spreads between ask and bid when trading via an Electronic Communication Network are variable and change according to the market volatility. Volatility usually changes during news releases or after important economic and political developments. Only those brokers who act as Market Makers (Dealing Desk) can offer fixed spreads. The problem with fixed spreads is that they are followed by high re-quotes at times when the market volatility soars. Therefore, the advantage of fixed spreads is lost. True ECN Forex brokers are offering variable spreads and don’t charge any re-quotes.
(2) Anonymity of Trading
- The trading activity of an Electronic Communication Network is totally anonymous. Trading anonymity means that every participant trades on the exact same conditions (neutral prices). In other words, real market conditions for all traders, no matter their trading volumes and their account size. This creates an environment of reliability in favor of retail traders.
(3) Huge Liquidity
- As the whole planet trades Forex currencies via the Electronic Communication Network, it is extremely difficult even for huge players such as large investment banks to manipulate the market. Moreover, the huge liquidity ensures the fulfillment of any order, even when market conditions become really tricky. Of course, there is no rule without exemptions, and therefore, once in a couple of years, there might be problems in the fulfillment of trade orders. These problems usually occur after weekends and that is why professional traders do not maintain their positions after the closing of Friday.
(4) Volume Activity can’t be Measured Precisely
- As transactions of an Electronic Communication Network aren’t cleared by a central system, there is a lack of summarized volume data.
(5) Time Zones and GMT
- Forex traders around the world are living in locations of different time zones. Therefore, there is a little bit of confusion regarding when the market opens and closes on a daily basis. As a result, many traders use the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on their charts.
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