Forex Brokers Accepting Bitcoin Deposits
Forex brokers accepting Bitcoin deposits and withdrawals to fund trading accounts has become a common trend. We’ve prepared a comprehensive list of forex brokers accepting crypto deposits. This guide examines the conditions, regulations, risks and pros & cons of using Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to deposit to forex brokers.
Cryptocurrencies are one of the most captivating, controversial and complex inventions of the 21st century. Some people view them as agents for democratizing the financial system, while others see them as a quirky trend. In recent years, dozens of brokers have integrated Bitcoin payments; others have gone a step further and introduced Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and other cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin’s awareness is growing by the day. Many see it as an exciting and volatile asset for trading. Others make money with cryptocurrencies and bitcoin considering it a long-term investment. Some view it as a convenient decentralized payment instrument that bypasses legacy institutions, such as banks and card networks.
Article Summary:
- Best Forex Brokers Accepting Bitcoin Deposits
- What is Bitcoin?
- List of Forex Brokers Accepting Bitcoin
- How Does Bitcoin Work?
- Where to Buy Bitcoin
- Pros and Cons Of Using Bitcoin
- Risks of Depositing Bitcoin to Your FX Account
- Why Should FX traders Use Bitcoin
- FAQ’s
In recent years, forex brokers have come under much scrutiny, and it severely impacted the industry. The sad reality is, many forex brokers struggle to secure and maintain relationships with leading banking and payment institutions because they’re classified as high-risk merchants.
In the eyes of banks, forex brokers are complex businesses because they hold customer funds and send and receive transfers from many individuals worldwide. Banks are reluctant to perform enhanced due diligence on investment firms, even when they’re licensed and authorised by leading financial regulators.
In 2018, VISA and Mastercard instigated a ban on forex brokers against using their payment networks to process transactions.
The development of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies has empowered forex brokers and traders by offering an alternative method to continue their business operations and accept deposits and withdrawals. This guide provides, explores a list of forex brokers that accept Bitcoin deposits and explores this new dimension of the forex market and assesses the pros and cons of using Bitcoin to fund your trading account.
Best Forex Brokers Accepting Bitcoin Deposits
What is Bitcoin?
According to bitcoin.org, Bitcoin is an innovative payment network and a new kind of money. Bitcoin is the first of its kind cryptocurrency, and it paved the way for many more similar projects, like Ethereum, Litecoin, Stellar and others.
Unlike other currencies, like US dollars and euros, which are notional currencies created and administered by central banks, Bitcoin is a decentralised peer-to-peer digital currency that functions without any central authority operating or regulating the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin is called a cryptocurrency because it utilises cryptography for authorising transactions and preventing transactions histories from being altered. Bitcoin is also referred to as digital currency, digital asset, virtual currency and alternative currency.
According to data from Blockchain.com, the average daily Bitcoin transaction value was US$5.5 billion in October 2021. For comparison, PayPal’s average daily transaction value in the 2nd quarter of 2021 was just US$3.42 billion.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/277841/paypals-total-payment-volume/
https://www.blockchain.com/charts/estimated-transaction-volume-usd
Bitcoin works in a unique way and offers several unique features that make it an appealing payment method for millions of users worldwide.
List of Forex Brokers Accepting Bitcoin
After researching hundreds of brokers, it is clear there are few trustworthy brands accepting Bitcoin deposits. Bitcoin is popular among unregulated and offshore brokers and is also favored by boiler rooms and total scams. Many regulated and well-known brokers support Bitcoin and crypto deposits. This list has been carefully vetted and verified. All brokers listed below accept Bitcoin as a deposit method as of January 2023.
- FXChoice: FXChoice supports deposits and withdrawals in 8 cryptocurrencies and lets you hold your account balance in crypto. The supported cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, USD Coin, Ethereum, Tether, XRP and Dogecoin. All cryptocurrency deposits get a 15% bonus.
- FXOpen: FXOpen was the first retail forex broker to accept Ethereum deposits in 2016. As of 2021, the broker supports Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Emercoin, Tether and Ethereum.
- Trader’s Way: Trader’s Way is a popular offshore broker specializing in providing higher leverage to traders worldwide. Banks and payment institutions aren’t keen on processing payments for offshore brokers. Trader’s Way takes fill advantage of cryptocurrencies to support deposits and withdrawals for their clients. The broker supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, USD Coin, TrueUSD and Stellar.
- LMFX: LMFX offers a wide range of account types, including a free demo account, as well as micro, standard, and zero spread accounts. The broker also claims to offer tight spreads, fast execution and a leverage of up to 1:1000
Full List Of Forex Brokers That Accept Bitcoin Deposits
| Broker Name | Accepts Bitcoin |
| FXChoice | Yes |
| ThinkMarkets | Yes |
| FXTM | Yes |
| HotForex | Yes |
| FXprimus | Yes |
| FXGlory | Yes |
| FXOpen | Yes |
| FIBOGroup | Yes |
| Tradersway | Yes |
| IFC Markets | Yes |
How Does Bitcoin Work?
The Bitcoin network processes Bitcoin transactions, a decentralised group of volunteers that collectively support the network. The Bitcoin network consists of nodes that collect and verify new transactions and store a copy of the blockchain, a complete history of transactions since the very first in 2009. Miners collect pending transactions from nodes and compete to complete a resource-intensive puzzle.
Bitcoin transactions are processed in blocks; each block of transactions references the previous block, resulting in a chain of blocks or a blockchain.
The complexity of the puzzle adjusts every two weeks to regulate the interval between blocks. The target interval between blocks is 10 minutes. If the puzzle is too easy, blocks will get mined too fast, whereas blocks will get mined too quickly if the difficulty is too high.
The block size is capped at 1MB, and a basic Bitcoin transaction is approximately 226 bytes; each block can fit approximately 4,424 basic transactions. However, transactions can contain additional data, such as multiple recipients, known as outputs. The more instructions a transaction contains, the larger it will be.
Bitcoin miners are compensated by newly minted coins created whenever a block is mined, known as the block reward. The current rate is 6.25 BTC (approximately US$380,000 at the time of writing) per block and reduces approximately every four years. Voluntary transaction fees also incentivize miners. When a Bitcoin transaction is created, the sender has the option to include transaction fees.
To receive or spend Bitcoin, you need a Bitcoin wallet. Many people think of Bitcoin wallets as e-wallets like PayPal or Skrill, but it’s not that simple. Bitcoin wallets are a public key and private key that, when combined, let you authorise transactions. Using the public key, you can create addresses, which are essentially aliases.
While that might sound very complicated, luckily, there are many apps for managing your public key and private key and creating transactions. Such as Coinbase, Electrum, Atomic Wallet and Exodus. You can also store Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in trading accounts with exchanges.
Where To Buy Bitcoin
You can buy Bitcoins and other popular cryptocurrencies supported by many forex brokers in various ways.
- You can buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using your credit/debit card with platforms like Simplex, MoonPay and Ramp.
- Depending on your region, you can buy cryptocurrency via various e-wallet apps like Skrill, PayPal and Square.
- Some cryptocurrency exchanges support fiat trading and accept bank transfers to deposit money to your trading for buying Bitcoin. Well-known exchanges accepting bank deposits include Coinbase, CEX.io, Bitstamp and others.
- It’s possible to buy Bitcoin from other people by arranging in-person or local deals through online marketplaces and classified sites, like LocalBitcoins.com.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Bitcoin
Paying with Bitcoin has numerous advantages for customers and merchants. However, some of the advantages of Bitcoin are also considered controversial, especially in a financial services environment.
- Bitcoin is permission less. You don’t need permission from any organisation of authority to start using it, unlike a bank account or e-wallet, which requires you to open an account with a licensed financial institution and undergo a compliance review. You can send money to anyone globally, providing they have a Bitcoin address to receive the funds. This is problematic because it enables sanctioned countries, businesses and individuals to bypass restrictions placed on them by governments.
- Bitcoin is pseudonymous. Bitcoin wallets and transactions are not linked to anyone’s identity, which allows users to maintain privacy. However, it is difficult for financial institutions, such as forex brokers, to enforce their anti-money laundering rules.
- Bitcoin transactions are transparent. When you send Bitcoin to an address, the recipient cannot claim they didn’t receive it, as all transactions are recorded on a public ledger.
- Bitcoin transactions are irreversible. A common issue that forex brokers face is clients complain to their bank or issue a chargeback request to their credit card company. Traders who lose money trading the market have difficulty dealing with loss and sometimes believe they were scammed rather than failed. The drawback to this is if you accidentally send money to the wrong address or accidentally send too much, it’s impossible to reverse the transaction.
- Bitcoin is secure. Provided you protect your private key, no one can hack and steal your funds. However, if you lose your private key, anyone can access your funds, and there is nothing you can do to stop them.
- Bitcoin fees are optional. Bitcoin transaction fees are optional, and you can decide how much you want to pay. This means users can send high-value transactions across borders cost-effectively. The drawback is when the number of pending transactions grows; it leads to competition, and miners naturally prioritise the transactions paying the highest fee first. This situation leads to a very high fee requirement.
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/100314/what-are-advantages-paying-bitcoin.asp
Risks of Depositing Bitcoin to Your Forex Account
Some brokers let traders not just deposit using Bitcoin but also support trading accounts denominated in Bitcoin. If your trading account balance is held in BTC, it means that when you open a position, your margin, profit and loss is calculated in Bitcoin. Similarly, the broker will convert all commissions and swaps charged in US dollars into Bitcoin.
Under these conditions, your profitability depends on Bitcoin price volatility. If you open a position while the BTC price is high, your commission costs more. Then suppose the price falls dramatically, the value of your account equity might drop so much it causes a margin call or stop out.
Why Should Forex Traders Use Bitcoin?
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are becoming more popular among forex traders and brokers. The popularity growth is primarily due to the advantages of Bitcoin mentioned above and the general shortcomings of traditional payment systems.
Because the Bitcoin network operates 24/7, traders do not need to wait several hours and even days for bank transfers to be processed, potentially missing out on valuable trading opportunities.
Because Bitcoin transaction fees are pledged by those sending a transaction, fees can, but not always, be lower than traditional payment methods.
Brokers can also benefit significantly from supporting Bitcoin and cryptocurrency deposit methods. Notably, brokers benefit from the eradication of credit card chargebacks, a common issue for forex brokers. Brokers also struggle to find reliable payment processors, and the companies catering to online trading platforms impose very high fees, sometimes 5% or more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why don’t large international brokers offer cryptocurrency deposits?
Banks and most payment institutions view cryptocurrencies as extremely high risk. If a broker is seen to support Bitcoin deposits and withdrawals, it can harm their relationships with banks.
What other cryptocurrencies do forex brokers normally support?
Besides Bitcoin, forex brokers offering cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals usually support Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin. Most brokers will also support stablecoins, such as Tether, USD Coin and True USD.
About This Article
Author: Mark Prosz
Sources of information and credits for this post include:
https://financefeeds.com/retail-fx-brokers-beware-banks-continue-not-accept-fx-firms-meaning-client-funds-broker-capital-risk/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/277841/paypals-total-payment-volume/
https://www.blockchain.com/charts/estimated-transaction-volume-usd
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/100314/what-are-advantages-paying-bitcoin.asp
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