This article is the first in a series of two. To read the second, click here.
Finance Magnates has surveyed almost 700 people from various geographical and demographic backgrounds in order to gauge the current sentiment within the FX trading space.
Discover credible partners and premium clients at China’s leading finance event!
The survey was composed of 10 questions, which were aimed at understanding the current viewpoints of online traders. Let’s dive in and see what the poll shows.
Below are the results and analysis of the first of two parts of the survey.
FX vs. Crypto
We asked traders for their opinions about the recent crypto frenzy, and its impact on the FX market. While there are certainly benefits to trading Cryptocurrencies , as their potential ROI far exceeds that of the FX market, there are also greater risks involved.
FX traders were asked if they are considering leaving the FX market behind in favor of crypto trading. The results were highly lopsided, as 92.41% of participants said they would not stop trading FX, despite the major hype that has engulfed financial markets with regard to cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile, just 3.36% (23 traders) said that they were considering making such a move, while the same number of traders said that they were considering it.
In the midst of a wave of many FX brokers incorporating crypto CFDs into their available list of assets, we asked FX traders about their interest in gaining exposure to the crypto market through CFDs.
A surprising 64.96% said they were not interested in trading crypto CFDs at all, while just 20.53% said that they had interest in the relatively new product. Meanwhile, just 4.11% said they had already engaged in trading with crypto CFDs in some capacity, and the remaining 10.41% remain unsure about their intentions.
When we consider the hype surrounding the industry, it is surprising that so many traders appear to be disinterested in crypto CFDs.
Moreover, this survey suggests that the strong efforts made by many FX and CFD providers to implement crypto CFDs might appeal only to a relatively small portion of the FX and CFD community.
Regardless, even one fifth of traders are enough to justify moves made by brokers to add the products to their trading platforms.
Regulation
When it comes to regulation, brokers are often asked to pay large sums of money for licenses. They also have to deal with the sometimes overwhelming amount of ongoing bureaucracy that is necessary to maintain the transparency that regulators demand.
The survey asked traders for their views on regulation and how important it is to them. 87.26% of respondents said that they would not trade through any broker that did not possess regulation of some sort. Meanwhile, 7.32% said that they do not believe regulation to be important, while the remaining 5.42% are unsure.
It goes without saying that brokers’ efforts to obtain and maintain regulatory licenses are crucial to their success.
We further asked traders to elaborate on which regulatory authority and license they value most. The most valued regulatory license appears to be from the FCA, which received 63.62% of the total votes.
European regulatory bodies came in second place with 36.08% of people holding them in the highest regard. European regulation encompasses Germany’s BaFin, CySEC, and other smaller, local authorities. Of the total 687 survey participants, 116 (or 17.08%) preferred ASIC regulation above all others.
ECN vs. Market Maker
FX and CFD brokers are constantly looking for insights into how traders think, and what it is they are looking for in their trading environment and experience. Therefore, we decided to see what factors related to trading really matter to traders most.
In the survey, we asked traders which type of broker they prefer - ECN or market makers. 48.45% of respondents said that their preferred broker structure is ECN, while just 15.02% said they would rather trade with a market maker.
What was perhaps the most surprising result of the poll was that 17.23% of traders did not know the difference between the two, while another 16.64% claimed to have no preference.
