Trading Stocks, Forex, and Commodities with Bitcoin
Global Markets With Bitcoin
If you’re looking for a secure way to trade Forex, Stocks, and commodities with Bitcoin, then 1Broker may very well be your best option. If you’ve been in the cryptocurrency world for some time you probably already have heard of 1Broker. It is a trading platform that has been serving traders from all over the globe since 2012, and in this 1Broker review, we look at the key features, pros and cons, and other interesting factors about this social trading platform.
1Broker Security
Security is a major concern for anyone who trades in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. You’ll be reassured to know that 1Broker has never suffered a single security breach since it was established in 2012. They store over 95% Bitcoin deposits in secure hardware and paper wallets. The funds are not accessible to anyone except the company’s majority stakeholder.
For additional security, the wallets backups are dispersed in different locations and securely stored in encrypted digital and analog forms. You can enable two-factor authentication to add a layer of security by clicking on the Settings tab on your account’s dashboard.
1Broker Account Creation and Verification
To sign up and start using 1Broker’s social trading features, you need to first create a user account. You’ll need a valid email address, and a combination of a username and password to open an account.
They have a very simple verification process which only involves clicking a verification link sent to your email.
Once you have verified your account, you’ll be taken to the social tab, which is usually the default page. From the social tab, you can see all the popular and successful traders of the month. This is a good opportunity to find a good trader and copy his or her trades.
What Markets Can You Trade on at 1Broker?
There’s a wide range of markets you can trade on at 1Broker. The platform provides all the major FOREX pairs as well as the currently popular stocks, Indices, and Commodities. They pretty much have most of the trading opportunities you’d expect from a good broker.
1Broker Trading Interface
All the trading at 1Broker is done through a web-based interface. The platform has a pretty simple interface suitable for both beginner and experienced traders interested in a Bitcoin only social trading platform. The interface could, however, do a lot better with additional charts similar to what you see in other brokers. Nevertheless, it is a functional lightweight 350 kb interface whose main focus, it appears, is on making trades in a minimalistic way, avoiding any unnecessary clutter whilst keeping load speed extremely fast.
Ease of Trading With 1Broker
The first thing you need to do before you can start trading on this platform is to fund your account with Bitcoin, which on 1Broker is as easy as it gets, since everything is automatically done — thus both deposit and withdrawal speeds solely depends on the Bitcoin network.
Now, trading at 1Broker is practically quite easy, but first you have a choice to make: “Am I here to create trades myself, potentially for others to see and copy, or am I here to simply copy other traders?”. If you’re here to use the social trading feature, then you can skip to the 1Broker Social Trading Features section.
If you want to open a trade, you start by clicking on the “Markets” tab found on the upper right part of the page and select your preferred market. You have a choice of Crypto, Stocks, Commodities, and Indices trading options.
Once you’ve chosen your preferred market, you’ll be presented with a box showing the amount of Bitcoin you want to invest and the current BTC:USD exchange ratio displayed on the far right corner of the page. You’ll also see the position and leverage of your trade at the lower section. You can even set or adjust your stop-loss and profit specs here. This is also the window where you can share your trade if you decide to. (Upper right corner checkmark).
How to Share a Trade
All the trades you share will automatically be visible and ready to be copied by your followers. The minimum amount of Bitcoin for visible shared trades is 0.05 BTC. The minimum is set to prevent users with malicious intent from sharing trades that would put the copiers’ funds in danger. Fortunately, most users of the site have the best interest of their followers at heart because the more successful their shared trades are the higher the rewards they get. Over time the rewards start stacking up, which becomes evident when checking trader profiles such as wangzai888:
Another useful trading feature you get at 1Broker is a Profit/Loss calculator which helps to magnify your profits and losses so you can make better choices in each trade. It is also worth mentioning that the platform unfortunately does not provide Demo Accounts which you can use to practice your trades with, so it is suggested that you start out small if you are new in this game.
1Broker Social Trading Features
This 1Broker review would be incomplete without mentioning the platform’s social trading features, which undoubtedly is what 1Broker is most known for. As previously mentioned, 1Broker is more than your traditional trading exchange. They provide you with a platform where you can place your trades on multiple markets using Bitcoin and socialize with other traders by commenting and copying their trades.
To make the best use of this social function of 1Broker, you’ll need to create an interesting profile, just like you do on other social media sites. Start by uploading a nice custom picture and write a short but interesting description about yourself on the profile page. Remember, all your statistics and charts from your shared trades will be visible on your profile page. It is highly recommended to have a nice profile picture and to keep your descriptions up to date to attract more trade copiers and earn higher rewards on autopilot.
As you can see, I do not have any trades in the past year as I only use 1Broker for the aforementioned social trading feature.
How to Copy a Successful Trader
One of the biggest advantages of 1Broker over other regular exchanges is the ability to copy other top traders, ride on their coat-tails, and make a successful trade. You can simply do this with your own set amount for each copied trade. To make things more secure, you can even set the maximum number of trades you’ll want to copy in a day and avoid getting carried away in the process.
Remember, the user who’ll have created the trade you copy has full control over the trade’s Stop Loss/Take Profit price and the exact moment to close the position but you can still close a trade you’ve copied manually whenever you feel like. If you lack sufficient funds to copy the trade, you’ll be notified by the creator of the trade and automatically unsubscribed.
This trade-copying feature is however one of the best trading options available on this platform. It is a 100% automatic process. When you copy a trader and the trader opens a trade, your account will open the exact same trade. The only difference is the amount of BTC in each trade because you choose the amount of Bitcoin to place in the copied trade. If the trade is successful, it’s a win-win for both the creator and those who copied the trade.
After reading this you might think: “oh so I just copy a handful of traders and lean back?”. The short answer is “No”. The slightly longer answer is still no, but you can optimize your chance of getting it right by following the tips that I have used when picking a trader to copy. Ask yourself these questions by looking at their profile page:
-How many months have they been using the platform for?
-Have they been profitable in the past?
-Do they go on a tilt when one or more trades don’t go their way?
Ideally you would want to copy a trader that checks off in a positive way on the questions above to avoid copying a reckless trader that may only recently have joined the platform and have hit a lucky streak, attracting a lot of copiers, only to crash and burn the following month.
1Broker Rewards and Fees for Shared Trades
The 1Broker reward system for shared trades depends on the performance of the shared trade. After the shared trade is closed, the creator of the trade gets 1.5% of profits generated and the copiers are charged 2% of the profits, leaving 0.5% for 1Broker. Remember, the system rewards or charges profitable trades only. It wouldn’t make sense to reward or charge unsuccessful trades.
Does 1Broker Charge Fees?
Another good thing about 1Broker is that the company does not charge fees for depositing funds or trading on their platform. Their fees are generally expressed according to spreads between short and long positions. They have a completely transparent charging system. You’ll not be surprised with hidden charges when using this platform. You can easily view all your transactions and fees charged from your transaction log.
1Broker Customer Support
1Broker has a good support system available via email. Your queries or concerns are often received and responded to within 24 hours. Usually even within a couple of hours. You can also contact them and get a faster response via Facebook and Twitter. However, they lack a Live Chat feature which would greatly improve their support system.
1Broker Pros and Cons
Pros:
-Great platform without a trading limit
-You can copy trades from other users
-A wide range of markets that you can trade on with Bitcoin
-No minimum deposit
-They have customizable leverages
-It is a social trading platform where users can interact with each other through comments on shared trades
-It is easy to use
Cons:
-Only accepts Bitcoin leaving out users of other fiat currencies but a great choice for Bitcoin users
-Lacks Live Chat support system
Conclusion
1Broker is the best trading option for those who love using Bitcoin or if you prefer to trade with a high level of anonymity. It has an easy to use functional interface and a copy trade feature where you can copy other successful traders with more experience and profit from their efforts. Professional traders can also share their trades and earn rewards. It is a great platform for both beginners and professional traders and I highly recommend that you register today if you want to try it out.