Broker Nadex US Traders Accepted Yes ! Company Name IG Group Headquarters Chicago, USA Regulation Regulated by CFTC (NFA ID: 0340344) Max Payout Unlimited Out-of-Money Reward 0% Minimum Age 18 Trading Platform Nadex Mobile App iPhone, Windows Phone, Android Early Closure Yes Deposit Options US Dollar Deposit Currencies E-Check, wire transfer, paper check Minimum Deposit $100 Minimum Trade $0.10 Online Since 2004 Trading Instruments Currencies:
AUD/JPY, AUD/USD, BTC/USD, EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, EUR/USD, GBP/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CAD, USD/CHF, USD/JPY
Metals:
Copper, Gold, Silver
Energies:
Crude oil, Natural gas
Agricultural:
Corn, Soybeans
Indexes:
CHINA 50, FTSE 100, GERMANY 30, JAPAN 225, US 500, US SMALLCAP 2000, US TECH 100, WALL STREET 30
Events:
Fed funds rate, Jobless claims, Nonfarm payrollsNumber of Trading Instruments 25 Binary Option Types High/Low, One Touch, Boundary Customer Support Types Phone, email, paper mail Education Offered Webinars, trading videos, handbooks, how-to pages Tools Offered Market commentary, early closure, protection against market spikes, limit orders Commission Trading fees: $0.90 per lot up to $9 per side. Wire transfer and returned check fees: $25. Languages English Demo Account Yes, two weeks, on request.
Nadex is very different from the other binary options brokers we have reviewed on this site. Nadex stands for the North American Derivatives Exchange, formerly known as HedgeStreet. The current owner of the company is IG Group, and it is based in Chicago, Illinois. Not only does the company accept US traders, but its services are geared toward US traders specifically. The site is only available in English and you can trade only in US Dollars. So this is not a good site for global traders, but it is an excellent choice for US traders.
The Nadex Distinction
What sets Nadex apart from all the other binary options brokers around the globe? It is among the only binary options brokers which are actually regulated as such, and not as something else (i.e. a gambling commission or a private bank). Nadex is regulated by the CFTC and all applicable US laws. As such, it is exceptionally trustworthy. If it is important to you to know your money is secure, Nadex is probably your best bet. All funds are segregated, and the company even tells you where they are stored. And since you know that they have to abide by US laws, you can feel safe and assured while trading with them.
Signing Up for a Nadex Account
Nadex offers free demo accounts to US residents. You are allowed to demo test for two weeks, and all you need to sign up to play with $25,000 in practice funds is an email address (so theoretically, if you kept creating email accounts, you could demo test indefinitely). You definitely should sign up for a demo account before you sign up for a live account and make a deposit. The reason for this goes beyond the simple need to test trades before trading live to make sure your system works. The Nadex platform is proprietary and it is very different from other online binary options platforms. You will not be able to learn how to use it while trading with real money without losing some. You absolutely must take some time to learn using virtual money or you will make mistakes. There are lots of amazing features on the platform, however, including a ton of different indicators you can place on the charts. Customization is a huge part of Nadex’s offerings.
To sign up on Nadex, you only need an email account for a demo account. You will need to provide your social security number and other identifiable information for a real account. You can deposit as little as $100 to get started, using E-check, wire deposit, or a paper check sent through the mail. Trading can be conducted online on your home computer or on your iPhone, Android or Blackberry.
Trade Features
Nadex offers 25 different trading instruments, including currencies, commodities, stocks, indices, and occasional events. Events offer you a new and exciting way to trade the news. While we were only able to find references on-site to trading High/Low, we found a number of references around the internet stating you can also do Boundary and One Touch trades (though this may be for spreads, another service Nadex offers).
Trading with Nadex is very different from other binary options sites. You do actually have to purchase contracts to trade. As such, you have to do a mathematical calculation every time you trade (though the software will display it for you) to figure out the maximum profit or loss possible with a given trade. The tick value is $1. There is a page on the site which tells you all the contract specs. The smallest units we saw available to trade were 0.1 tick size x 1 contract. This is theoretically equivalent to a dime.
All trades expire in or out of the money, with values defined at 100 or 0. You have to calculate price movement against that scale, multiply that movement by the contract size, and multiply that value by the tick size. This is slightly different for each type of asset. There are examples on the site explaining how calculations are managed for currencies, stocks, and futures.
Another thing which new traders need to know is that Nadex does charge fees, and they are pretty expensive. The fees aren’t just for wire transfers and returned checks ($25 each), but for trading as well. The fees add up to $0.90 per lot up to $9.00 per side. Settlement fees are equivalent. So you have to calculate that into your money management plan. This makes trading less accessible to traders with small accounts, despite the fact that you can open an account with only $100.
Resources, Tools, and Customer Service
Resources and tools on Nadex are outstanding. When you join the site, you have access to webinars, handbooks, how-to pages, and trading videos. After you open up a demo account, you will receive an email which gives you access to webinars which teach you how to use the demo platform. There is also market commentary on the website, and several cool trading features: limit orders, early closure, and protection against market spikes. Customer service is not available via live chat, unfortunately, but you may reach an agent through phone, email, or paper mail.
Conclusion
Is Nadex right for you? It depends largely on how serious you are about your trading. If you are in this to gamble for fun, you probably want to trade with a binary options broker who gears their services toward traders who are more casual. You would find Nadex a bit overwhelming, especially with all the calculations involved. If you are a serious trader, however, Nadex is one of the best choices out there. You will have to take the time to learn to use the platform, but if you aren’t willing to do that, you aren’t really serious. The customization, trading tools, indicators, charts and other features really set Nadex apart, and so does the fact that this is binary options broker which is actually regulated by the CFTC.
