As anyone who trades on the forex market can testify, this vast financial entity can be incredibly volatile and prone to sudden and unexpected price movements. This is largely driven by volume, with an estimated $6.6 trillion traded on the market every single day.
With this in mind, even experienced traders need to use every tool at their disposal when attempting to make a profit in the marketplace, with modern-day currency trading platforms capable of providing huge assistance on a daily basis.
But why are trading platforms so important in 2021, and what are the best iterations of this technology on the market?
Why are Trading Platforms so Important and What do They Offer?
In many ways, trading platforms serve as brokerage sites in the digital age, connecting investors to their chosen marketplace and facilitating individual orders.
In replacing the old fashioned corporeal broker or middleman, however, they’ve also evolved the role considerably while breaking down many of the barriers to entry that once surrounded the forex market.
To begin with, the forex platforms of today enable real-time trading, creating an opportunity for investors to capitalise on the rapid price fluctuations that occur on a daily basis. This is particularly beneficial for so-called “day traders”, who generate profit by executing a high volume of orders in a genuinely short space of time.
In addition to facilitating such orders, forex trading platforms provide in-depth and real-time data to help inform an investor’s decision making. This is crucial in such a volatile and fast-paced market, particularly one that’s influenced by so many macroeconomic and geopolitical factors.
They also boast an increasingly diverse suite of analytical tools and technical indicators, which are tailored to suit variable strategies and provide key datasets as required.
In their role as modern day brokers, trading platforms also provide investors with the margin required to open a position. This subsequently provides them with leverage, so that they can open relatively large positions with a comparatively small deposit.
What’s the Best Trading Platform on the Market?
While there are a number of suitable and technologically advanced trading platforms available on the current market, the MetaTrader 4 remains the defacto market leader for forex traders.
Launched back in 2005 by MetaQuotes, the MT4 platform has been specifically designed for forex trading and boasts several eye-catching features such as one-click trading, customisable charts and the presence of more than 50 indicators.
Over time, the software has also developed a reputation as one of the most stable and easy to use platforms in the market, with an entire generation of forex traders having become familiar with its interface and integrated this as part of a wider investment strategy. Before investing check whether it is a verified trading robot.
2010 saw the launch of the MetaTrader 5, which is also widely used by forex traders as a result of its slightly faster transaction speeds and larger number of indicators.
However, this software is preferred by traders who want to diversify into a wider range of assets and marketplaces, as it supports a broad selection of order types across asset classes such as stocks and commodities.
While other popular and secure trading platforms exist in the former of cTrader, eSignal and ProRealTime, there’s no doubt that the MT4 and MT5 remain the best options for investors in 2021.