Best Crypto Forex Brokers 2024

What Are Crypto Forex Brokers?

Before getting into the crypto-related aspects of these platforms, let’s define Forex brokers more generally. These are basically financial service providers that allow their customers to buy and sell foreign currencies.

Any trade in the Forex market will be made between two different currencies. For example, U.S. dollars could be traded for Japanese Yen or Swiss francs could be traded for Canadian dollars.

One of the most noteworthy qualities of the Forex market is that it operates on a 24-hour, non-stop trading cycle, much like the crypto market. This is one of the reasons many of the earliest traders in bitcoin came from the Forex market. Crypto Forex brokers operate in a manner similar to traditional Forex brokers, with the exception that they offer various cryptocurrencies for trade.

How are Crypto Forex Brokers Different from Crypto Exchanges?

For those who have dealt with traditional crypto exchanges in the past, it’s important to understand the differences between these platforms and bitcoin forex brokers. With traditional crypto exchanges, such as Binance or Coinbase, the users are taking custody of the underlying crypto assets whenever they make a buy order. This is not how things work with crypto Forex brokers. Instead of trading control over the underlying crypto assets, customers of crypto Forex brokers are trading derivatives based on the current price of those assets. These are known as contracts-for-difference (CFD). For this reason, there is no way to withdraw crypto when it is purchased via these sorts of platforms. That said, some bitcoin Forex brokers, such as eToro, have separated the crypto portion of their CFD trading out into a full-fledged crypto exchange. However, it should be noted that these sorts of setups usually involve the crypto broker simply plugging into other crypto exchanges via their APIs in the background.

Another important factor to consider when it comes to CFD trading is that there are a number of additional risks associated with this sort of derivative trading. Most notably, traders can get margin called and end up losing the associated value of their trade position if they are unable to make a timely payment. This sort of thing tends to only happen during times of excessive market volatility. That said, the crypto market can become extremely volatile at times, especially when you’re trading some of the smaller cap coins.

So, the main takeaway here is that crypto Forex brokers tend to get away from the point of why Bitcoin was created in the first place. You don’t control any real bitcoin or altcoins when you use these platforms, and you will not be able to send any cryptocurrency to your own personal wallet after you make your purchase. In short, these platforms are mostly useful for traders who don’t have any real need to use the underlying blockchain technology behind the crypto assets. Additionally, traders should understand the additional risks that come with CFD trading before opting for this method of gaining crypto market exposure.

How Do I Choose a Crypto Forex Broker?

The reason there are so many different crypto Forex brokers on the internet these days is that there are a variety of advantages and disadvantages that come with how they decide to build their platforms. For example, if they offer lower fees on one area of the platform, they may end up charging higher fees than most of the competition in another area. So, when you’re picking a crypto Forex broker, you should consider the fee rate for the specific type of trading you plan to do on the platform.

You will also want to consider other factors such as where the platform is located, the legitimacy of the broker (especially in the world of crypto), and the various deposit and withdrawal methods that can be used to move money on and off the platform.

When it comes to crypto more specifically, you will definitely want to look at the list of cryptocurrencies that are offered for trade via the crypto Forex broker. Some platforms list many more coins than others, and you’ll sometimes need to do some shopping if you’re looking to trade some particularly low-valued altcoins. It’s also worth looking into the extent to which a crypto Forex broker supports crypto, as it may be advantageous to go with a platform that offers actual spot trading or other more crypto-focused features.

What Are the Best Forex Crypto Brokers?

So, what are the best options in the crypto Forex market? We’ve put together six of the top options based on factors such as fees, security, and commitment to crypto.

eToro

Etoro is best known for their work in the development of the social trading industry. This feature effectively allows users to copy the trades of other traders on the platform.

Newly available in most of the United States, eToro offers twelve different cryptocurrencies for trade; however, it’s important to differentiate between the crypto Forex broker version of eToro and the full-fledged crypto exchange. Due to regulations in the United States, the CFD-powered version of eToro is not available to Americans. That said, this version of the platform is available in most other countries around the world.

The user-friendly app that comes with eToro is what has allowed the company to become a online financial powerhouse over the years, and the demo version of the platform will allow users to get acclimated with how everything works before making their first deposit. Fees for trading bitcoin are 0.75%, but the fees for other cryptocurrencies can go as high as 4.5%.

Capital.com

Capital.com is a Forex broker that allows its users to trade bitcoin and other crypto via CFDs. Founded in 2016, Capital.com is a particularly attractive offering for crypto traders, as there are currently 382 crypto trading pairs listed on the platform. Notably, Capital.com does not charge any fees on their crypto trade offerings; however, that does not tell the whole story, as the fees are essentially hidden in the buy and sell prices offered by the broker. That said, the 0.5% spread for bitcoin and 1% for ether are rather competitive. One of the more unique offerings from Capital.com is their educational app, which can be used by beginners to learn how to start trading today.

AvaTrade

Founded in 2006, AvaTrade is one of the oldest crypto Forex brokers on our list. The platform meets high standards when it comes to regulations, including a registration with the Central Bank of Ireland. Deposits and withdrawals are free on AvaTrade, and the account opening process is extremely simple. A wide variety of crypto assets are available for trade on AvaTrade, including bitcoin, ether, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and more. The AvaSocial platform and a variety of educational resources made available by AvaTrade make this site a welcoming environment for those who are new to trading crypto. The spread on crypto trading starts at a rather low 0.35% for large crypto assets like bitcoin, and leveraged trading is available for some coins. One major strike against AvaTrade is that the company will charge an activity fee on accounts that have not been used for a period of three months. This fee will be USD Account: $50, €50, or £50, depending on the denomination of the account.

EightCap

EightCap is a trusted name in the crypto Forex broker industry, as it was originally founded all the way back in 2009 and is regulated in multiple jurisdictions. Although the educational materials available on this platform are a bit sparse, the good news for advanced crypto traders is that there are more than 200 different cryptocurrencies listed on this platform for trade via CFD. In terms of fees, EightCap offers two different types of accounts that will determine the particular way in which fees will be paid. With the Raw account, the user will pay a flat commission on every trade, and with a Standard account, the effective fees will come out of the spread between buy and sell orders (as is the case on most platforms).

Libertex

Libertex is a trusted crypto Forex broker that has been in business for 24 years. There are zero commissions to pay when it comes to crypto trading on this platform, but as always, it’s the spread that matters here. The spreads available on trades made via Libertex are nothing too amazing, as they start around the industry standard of 0.5%. However, it should be noted that there are 70 different crypto trading pairs available on this platform. Additionally, it should be noted that some of these pairs are rather unique, such as the ability to trade DOGE directly against SHIB. Those who wish to trade with high amounts of leverage may want to avoid Libertex, as margin trading is rather limited on the platform.

Interactive Brokers

If you’re an advanced user who just wants access to the crypto Forex broker offering the lowest trading fees, then look no further than Interactive Brokers. The commissions for trading crypto on this platform start at an astonishing 0.12%, and there is no added spread to worry about on these trades. Even Coinbase Pro and Gemini cannot compete with these low fees; however, it should be noted that there is a minimum $1.75 fee on every order. Additionally, users are also able to make their trades on stocks, bonds, and many other types of assets via the same account portal. Interactive Brokers is a highly touted online broker for online trading, and it was named the best online broker by Barron’s in 2021. It should be noted that the crypto trading and custody is handled by Paxos Trust Company on the backend, so this is not a platform where you’d be doing CFD trades. As an added bonus, Interactive Brokers also offers a debit card to their customers, which can be used to access account funds anywhere Mastercard is accepted.