A few weeks ago I covered the FXOpen�s ECN platform and was a bit skeptical because I had experienced problems with my Windows XP software (unrelated) and because I questioned who the liquidity providers were for execution.
A few days ago I received a personal tour and had a chance to review the company�s technology as well to see how the liquidity is provided (can�t say who the liquidity provider is for now, but it�s big, very big).
Being the skeptic that I am, it takes me a while to getting fully convinced that what I�m seeing is the next step in Forex trading evolution. But this time it might be the case.
Instead of making brokers waste time and money on its useless regulation requirements, the NFA should have made the most important step of them all: requiring all brokers to shift to ECN trading which would have solved any and all transparency issues with Forex trading.
As I explained in one of my posts earlier: ECN trading is basically a Forex marketplace where Buyers and Sellers can enter orders and trade with each other rather than trading with their brokerage firm or being routed to the market.
And now back to FXOpen�s platform.
FXOpen managed to utilize MT4 and to display an ECN feed and market depth details, while executing orders according to this feed directly on the market. Unlike most brokers, this totally removes the dealing desk. This must have cost a lot of time and money, and is definitely a Forex industry revolution.
Currently, when you trade MT4, the feed you see is what you get and most of the time you never know what is behind the displayed quotes. With FXOpen�s ECN platform you now get to see exactly what is behind the currency pair�s Bid and Ask: you actually get to see the five best Bid and five best Ask orders in the market, real time.
Michael
Forex Magnates