Forex and Binary Options Mix Together – For Good and for Bad
FX Leaders Shutting Down Binary Options WhiteLabels
There has been a wave of confusion rippling throughout the Forex binary options world. The confusion has been caused by the merging of Forex with binary. Many brokers, on both sides of the equation, have begun to view binary options as a gateway to Forex. They see binary as a way to attract Forex customers who may be daunted by the more complex nature of spot trading and Forex as a natural progression for binary traders who have begun to master the market. What this means is that some Forex brokers are now offering binary and some binary options brokers are offering Forex related products. The confusion, I think, comes from the fact that not all brokers have been successful at the change and may have raised speculation binary options were on the way out.
A couple of well know Forex brokers attempted this move and failed, sparking the confusion. PowerOption is perhaps the most noteworthy, it was the binary brand launched by AvaTrade, a popular Forex broker, and later closed. Other noteworthy failures include HY Market, another well respected Forex provider who opened a binary options website and then later closed it. It is easy to understand why PowerOption failed; AvaTrade failed to capitalize on its standing in the Forex world and kept binary separated from Forex. HY Market’s failure to achieve success is similar in that the binary platform was separate from the Forex, but they at least used the same name.
Other FX Goes Binary, and Binary goes FX
These failures have not stopped the slow integration of Forex and binary. Two other Forex brokers have been successful with the addition of binary to their offerings. FXChoice and NordFX have both launched binary brands and have done so alongside their Forex platforms. On the flip side, binary options are brokers are capitalizing on the same idea. A number of high profile technology providers are integrating Forex style features, and Forex style trading, into their binary options platforms. O-Systems ad Hello Markets are only two such.
O-Systems added a number of features to their platform to make it more like what you will find at a spot Forex broker. This includes a drag-and-drop chart feature as well as screens laid out to resemble Forex trading. Hello Markets takes it a step further. O-Systems have focused more on the look and appeal of the platform, while Hello Markets has chosen to focus on the trading. They have added a spot trading product that incorporates the best of both worlds. Positions are purchased just like a binary option and come with set expiry, the difference is that payout is based on the number of pips the asset moved at time of expiry.
Online Sports Betting Goes Binary?
Forex brokers are not the only businesses who view binary trading as a means to attract new clients and enhance services for existing clients. We already know WilliamHill supports binary options trading, now we know that Sbobet.com, an online sports betting website based in the Philippines, is offering binary options. Sbobet.com binary options are called Financials on the website and are provided by Tradologic platform. This is the first sports betting platform to do this but likely not the last. When asked why they made the addition company management said they were “trying to diversify” and that binary options was a natural choice as there are “similarities in the target audience”.
My Bottom Line
What this means is that any confusion caused by the closing of a few brokers is misplaced. Binary options are not on the way out. If anything, they are gaining acceptance around the world. I would not be surprised to see more brokers, on both sides, begin to incorporate more features until binary and spot Forex are being traded side by side.