Dukascopy is a Forex and CFD brokerage based in Geneva Switzerland. The broker also has a large banking group that it represents, meaning that you can have your bank account as well as your trading account all in one place. That being said, we will focus on the trading part obviously.
Trading accounts
Dukascopy offers only one type of live account but does of course offer a demo account option. At this point, you are either trading with real money or not. There is a huge amount of advantages which we will go through in trading live here, and the account gives you access to not only the Forex but also the CFD markets that Dukascopy offers. You do have the option of trading with a couple of different platforms.
Dukascopy company overview
Dukascopy is a fully regulated Swiss Bank, offering protection up to 100,000 CHF for each client’s account. The trading aspect of the company focuses on active traders, professionals, services banks and hedge funds, and gives you protection in all markets. It is also a publicly traded company, with the shareholder capital reaching 22 billion CHF. Dukascopy has long been one of the true leaders in the ECN arena.
Trading conditions
Initial deposit
The initial deposit at Dukascopy is US$1000, but quite frankly this is a much more professional brokerage than most people deal with on a regular basis. However, with the massive amount of tools and extras available with the company, $1000 should not be a major hurdle.
Spreads and conditions
Dukascopy offers multiple markets to trade, including Forex, Indices, and Crypto. The spreads are extraordinarily tight, such as 0.1 pips on the AUD/USD pair, the 0.3 pips on the EUR/JPY pair, and 0.9 on the XAU/USD pair. Keep in mind that there are also commissions charged, so that will have to be factored as well. However, the commissions are minimal at best.
Leverage
Leverage at Dukascopy goes as high as 1:200, at least in the major and minor currency pairs. Commodity markets are 1:100, while individual equities are 1:10. Cryptocurrencies have leverage up to 1:3, giving you plenty of leverage and various markets.
Trading platforms
Dukascopy uses the well-known MetaTrader ecosystem, using version 4. They also offer Java based platforms, JTrader, iOS, Android, and Web Based platforms for all markets. The broker also offers automated trading through the JTrader platform.
Payment methods
Dukascopy allows features only two ways to fund the account, either credit card or bank wire. This is probably the one area that this broker could improve, but wires are fast as it is an actual bank.
Extras
Dukascopy offers a massive amount of information for traders. Research is thorough, news is released quickly, through their own television station. They have plenty of analysis and fundamental information as well. The trading ideas are robust and precise, just as they offer many other potential benefits such as a sentiment index.
Dukascopy is possibly one of the most complete brokerages in the world. It’s very professional, and unlike many other brokerage firms, you would find it impossible to outgrow the offerings.