Darwinex Review

Darwinex is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to brokers, because it is not only a brokerage, but it is also a social trading platform. This gives you the ability to open up a couple of different opportunities. There is only one account type itself, the standard account which simplifies things, and gives you the ability to either trade as per usual or follow others.

Darwinex minimum deposit

The minimum initial deposit to open up an account is $500, which is reasonable, especially considering the advanced social trading options offered by this broker. However, the social trading aspect of this broker may be one of its biggest downfalls, because quite frankly social trading platforms can lead to reliance on others who may not necessarily have much in the way of trading skill.

Trading accounts

As mentioned previously, there is only one type of account, it is the standard account. It offers a variable spread, averaging just 0.2 pips for the EUR/USD pair. You can trade micro lots, giving you the flexibility to place trades based upon your risk management profile. Beyond that, commission charges are based upon 0.0025% of the nominal value traded per lot side. This gives you the ability to save a significant amount of money in commission fees and charges.

The company

Darwinex was set up in 2012, but it didn’t start operations until 2014. It is both a broker and operator of an advanced financial technology social investment platform all regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom. It offers trading in more than 30 currency pairs, as well as several CFD indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. The holding company is Tradeslide Trading Tech Limited, authorized and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom as well. Because of this, it must observe the most stringent of rules.

The company used to be an introducing broker for FXCM but terminated its relationship after the broker lost its license in America. It says it intends to find another US partner to serve as an IB.

Trading conditions

Average spreads and commissions

Darwinex offers some of the tightest spreads in the industry, averaging just 0.2 pips on EUR/USD. Even if you add the commission of five dollars per standard lot round-trip, the average trading cost for this pair would be 0.7 pips, which is very competitive. It’s closest competitor, eToro, offers a fixed spread of three pips on EUR/USD, which is significantly higher.

Leverage

Maximum leverage is 1:200, which is considered to be standard overall. There are brokers that offer more, but quite frankly at that point you are playing a dangerous game. Remember, the high leverage can significantly increase wins, but it can also do the same with losing trades.

Trading platform

Darwinex offers both the MetaTrader 4 and the MetaTrader 5 platforms. They also offer an investor platform, which is a form of signal copying software. What’s interesting about this scenario is that traders don’t control investors’ money directly, they simply send their intellectual property to Darwinex, for a 20% referral fee. The platform automatically picks the most stable trades and strategies to submit to investors.

Methods of deposit

Bank wire transactions, credit/debit cards, and online paying options such as China Union and Neteller are available.

Extras

Darwinex has a plethora of videos and webinars for educational purposes. Perhaps not the strongest of educational sections, but it certainly offers enough to get you started. This is of course all redundant if you are simply looking to follow someone else’s strategy.