FXCM Crypto Spreads Stable in January, Charges 27 Pips on BTC/USD

FXCM Group today reported its execution quality metrics for January 2020, which showed stable rates across its average ‎spreads for cryptocurrency and certain FX instruments.‎

For the cryptocurrency pairs, the ‎company averaged 27.5 pips on BTC/USD, a slight decrease from December.

However, January’s spread was significantly lower when weighed against the 44 pips the company charged when it first reported spreads metrics for its bitcoin instrument two years ago, which in itself was below the industry norm at the time.

While no-fee platforms are exerting pressure on legacy brokers to lower their fees on mainstream tradeable assets, the same cannot be said of their effect on cryptocurrency. Perhaps it’s the inherent risks associated with crypto trading, such as heightened volatility, but overall, fees remain higher in the crypto sphere in general.

For the Ethereum and Litecoin instruments, FXCM charged on average 1.0 and 0.2 pips, respectively, also a touch higher from the months prior.

FXCM has recently expanded its crypto offering with the launch of a cryptocurrency basket for its retail clients.

Named CryptoMajor, the product groups five Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term all into one tradeable derivative, therefore, allowing traders to collate multiple instruments in one go, without the need to independently manage them. Instead of adding more exposure to a major cryptocurrency, FXCM’s CryptoMajor is made up of Bitcoin, Ripple, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ether, giving an equal weighting for each coin in the basket.

The FX broker introduced the new asset type earlier in 2018 when it began testing the service with its already installed Bitcoin offering.

FXCM also published its price improvements/slippage statics for January 2020, which ‎showed the following highlights‏.‏

• 72.2% of orders executed at price
• 23.0% of orders executed with positive slippage
• 4.8% of orders executed with negative slippage

The company also reported on its execution speed, which is measured from the time a customer’s order is received to the time of filling. The average order execution time was 16 milliseconds in January. Although an important factor in determining where orders are routed, it is only one factor. Some brokers already provide a good speed of execution but fail to provide price improvement or Liquidity Liquidity The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent Read this Term.

According to figures stated in the report, the average spreads on the ‎EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and XAU/USD pairs were 0.1, 0.5, and 34.3 pips, respectively.

The following table shows the exact figures in January:

Additionally, the online brokerage disclosed its Effective Spread statics, ‎which displays its quoted spread for its top FX pairs, and compares ‎the figures with actual spreads, at which trades were already filled, with the ‎difference being displayed in a table key.‎