And then there was one…..

In an article for the upcoming Q2 Forex Magnates Industry Report, we take a look at MetaTrader 4’s dominance in the retail space. One of the conclusions is that among larger brokers, MT4 really doesn’t compete against any other third party platform provider as much as against proprietary offerings. Among the top 10 non-Japanese retail FX brokers by volume, seven firms offered proprietary platforms, while eight of those companies are also providing MT4. Only IG and InteractiveBrokers had yet to offer the platform.

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That number will soon drop to one, as IG has announced on its website that it will be offering CFD forex trading on the Meta Trader 4 platform. In anticipation of the launch, IG is soliciting ‘beta testers’ for the new product.

The upcoming launch at IG represents that despite issues traders may be facing as a result of current friction between MetaQuotes and third party providers, the platform remains by far the single most popular retail offering. Due to its widespread usage in the industry, brokers have an easier time convincing MT4 traders to switch firms when they also offer the familiar platform. As a result, even as brokers have greater control of handling order flow and market data within proprietary platforms, large firms have been launching MT4 in tandem with their in-house offering. The launch by IG follows similar news from Saxo Bank which began to provide a Saxo banded MT4 offering earlier this year.