MT4 is currently the most popular trading interface in the Forex market. According to recent statistics, more than 90% of Forex brokers use the MT4 terminal as their primary trading interface. Only a fraction of the brokers adopts rivaling trading platforms, as the MT4 continues to soar in popularity with its every iteration. In a few cases, brokers also provide trading terminals that are designed entirely in-house by the company’s professional developers, albeit such platforms are rare. There are a few trading platforms in the market that can provide serious competition for the MT4, but traders and brokers from all over the globe prefer the simplicity and efficiency of the MT4 platform.
The Reason For The Popularity of MT4
MetaQuotes, the company that created the Meta Trader Platform, has been consistently updating their trading terminal over the years and have made a fully customizable platform that can be understood even by a novice trader. Sure, the MT4 is not as visually pleasing as some of the other platforms, but the core strength of the MT4 lies in its simplicity and its effectiveness. Given below are a few reasons why MT4 has gained so much popularity in recent years:
- MT4 has a robust trading platform that offers all the trading functionalities in a customizable layout.
- MT4 offers multiple charting options and different timeframes, which can be customized for creating various graphs and charts according to trader preferences.
- MT4 has an extensive set of built-in indicators, lines, EAs, and other tools which can be further supplemented by additional scripts, robots, indicators, and third party signals for a comprehensive technical as well as fundamental analysis of the markets.
- MT4 is fully customizable; therefore, programmers can tweak the platform and create different interfaces on the move. The open-source like nature of the MT4 makes it immensely popular among Forex brokers owing to the customization options available with Meta Trader.
- MT4 offers the option of strategy testing through its backtesting tool, and even allows traders to test bots, EAs, signal providers, and other strategies under live market conditions.
- MT4 allows trading using multi-account terminals, which essentially allows a trader to control different client accounts using a single platform. Multi-terminal helps traders and investors to enjoy a seamless trading environment, and to share the revenue of the profits.
- MT4 can be easily customized according to a broker’s requirements, and it is relatively easier for a broker to set up a brokerage using the MT4 terminal.
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The Availability Of Desktop & Mobile Trading Platforms
One of the main advantages of the MT4 platform is its ability to keep up with the times by offering dedicated apps for both desktops as well as mobile Forex trading. Mobile traders using the Android or iOS can download the mobile app from their respective stores, while the desktop application is available from the official MetaQutoes website or through a supported broker like XM.
The desktop platform has been evolving over the years and has most of the functionalities available right off the bat. The MT4 updates itself whenever new updates are available; therefore, it is easy for the trader just to enter their login credentials and tackle the markets. The mobile apps for Android and iOS are also kept up to date with modern smartphone and tablet requirements, which offer an excellent mobile trading experience for both amateurs as well as professional Forex traders.
The Job Of Finding MT4 Forex Brokers
Since MT4 is the most popular Forex trading platform on the planet, it is relatively easy to find a Forex broker that supports MT4. Brokers will have a dedicated page on their website that informs potential clients about the different platforms on offer, and will list MT4 as an available trading platform if the broker indeed supports it. The official MetaQuotes website also has a complete page on all supporting vendors that utilize the MT4 platform. If you are looking for a comprehensive list of the top-performing MT4 Forex brokers in the industry, browse through our following list:
Regulation Of MT4 Forex Brokers
MT4 Forex brokers are regulated by the most varied list of regulatory organizations from across the world. From the US to Asia, MT4 is adopted by a majority of brokers, which ensures that MT4 has the largest exposure regarding regulation and geographic diversity. It is easy to find brokers regulated by organizations such as the NFA, the CFTC, the FCA, the ASIC, the CySEC, the SEBI and other regulatory agencies in EU, Asia, and Africa.
The ease of obtaining a valid MT4 license without any regulation is a cause for concern among investors, as the industry witnesses a huge amount of scams from MT4 brokers year after year. MT4 works on ECN, STP/DMA, as well as dealing desk (market maker) models, which enables brokers to choose a brokerage model according to their requirements. The downside to the freedom of choice without supervision is that a broker can simply set up shop and disappear overnight without paying back their clients.
Some dealing desk MT4 Forex brokers also use dishonest means to indulge in fraudulent practices by tampering with the platform and intentionally disconnecting the terminal from the server to display incorrect price feeds. Such a move will leave traders in the dark, which can be used to a broker’s advantage to manipulate the trades and the price, which ultimately leads to losses for a trader.
Regulation is a priority while choosing a Forex broker, irrespective of the popularity of the basic trading terminal. MT4 might receive excellent recommendations from several established traders as well as brokers in the industry, but that doesn’t qualify every MT4 Forex broker to become a genuine and reliable company. Always ensure that you do your proper research and only choose regulated brokers that have an authentic and consistent history of excellent services in the Forex markets.
MT4 Vs. Its Competitors
Even though MT4 has an enormous amount of market share, there are a few alternatives that are slowly gaining prominence in the industry. There are a few competing trading platforms such as the cTrader, the ProTrader, and the NinjaTrader platforms that are proving to be popular among the more established traders in the industry. The cTrader platforms is an ECN interface that is connected directly to a set of liquidity providers, which offers it the fastest latency and best price quotes among all trading platforms combined. Of course, every platform has its set of advantages as well as drawbacks, but overall, MT4 doesn’t have any significant drawbacks that make it less suitable than the others.
MT4 also manages to cater to the modern trader’s requirements, which is something that has enabled MetaQuotes to capitalize on the enormous demand from the retail trading market. MT4 does seem to take the way forward in its innovation for the future, which certainly looks bright for traders and brokers alike.
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