Beware! Bitsfx Index is an offshore broker! Your investment may be at risk.
RECOMMENDED FOREX BROKERS
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Open trading accounts with at least two brokers.
Looking at Bitsfx Index, you will find out that this broker gives you a lot of reasons to trade with it. We, on the other hand, want to give you a few reasons why you shouldn’t.
Bitsfx Index Regulation and safety of funds
One of the reasons Bitsfx Index gives you for trading with this broker is the fact that the company is fully regulated by the FCA and CySec. Upon checking with both regulatory organisations, we found out that this is a big, fat lie. This broker is not registered with either of them (screenshot below for FCA regulated brokers). Being licensed is a basic requirement for any forex broker and if it is not, no matter how good the other features are, you should stay away from it if you do not want to expose your funds at risk of losing them.
There are many licensed brokers in the UK and the EU which you can research by using the links that we provide below. The EU and the UK are the jurisdictions where the best conditions for forex trade exist. First of all, licensed brokers must invest a minimum initial capital of 730,000 EUR which among other things serves as a barrier against scammers as they will never match this huge amount for the benefit of passing as legit. Other measures for protecting traders’ funds include reporting transactions on a daily basis for the sake of transparency, keeping clients’ funds separately in tier-1 banks, protection against negative balance, keeping a cap on leverage, etc. The cherry on top of the cake, however, is that licensed brokers must participate in compensation funds or scheme from which their clients can be repaid in case of insolvency. For example, if the broker is licensed by FCA and deducts funds towards the local Financial Services Compensation Scheme, its clients will be repaid up to 85,000 GBP per person in case of bankruptcy. The amount of recompense for CySec’s regulated brokers that deduct funds towards the local Investor Compensation Fund is 20,000 EUR per person.
We hope that this information will help you select the best forex broker for your trading needs.
Bitsfx Index Trading software
Bitsfx Index trades in forex, CFDs, crypto and stocks. Below is a screenshot of the web trader that this broker’s clients can use for their trading needs. This is a browser-based platform offering very basic functionality and a third-party chart developed by TradingView. In the middle of the screen, you see the chart of the EUR/USD forex currency pair with the fluctuation in its price in a given time frame. From the bid/ask price, we find that the spread is 1.3 pips which is beneficial to traders and is below the industry average. Traders will be able to enjoy the low cost of transactions and make a long-term sustainable profit. However, what worries us is the high leverage which can reach up to 1:500. On the surface, it looks like high leverage amplifies the potential for a big win. However, this is not realistic, as 70% of traders suffer financial loss in transactions which means that chances are the high leverage will increase trader’s funds’ exposure to the risk of losing in a big way. We absolutely do not advise our readers and potential traders with little or no trading experience to risk their hard-earned money in such a way.
Besides, you should know that licensed brokers can use leverage capped at 1:30 in the EU and the UK and 1:50 in the US. The only country from the well-established jurisdictions that remains for now with unlimited leverage is Australia. However, new regulations that will be in place in March 2021 will make sure that the leverage for the major forex currencies will be capped at 1:30, same as in the EU and the UK.
We already mentioned that the web trader offered by this broker is a rather basic platform. In contrast, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 offer a lot more which makes them the most popular platforms in forex trade preferred by around 80% of forex brokers. Their excellent package of trading tools and instruments contain an auto trading option, trading signals, VPS, code base with customs scripts, an app market, a financial calendar, etc. The charting options available on these platforms are out of this world and have a choice of different charts, time frames and colours. Last but not least are the technical analysis indicators, such as Bollinger Bands, moving averages, Fibonacci retracement, etc., that help traders predict the future direction of exchange rates and make a profit.
We strongly recommend finding a licensed broker offering either of these platforms for your enhanced trading experience.
Bitsfx Index Deposit/Withdrawal methods and fees
The account types information shows that there are 4 trading accounts – Regular, Standard, Business and Advance. The minimum initial deposit for the Regular account is $300. The other accounts start at $500, $1,000 and $1,500 respectively.
To feed their account, traders can choose between payment via Bitcoin, PayPal, Skrill, wire transfer, Western Union, Moneygram and credit card.
Unfortunately, there is no information on this broker’s website about what withdrawal methods are available and what the minimum withdrawal amount is. Also, there is no information on inactive accounts and what fees they are charged.
How does scam work?
A lot of people get scammed in different scammers’ schemes not because they are naive but because scammers are masters of persuasion and manipulation. It all starts with unsolicited telephone calls or a flashy ad on the Internet or social media. Sometimes people give up to temptation and invest money in shady schemes made to look legit and attractive and always promising quick and easy money fall. Once you deposit money into any of these schemes, you reach a point of no return! Your money is gone down the scammers’ food chain and you’ll have a lot of trouble recovering it. Scammers will do anything in their power to delay you, so you miss the opportunity to file for a chargeback. They will ask you for this and that document and will find hundreds of reasons not to let you retrieve your money. The trick with offering bonuses in forex trading is one of those as your funds are mixed with the bonus money and it takes a lot of hassle to fulfil the broker’s requirements before you are able to withdraw any funds.
What to do if scammed?
Speed does it! You need to act very quickly if you want to recover your money. Immediately apply for a chargeback if you have made your deposit via credit card. Fortunately, VISA and MasterCard give you 540 days within which to apply for a chargeback.
If you have paid via wire transfer or Bitcoin, chances of retrieving your fund are grim. Anyway, we want to warn you that some of the so-called recovery agents may approach you and offer to retrieve your funds. For a fee, of course! Be cautious when dealing with them as it may be another form of scam! Always check if the recovery agency is legitimate and visible to the public!
Another thing we advise you to do is to immediately cancel any credit cards if the scammers have your CVV code. Also, make sure to erase any programs on your computer that give scammers access to your personal data on your PC.
