Beware! BTFT Markets 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.
BTFT Markets almost manages to look like a decent broker. The terms they offer are more than decent – low minimum deposit and commissions, tight spreads, possible access to high leverage, and a highly functional, great trading platform. However, the broker is not licensed and is based in a country whose financial authority does not monitor the activities of forex brokers. The legal documentation we were provided with was disappointingly brief, and the broker lied about the payment methods it accepts – BTFT Markets only allows you to transfer money in crypto which means you would not be able to get a chargeback on your payment.
There is a slight chance that this broker is not a scam – but we highly doubt it. There are far too many red flags and we are convinced that investing your money with a big, trusted brokerage would be a much better decision.
BTFT Markets REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
BTFT Markets is registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines – a location that is an absolute favorite for scammers. This country does have a financial regulator, SVGFSA, but it only monitors the banking sector and does not regulate the activities of forex brokers. No broker could be licensed in St. Vincent and the Grenadines – such licenses simply do not exist. Brokers registered in the country are not under the supervision of any regulator which means that there is nobody holding them accountable for their actions, and no specific requirements to be met.
You would be better off turning to a broker with a license issued by a stern financial authority such as the FCA (the UK) or CySEC (Cyprus). These are some of the most reliable brokers in the world – since they have to report regularly to the regulators that license them and meet many requirements. All such companies have to prove their financial stability by maintaining a capital of at least €730 000. Client funds are kept in segregated bank accounts which proves that the broker would not be able to use your investment for their own financial operations, speeds up withdrawals, and ensures transparency. Negative balance protection is a must – you cannot lose more money than you have in your account. Finally, in case your broker becomes insolvent, you could receive a compensation of up to £85 000 in the UK, and 20 000 in the EU – all licensed brokers are obligated to provide funds for compensation schemes.
BTFT Markets TRADING SOFTWARE
BTFT Markets provides access to one of the best platforms you could possibly trade on – MetaTrader 4.
There are, however, many far more reliable brokers who offer this great software. MT4 revolutionalized the trading world when it was first introduced more than 15 years ago, and is still one of the most popular trading platforms out there. With its intuitive, accessible interface, and many useful features – Expert Advisors, VPSs, a Strategy Tester, signals, the chance to create custom indicators and trading bots, a market for add-ons, and much more.
BTFT Markets TRADING CONDITIONS
BTFT Markets offers decent trading conditions but the variety of markets is limited – clients are only allowed to trade forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs. This is only natural considering the fact that the broker offers MT4 – a platform mostly used for trading forex and CFDs.
There are three account types – Micro, Premium, and Raw spread. The minimum deposit for the Micro account is just $50 – however, the broker only accepts such small deposits when you use specific payment methods. BTFT Markets seems like a very affordable broker since the most expensive account, the Raw spread one, only costs $200 – however, many big, established brokerages would be willing to open an account for even less money.
The maximum leverage BTFT Markets provides access to is 1:500 on forex majors – this high leverage might tempt some traders into opening an account with the broker. However, we always advise people to be extremely careful with their leverage settings – overusing this trading tool might result in huge losses. Of course, it could also lead to decent profits – check out these brokers who offer high leverage.
The spreads the broker promises on the Micro and Premium accounts start from 1 pip on EURUSD. On the Raw account, the spreads start from 0 pips but you would have to pay an additional commission of $7 per lot on forex and $15 on all other assets. The spreads we got on our demo Micro account were even tighter – 0.3 pips on EURUSD. However, with such brokers you never know – platform manipulations meant to trick you into thinking that the broker offers great conditions are not uncommon.
BTFT Markets DEPOSIT/WITHDRAWAL METHODS AND FEES
BTFT Markets claims that it accepts deposits made in a variety of payment methods – via Visa or MasterCard, Neteller, Skrill, and Bitcoin. The only problem is that the minimum deposit for all of these payment methods other than Bitcoin is not $50 as the broker promised but $100. We were willing to ignore that inconvenience if only the truth had not turned out to be different – the broker only accepts deposits made in one cryptocurrency or the other. Clients could transfer money in Bitcoin, Tether, or USDC. There was supposedly also a Visa/MasterCard option but when we tried to deposit with a card, we were redirected to MoonPay – a platform where you could purchase different cryptocurrencies.
Be wary of brokers who urge you to deposit in crypto specifically – such payments are both anonymous and completely irreversible which means you would not be able to ever retrieve your money if you have deposited using this method. This is why scammers adore crypto. There is nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies themselves but only use this payment method if you are completely sure you can trust your broker.
The Terms and Conditions BTFT Markets provided us did not mention anything about any additional non-trading fees – but then again, they were just a few pages long which is not exactly professional and makes us distrust this broker even more. You would be better off investing your funds with a company that has proven to be reliable.
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK?
Scam brokers are becoming more and more of a constant feature in the world of financial frauds – which means that more and more people are losing their hard-earned money by depositing it with such unreliable companies. We advise readers to always turn to licensed enterprises and thoroughly check registers. Let’s take a look at how such scams usually work and how you can protect yourself from them.
You stumble upon a broker who seems to offer fast, effortless, sometimes guaranteed profits – and decide that there is no harm in opening an account with it to see what it has to offer. After all, you have heard stories of people earning a decent income by trading – why not be one of them. You would not have to deposit, not immediately. But the moment you provide the broker with your phone or email, they would not leave you alone before you do so. You will be promised all sorts of great things – after all, these are people who scam people for a living and who are well-accustomed to convincing. The initial deposit might not be big – but you would be asked for more and more money with time. In some cases, you might even see that money grow – but that is nothing more than a trick that usually involves some sort of platform manipulation.
A time will come though when you will want to withdraw money – and you would not be allowed to do so. The broker will claim that you have not fulfilled a clause in the Terms and Conditions, that there are additional taxes, and that you are obligated to wait a certain time before withdrawing. At this point, you will understand that you are being scammed – but the broker will disappear as soon as they discover they can no longer milk you.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED?
The first thing you should do is change all your banking passwords, and uninstall any remote access software (if you have installed any). After all, you would not want the scammers to have any sort of access to your bank account so they could drain it.
Do not trust any so-called “recovery agencies” who ask you to pay a fee so they could track down the broker and retrieve your money – this is a whole other type of scam targeting desperate people. What you should do instead is inform the actual financial authorities, and look into chargeback options – both Visa and MasterCard, for example, battle scams by allowing chargebacks within 540 days of the transaction.
One final thing – it is important to share your story with as many people as possible. The more people know about this sort of scam, the fewer people will fall victim to it. Unfortunately, such stories rarely get a happy ending – which is why prevention is key.
