Best Binary Options Brokers In The USA 2022 - The Tokenist

Best Binary Options Brokers in the USA.
If you want to trade binary options in the U.S.A. these brokers are among the top three.
Tim Fries.
Tim Fries is the cofounder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University .
Shane Neagle.
Meet Shane. Shane first starting working with The Tokenist in September of 2018 — and has happily stuck around ever since. Originally from Maine, .
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Lots of people are looking to get into the binary options market thanks to its accessibility and its profit and loss transparency. However, USA citizens are in a bit of a bind; there’s only one real regulated binary options broker in the US, so there’s only one legal way to trade these kinds of options. Or is there?
It turns out that there’s actually a little more choice than you might think. Let’s dive into what the best binary options broker in the USA might be and which you should consider.
Top USA Binary Options Brokers.
The following list includes the leading binary options broker platforms in the USA:
Best Overall Cantor Best Usability and NYSE Best Human Advisors.
Best US Binary Options Brokers.
1. Nadex – Best Overall.
Let’s start with the obvious: Nadex is the single exchange regulated by the CFTC but allows binary options trading within the US or for US citizens. They don’t provide brokers to take the opposite side of a binary options trade, like what happens with other kinds of binary options trading.
Fairly easy to enter Very well-regulated Low fees overall Has a demo account Lots of options across markets No minimum initial deposit.
Limited research capacity.
Instead, they’re intermediaries and ensure fair trade between both parties. They make their money by charging small fees for every trade: $1 for entry and exit and a maximum cost of $9.
They allow you to choose between options for indexes, economic events, commodities, currency pairs, and more. They also provide you with access to a demo account with lots of virtual money so you can figure out how binary options trading works. There is no minimum initial deposit if you decide to open an account.
Their interface is fairly user-friendly and easy to grasp. Furthermore, Nadex’s software provides you with a plethora of analytical tools and financial charts you can use to make smart binary options decisions.
2. Cantor – Easy-to-Use Platform.
Cantor Exchange is the only other exchange technically regulated by the CFTC and thus allowed to trade binary options to US citizens. It’s accessed via Tradologic, which is an interface that gives you your trading and analytical charts and information right upfront.
Has access to some decent markets Low minimum deposit Offers a wide variety of expiry dates Has tools for newcomers.
No demo account Smaller market access than Nadex.
It’s not nearly as popular as Nadex, however, so they don’t have as many trading options. For instance, Cantor only has six major currency pairs including gold. But they do have more interesting trading options like Bitcoin swaps or whether pattern contracts.
They also give you plenty of option expiry choices, ranging from as short as five minutes to contracts that go to the end of the day. They require a $100 minimum initial deposit, which is pretty affordable for most.
Further tools include limiting your own account drawdown for trade; this prevents you from spending too much money and is a good feature since there isn’t a demo account here.
3. CBOE and NYSE Brokers – Provides Services from Real Brokers.
The last possible option you have to trade binary options in the US is through a specialist futures and options broker on the NYSE and CBOE exchanges. Basically, you use the broker to trade your binary options for you in a well-regulated environment. However, some of the brokers may decide to use Nadex and charge you as if they did everything themselves.
Allows you to benefit from working with a real broker Gives you access to Nadex markets.
Customers have to deal with fees Less control than with either other option.
That is the reason why many people will want to take charge and trade on their own without fees. However, CBOE and NYSE are a good choice as the chances are great that they will put your binary options trading in the hands of a real professional.
US Binary Options – A Guide 🎓
What’s a Binary Options Broker in the First Place? 🤔
In brief, a binary option is a type of financial option that can either pay off a fixed amount for nothing at all. Anyone trading a binary option needs to ask whether an underlying asset will be above a certain price at a specific time (called the expiry date or time).
Those who believe that the answer is yes to the above question will buy a binary option. Those who think that it’ll be below the advertised price will sell the binary option.
Binary options are a type of financial option that is rapidly growing in popularity because the risk and potential reward are both easily understood, making these types of markets easy to access even for inexperienced traders.
They’re also distinct from other types of options because you can’t buy or sell the underlying asset; it’s just betting on whether the price of the asset will be a certain price at a specific time.
Binary options brokers , then, are stockbrokers to facilitate the trade. The big difference between these brokers and others is that binary options brokers take the opposite side of the trade instead of just working as an intermediary or middleman. So if you decide to buy a binary option, the broker decides to sell.
While they can earn revenue in a variety of ways, most binary options brokers usually offer commission-free trading (except in the case when options are traded on regulated exchanges).
Most often, binary options traders make money by the difference between prices of assets or by taking money from “losers” from a binary options bet and taking a cut from winners as well (the cost of using the platform’s service).
How Do You Find a Good Binary Options Broker? 🔎
Finding a good binary options broker often relies on considering the same factors that you might for any other type of stockbroker. While there are some similarities, there are a number of differences between stocks and options.
Finding a top binary options broker that’s well-regulated is important for most people. This provides a certain amount of security in the event of financial misadventures or if you suspect a foul trade. For instance, the US’ main binary options board – Nadex – is regulated by the CTFC.
You’ll also want to look for brokers that provide total transparency. This involves telling you your total possible profits or loss before trades.
This is arguably necessary for the trade to be an actual binary options trade in the first place. Check the terms and conditions so you can educate yourself about your trading decisions.
Then check to see if the trading platform has plenty of active markets. You’ll want lots of different binary options, well, options in order to maximize your chances of success. Active markets provide you with more opportunities to make a profit while still markets are more difficult to utilize.
We would also recommend going with a brokerage or exchange that has a lot of history. Time-tested binary options brokers usually have solid user bases and may have worked out any kinks in their software platform beforehand. Even the best binary options trading software available will vary from broker to broker.
Be sure to check out customer complaints to this end as well; if there are a plethora of people who are dissatisfied with a particular broker or who claim that they’re not very fair, stay away!
Finally — just like the top options brokers — we’d also recommend staying away from brokerages that try to upsell or get larger than average deposits. Any brokerage that advertises lots of insider information or "bonus cuts" may provide accounts with lots of strings attached. They’re often unworthy of your time and money.
Along the same lines, be wary of any brokers that only make money by taking the other side of the trade. It’s alright if they do this for some of their profits, but those who only make money from their user base losing may be tempted to shift the odds in their favor orally to provide access to markets that are historically unfavorable to traders.
Is Trading Binary Options Legal in the US? ⚖️
Trading binary options is legal in the US, but only on CFTC-regulated exchanges. For US citizens, this is Nadex, which is a designated contract market and derivatives clearing organization. This exchange has all of its transactions overseen by the CFTC, which allows it to protect market users and the public from systemic risk or market abuse.
In fact, any offshore binary options broker who’s providing options to US residents is technically making an illegal move.
Why Are Binary Options Banned in Some Places? 🚫
In a nutshell, the style of option that binary options are – being a yes/no proposition similar to a traditional gambling bet – makes them very vulnerable to fraud on certain markets and with certain brokerages. This has resulted in many regulators across jurisdictions classifying binary options of a form of gambling. For instance, the European Securities and Markets Authority has banned binary options trading in the retail sphere.
So in essence, it’s all because some places utilize binary options improperly and took advantage of traders. Now it can be difficult for people to find regulated binary options markets.
How Does the US Trade Binary Options? 🇺🇸
The US exchange trades binary options similarly to other brokerages and other exchanges across the world, but with regulations and their own rules. For instance, trading binary options on matrix means that you need to pay $.90 to enter and $.90 to exit. Fees are capped at $9.
Furthermore, all US-traded binary options have capped risk and potential and must be traded on Nadex. Any bid or ask prices are set by the traders themselves.
How Do US Binary Options Work? 🛠️
Every binary option’s price is between $0 and $100. So every option also settles that one of these two prices.
Here’s an example: will the price of oil be above $1000 at 3 PM the same day?
Say that you buy a binary option for that question trading at $50 with a $52 offer before close. If you buy the binary option, you pay $52. If the price of the underlying asset is above $1000 at 3 PM, the option expires and you get $100 plus what you invested ($52) minus any applicable fees. If the cost of oil is below $1000, the option expires and you lose the $52 you invested.
Money Always Moves to Someone 💸
Because every option settles at either $0 or $100, every time you make money, someone else lost money on the same trade and vice versa. Traders have to put up their own capital for their side of the agreement. You can make multiple trades at the same time with the same contract; this is how you can make larger profits in short time frames.
How Are Bids and Asks Determined? ↕️
Traders themselves determine both the bid and ask prices for a given binary option. Remember that the prices have to be between $0 and $100.
In this way, options that are priced high, like in the 80s, show that traders assume a high probability that the outcome of the binary option will be "yes". Lower prices mean that most traders assume that the binary will expire as "no".
Where Do You Trade Binary Options? 🗺️
You can trade binary options in the US on the Nadex exchange. This acronym stands for the North American Derivatives Exchange.
They provide browser-based binary options through a trading platform like you would expect from any other brokerage for trading binary options. This also includes informational charts and direct access to binary options markets and prices.
However, you can also get binary options through the Chicago Board Options Exchange or CBOE. This can be done through your normal trading account if you are options approved.
Binary Options Fees 🪙
As mentioned above, all Nadex contracts cost $.90 to enter and leave, with overall fees capped at $9. Put another way, purchasing a dozen contracts will, at most, cost $9 to enter and exit regardless of if the individual fees would have added up to more.
The only exception to this is if you trade CBOE binary options, which can be provided through other options brokers. These may charge additional commission fees.
Choosing a Binary Market 💱
One of the biggest things you’ll want to consider when trading binary options or selecting a broker in the US is the available binary markets. Nadex, for instance, allows you to trade in major indices like the S&P 500, the Dow 30, or the Nasdaq 100. Other global indices are available as well.
Nadex provides commodity binary options related to common commodities or staple resources like oil, natural gas, gold, and silver, or food stocks like corn and soybeans. You can also participate in binary options markets based on trading news events; you can literally bet based on whether Federal Reserve rates will increase or decrease.
💡 Interested in Forex trading instead? See our top Forex brokers.
Picking an Option Time Frame ⏰
You’ll next want to think about the option time frames available. Nadex provides binary options that expire on hourly, daily, and weekly timeframes.
Hourly options are essentially opportunities to practice day trading with binary options. Daily options expire, of course, at the end of the trading day. Weekly options expire at the end of the trading week and are often traded by swing traders or day traders on Friday afternoons.
Volatility 📊
Don’t forget to consider trading volatility. For instance, if traders as a collective perceive the market to be unstable, they may price binary options differently than they would normally. Market uncertainty can affect binary options just as they can affect any other type of financial option.
Binary Options: Pros and Cons ⚖️
So with all this being said, what are the overall advantages and disadvantages of trading binary options in the US?
For starters, the risk of binary options is always capped. Since you can’t lose more than what you put into a trade (since no one owns the underlying asset), this makes binary option trading an attractive prospect for many. You can also learn markets quite capably and earn better than average returns if you manage to maintain an over 50% win rate over the long-term. You also always know your payouts, which can help you limit your risk and avoid taking wild leaps of faith.
Of course, this may also be seen as a downside. You can ever gain more than you already know you might, although you can purchase several options contracts at once to boost your potential profits.
Another advantage is that traders with limited trading capital can perform well with binary options since each is only ever worth a maximum of $100.
All in all, learning how to trade binary options in the USA may very well be a great choice for you, particularly on a well-regulated market like the US Nadex. Be sure to check out our guide on binary trading strategies so you can make the most of this exchange and potentially earn some serious profits.