XTB review - Platform, fees, cryptocurrencies, background

 

XTB

 

In this review, we take a look at XTB (which stands for X-Trade Brokers). We will examine the broker's background, trading platforms, fees and overall offer.

 

 

XTB is a leading European broker with an international presence that was founded in 2004. The company attracts traders on some of the tightest spreads in the industry, superior execution time speed and access to the xStation platform. XTB is regarded as one of the largest stock exchange-listed brokers in the world with offices in 11 countries including the UK, Poland, Germany, France and Turkey. The broker is licensed and authorised by 4 regulatory bodies, in Europe by the CySEC (Cyprus), KNF (Poland), FCA (The UK) and in Belize by the IFSC.

General Risk Warning: 78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Detailed information about XTB

  • Website: www.xtb.com
  • Instruments: CFDs – Cryptocurrencies, Forex, Indices, Commodities, Share CFDs, ETF CFDs
  • Minimum deposit: €1
  • Demo account: Yes, free of charge (30-day expiry)
  • Methods of deposit and withdrawal: Debit/Credit Card, bank transfer, Paypal, Paysafe. Withdrawals are processed the same day if requested before 1 pm. Next day if requested after
  • Cryptocurrencies: 9 individual cryptocurrency CFD pairs and 16 Crypto crosses (against BTC or ETH)

XTB Trading Platform

XTB has its own trading platform called xStation that measures up more than favourably against some of its competitors. It includes an array of features, is fully customisable, and is quite intuitive for a first time trader - or a first time user of the platform itself. It’s been recognised for its level of quality as well, having won ‘Best Trading Platform 2016’ as voted by the Online Personal Wealth Awards.

 

In fact, one of XTB’s biggest strengths is most likely its trading platform. xStation offers live audio commentary on the markets, a macroeconomic calendar, a range of technical indicators, a sentiment map and stock scanner, an extensive video tutorial section under its education tab (including lessons from heavyweight traders like Lex van Dam and Jack Schwager), and real-time performance statistics that help you to identify weaknesses in your trading approach. It will break down your trading behaviours for you and tell you whether you have a greater win ratio going long or short, your average trade duration, overall profit and more.

 

 

Overall, the platform’s reliability and execution speed is top-notch. The only drawback seems to be while the platform is highly advanced on the desktop, not all the same features are available on the mobile app, so that’s something to bear in mind if you’re considering them as your broker.

Spreads and fees

Dealing spreads seem especially competitive at this broker, although they depend on the type of trading account the client opens. XTB offers two account types: Standard (floating spreads) and Pro (STP). As an example, the target floating spread for EUR/USD is 0.9 of a pip wide for a Standard account, and 0.3 of a pip wide for a Pro account. Pro accounts feature raw market pricing but are subject to a commission of £5.00 per lot (including the open and close).

Cryptocurrencies with XTB

While XTB offers a lower number of markets (1,500) to trade from compared to its UK counterparts such as Plus500 or CMC, it does hold an edge in terms of its Cryptocurrency offering which puts it on par with the likes of eToro.

Traders can choose from 50 individual Cryptos (Bitcoin, BitcoinCash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Dash, EOS, Ripple, Litecoin, Stellar) or 16 Crypto ‘crosses’ or pairs, where you can long or short pairs such as ETH/BTC or NEO/BTC. So if you have a view that one Crypto is better than another, you can now put that view into practice with XTB. IOTA, TRON, Zcash and Monero are included in this as well.

While XTB was one of the first brokers in the CFD space to offer Cryptocurrencies initially - launching CFDs on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and Dash in July 2017 that saw them become the recipient of various Crypto-based awards - its revamped offer signals a significant step in competing with Binance as the central hub of Cryptocurrency trading.

Support, education and analysis

While XTB’s platform is second to none, its support and analysis also put this broker head and shoulders above some of their competition. As a reputable CFD provider that lists transparency and speed of execution as its core values, it has won a wide range of prestigious awards including Bloomberg’s EMEA #1 ranking in FX accuracy for 2018. If you’re looking for confirmation of a trade or simply inspiration, XTB’s analysis team releases articles and research on an almost hourly basis which is available on their website for free or through the platform.

 

Personal account managers are designated when you open an account, and 22/4-hour support is available. XTB also releases event-driven trading packages, including a guide on day trading (in light of ESMA’s leverage restrictions) and how to trade political events like the US Midterm Elections, Brexit etc. Overall, the content is very educational, digestible and actionable for both new and experienced traders.

Conclusion - is XTB a good option?

Overall, XTB’s strong points are clearly its fees and educational/analytical offering. xStation seems to be very intuitive and powerful, the support team was readily available and happy to answer any of my questions. Spreads for this broker are competitive, and while it doesn’t boast the same number of markets as some other brokers, it has more than enough on offer for both beginning and advanced traders.

78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

 

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