While IQ Option isn’t strictly a Cryptocurrency trading site, it does allow for trading of cryptocurrencies, and so much more. Clients can choose between trading cryptocurrencies, forex, commodities, options, ETFs and stocks (CFDs).
The trading platform was founded in 2013, and is owned and operated by IQ Option Ltd. It is based in Cyprus and enjoys regulation by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec).
With that regulation the company is authorized to offer its products throughout the European Union, and clients can feel secure knowing that the company operates under the oversight of a regulatory agency.
It is one of the largest and most popular trading platforms in the European Union, and claims to have over 20 million registered accounts.
Below I look deeper at what the platform has to offer, particularly in regard to cryptocurrencies.
IQ Option Review: What IQ Option Offers Traders
Actually it offers pretty much everything, giving traders the alternatives they need to always be able to find a tradable market. And when markets change, like the recent lack of volatility in cryptocurrencies, IQ Option responds by changing too, offering greater leverage to combat the lowered volatility. Here’s all the things you can trade at IQ Option:
Cryptocurrencies: 17 different cryptocurrencies with up to 100x leverage. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Litecoin, Cardano, Tron, IOTA, Dash, Neo, Ethereum Clasisic, NEM, Zcash, OmiseGo, Bitcoin Gold, and Qtum.
Forex: This is the bread and butter at IQ Option, with 90 forex trading pairs available and up to 300x leverage. Forex markets are always moving and providing opportunities, but be careful with that leverage because even the smallest moves will be greatly exaggerated.
Stock CFDs: You can trade the price changes of 168 different stocks with up to 30x leverage at IQ Option, which should give you a trade in some market every day. Trading CFDs like this also allows you to avoid inconvenient short sale rules.
Options: There are 53 different options available at IQ Option. Speculate on the price dynamics of the most popular trading assets with various kinds of Options including binary and digital.
ETFs: The ETF trading is the hottest new market at IQ Option and so far they have 25 different ETF assets to trade with up to 100x leverage. These exchange-traded securities track indexes, commodities, and baskets of assets, making them a great way to speculate on entire sectors or industries.
IQ Option Offers Demo and Live Accounts
Because just jumping in and learning a new platform on the fly, with your own money, is not a good tactic IQ Option has gone the extra mile and offers every user a demo account with an unlimted supply of virtual funds. This means you can take your time learning the platform and how to trade on it, as well as practicing your trading strategies to make sure they’re valid before depositing your own money.
Once you are ready to make a deposit you can get started with as little as $10. That $10 minimum opens up your live trading account with no restrictions on your trading functionality.
While you don’t get access to all the assets on the platform, you will be able to access 70 of them, which is plenty to get started with building a larger account balance. You’re also eligible to participate in the excellent trading competitions held by IQ Option (assuming you aren’t located in the EU).
Once you’ve gotten your feet wet and are trading regularly you may want to step up to a VIP account at IQ Option. This requires a minimum deposit of $3,000 and in addition to the typical features found on every account, you also receive a personal trading manager, who is always ready to help you with any questions you might have. You also get access to a monthly report that breaks down your trading performance. It includes a variety of analytics that provide valuable feedback on your trading performance, and clues on how to make improvements.
IQ Option Review: Signing Up at IQ Option
There are several options for signing up, the easiest being simply using your Facebook or Google+ account to log in. Of course Google+ is going away, and with the recent security issues at Facebook you may not want to have your Facebook login associated with a trading account.
That makes the best way for registering adding your email and creating a unique password in the signup form on the IQ Option site.
Once you’ve registered you’ll immediately be able to use your demo account, or go ahead and make a deposit to begin trading.
Unlike some other trading platforms that use white label software, IQ Option has built its trading platform from the ground up. You’ll find it’s pretty intuitive to use, and everything you need to trade is easy to find and clearly designed.
And with the demo account at your finger tips you’ll be able to practice trading any of the assets available from IQ Option, as well as learning all the ins and outs of the trading platform itself. This will give you the chance to practice even complex trading strategies, or switch rapidly between assets.
IQ Option Review: The Trading View
For those who rely on technical analysis tools the IQ Option platform comes loaded with a variety of technical indicators. You can go simple with moving averages, or use more complex indicators such as Bollinger bands to improve your entries and exits.
Once you load up the trading interface you’ll also see links to customer support, your trading history, and a chat application that allows you to get immediate answers from the knowledgeable support staff at IQ Option.
Clients have also commented on how helpful the resource section of the website is. This is where you can access training and education materials that will help you learn new trading strategies, money management techniques and a host of other trading knowledge. Those who prefer video will appreciate the training videos that are included here, and everyone will appreciate the fact that you can access these training tools without leaving the trading account interface.
Those who choose to begin with the demo account will find the interface is exactly the same as in the live account, and the data used is live data. You’ll start with $10,000 in virtual funds, but even if something happens that causes you to lose all of that you can simply replenish and begin again.
IQ Option Review: OTN Tokens
IQ Option has embraced cryptocurrencies to such an extent that if you’re trading cryptocurrencies through them you’re eligible for an extra bonus with each trade in the form of OTN tokens. These tokens are available thanks to a partnership with The Open Trading Network.
Traders receive credit for their trading volume and the OTN tokens are released weekly in emissions of OTN.
The OTN tokens can be used within the IQ Option platform to cover commission costs, making trading more cost effective. Who wouldn’t like to rid themselves of commissions simply by trading more often?
Additional IQ Option Features
Customer service is a top priority at IQ Option, which is one reason it has rapidly become one of the top trading platforms in the European Union. In order to facilitate a better customer experience there have been several features implemented in the IQ Option experience. These include:
Extensive Payment Options
It’s an easy task to perform both deposits and withdrawals at IQ Option. Debit services such as Visa Electron and Maestro are supported, as are credit options such as Visa and Mastercard. There are also a large number of online payment processors that can be used, including Neteller, Cash U, WebMoney and Skrill. And of course you can use a bank wire transfer. In each case there is a minimum $2 withdrawal amount, and IQ Option estimates 1 business day for processing of withdrawals.
Before you are able to deposit and withdraw you will need to complete an account verification process, which is in place to keep IQ Option compliant with the EU anti-money laundering and know your customer regulations. This will include uploading government issues photo identification, and adding your phone number and other personal information.
These are the basic requirements, but there may be additional requirements depending which country you live in.
Mobile Trading at IQ Option
If you’re a mobile trader have no fears, because IQ Option has you covered in that regard. There’s a mobile app for both Android and iOS users and it works for tablets as well as smart phones. The app delivers an intuitive user interface that’s easy to use, and features nearly all the same charting options that are found on the standard trading platform. The app also gives you the ability to set key trading levels and receive alerts whenever those levels are broken. And if you want you can also enable push notifications from the app.
IQ Option Trading Competitions
Unfortunately residents of the European Union are excluded, but others are encouraged to participate in the frequent trading competitions put on by IQ Options. Most are quick, and involve virtual funds rather than the users actual account.
Traders pay a small entrance fee and contests typically last 30 minutes, during which time the user is given a virtual account funded with $10,000. This is used to trade binary options and the trader with the highest return wins the prize.
In some cases it’s a fixed prize, while other times the prize is related to the number of participants in the contest. The largest contests allow the winner to claim 100x the entry fee.
These contests give traders a fun and interactive way to test their skills in a competitive environment, and even pick up new strategies and skills from other traders.
Note that the entry fees for these contests are non-refundable and are not returned to users who lose the competition.
IQ Option Education and Training Materials
IQ Option is a trove of information about trading, making various tutorials and educational resources available to improve the trading ability of its clients. The materials span everything from basic strategies to more advanced materials and can benefit traders of all levels of experience.
In addition to written guides and ebooks, you can also find video tutorials and webinars. These valuable resources give IQ Option traders an edge versus those trading at other brokers.
Customer Support at IQ Option
As I mentioned earlier, customer service is one of the cornerstones of the IQ Option mission, and a major reason why it is one of the largest brokers of its kind in the European Union. As you might guess, the customer service team is world class.
You can direct queries to the customer service team via online chat, email or through a contact form. According to information on the site itself, the goal is to respond to all queries within 46 seconds and to fully resolve all tickets within 24 minutes.
If you’ve ever dealt with the new cryptocurrency exchanges you’ll know how far above and beyond this is. All cryptocurrency exchanges that want to be taken seriously by their users should take a lesson from the customer service team at IQ Option.
Of course this requires a large dedicated team, and there are currently more than 80 customer service specialists caring for the clients at IQ Option. Going even beyond that, those that qualify for a VIP account get their own personalized account manager who is always available to answer questions or handle concerns.
Potential IQ Option Clients
Despite not be able to offer service to residents of United States of America, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Israel, Palestine, Japan, Sudan, Syria, Iran, North Korea or Russian Federation due to local regulations, IQ Option retains an international focus and aims to cater to traders from around the world.
The platform offers the possibility to trade in a variety of different currencies such as USD, GBP, EUR, CNY, RUB, TRY, IDR and MYR. In addition to this the site also provides support in many different languages such as English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, German, Turkish, Thai, Hindi, Urdu and Norwegian.
Potential clients should also be aware that IQ Option follows Know Your Customer and Anti-money Laundering regulations, and will require personal information and photo identification before allowing new clients to make deposits or withdrawals. If you aren’t comfortable doing this you won’t be able to complete your registration and trade with IQ Option.
Is IQ Option a Scam
I found several instances of complaints online where prior clients called IQ Option a scam. In some cases they claimed accounts were disabled without allowing the user to withdraw their funds. Others complained about issues in depositing or withdrawing funds. And some were simply disgruntled losing traders.
In addition to the complaints there were also a huge number of positive comments about the service, the platform, and the company itself. To me this indicates that overall trading with IQ Option is a good experience.
I don’t think it’s possible that a company such as this with tens of millions of customers, operating since 2013, and regulated by CySEC could possibly be a scam.
IQ Option Review: Conclusion
If you’re looking to trade cryptocurrencies at a world class broker, with world class service, you don’t seem to need to look any further than IQ Option. It’s an impressive company that was built on customer service, and continues that tradition today with each and every client.
Not only do you get great service, but you also get functionality and ease of use from the platform, and transparency in business dealings. And you can feel comfortable knowing you’re trading with a fully regulated company, giving you some recourse if any problems were to arise.
The trading platform is generally intuitive in design, which makes trading easier, especially when you add in the demo account feature that lets you practice until you master the platform and your strategies. Even experienced traders will find the IQ Option platform powerful enough for their needs, yet newcomers won’t struggle to begin using the platform.
IQ Option has leveraged their customer service focus to grow to more than 20 million accounts and 3 million daily trades. That’s huge by any standards, and the $11 billion monthly trading volume is also huge.
There are some downsides to the broker, such as the personal information requirements when opening an account. It’s also disheartening for those users residing in countries that don’t allow IQ Option to offer its services, such as the United States, Canada and Japan. Still, IQ Option is available in 178 other countries, and it provides them with excellent service.
The $3,000 minimum to get an account manager might be considered excessive by some, but it seems fair enough, and even standard accounts receive excellent customer service. Plus, you really can’t beat the $10 trading minimum or $2 withdrawal minimum.
All in all, if you’re searching for a broker to trade cryptocurrencies through, IQ Option is a winner. And with the inclusion of forex, stocks, ETFs and options you can even branch out to other assets outside the cryptocurrency ecosystem if you like.