BTMarkets Review

About BTMarkets

BTMarkets states that its operator, Botanica Glow (Pty) Ltd, is registered in South Africa with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission under registration number 2020/487795/07 and is an authorised financial services provider with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority under FSP number FSP52243. The broker’s stated registered office is W633 Umlazi, Umlazi, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal 4031, South Africa.

The broker advertises CFDs on cryptocurrencies, indices, commodities, shares and forex, with more than 500 instruments. It describes a proprietary trading platform for desktop and mobile use. Account types are Standard, ECN, PRO and Islamic: stated minimum deposits are $100, $2,000, $5,000 and $100 respectively; advertised spreads start from 1.5, 0.6, 0.1 and 1.5, while stated commissions are $0, $10, $6 and $0 respectively.

BTMarkets states that its Islamic account has no overnight fee, while its fees page states that overnight charges apply to positions held open overnight. The broker also states that credit-card deposits and withdrawals are free, bank-wire withdrawals of $100 or less incur a $10 fee, currency conversion may apply, and accounts inactive for more than 90 days incur a monthly $30 charge. The website excludes residents and citizens of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and Thailand, among other jurisdictions.

Who it’s for

• Traders seeking access to the asset classes and CFD instruments listed by the broker.
• Newer traders considering the Standard account, which the broker describes as its starter account.
• Experienced traders considering the ECN account, which the broker describes as intended for experienced traders.
• Institutional clients and hedge funds, for whom the broker identifies the PRO account.
• Traders seeking an Islamic account without an overnight fee, subject to the broker’s stated conditions.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Five named CFD asset categories are presented on the official website.
• Four account types are listed with stated minimum deposits, spreads and commissions.
• An Islamic account without an overnight fee is offered according to the broker’s account description.
• The broker publishes its stated operator name, South African company registration number and FSCA FSP number.

Cons

• The fees page states that overnight charges apply to positions held open overnight, except where the account conditions provide otherwise.
• A monthly $30 inactivity fee is stated for accounts inactive for more than 90 days.
• Bank-wire withdrawals of $100 or less incur a stated $10 fee, before any charges imposed by payment providers or banks.
• The official website excludes residents and citizens of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and Thailand, among other jurisdictions.
• CySEC listed btmarkets.io as a non-approved domain on 27 May 2021. The notice concerns btmarkets.io, not the btmarkets.com domain identified by BTMarkets.