Forex Trading in Bulgaria • Forex Strategies • Benzinga
Bulgaria has a rich European culture and a growing economy. Many Europeans have been trading currencies as a means to supplement their income. If you’re new to forex trading, read on to find out how to get started trading currencies.
Benzinga Money is a reader-supported publication. We may earn a commission when you click on links in this article.Learn more.
Bulgaria has a rich European culture and a growing economy. Many Europeans have been trading currencies as a means to supplement their income. If you’re new to forex trading, read on to find out how to get started trading currencies.
Table of Contents
Get Started with Forex in Bulgaria
Introduced to Bulgaria in 1881, the lev (BGN) was named after the Bulgarian word for lion. The Bulgarian National Bank has the exclusive right to distribute banknotes and coins to the people of Bulgaria.
Following the restoration of the Bulgarian state, The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) was established in 1879. It is an independent institution that reports to the National Assembly. The BNB plays a key role in maintaining the sustainability of the Bulgarian currency as well as strengthening the country’s banking and credit system.
The Bulgarian lev is divided into 100 stotinki. The national currency of Bulgaria has denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. These banknotes have depictions of European architecture, royal emblems and scientific inventions.
Banknotes of Bulgarian Currency
Bulgaria is part of the European Union, NATO, Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It has been elected to the UN Security Council 3 times. As a result, the lev has been pegged to different foreign currencies. These currencies include the French franc, the German mark, the Russian ruble and the U.S. dollar. It has also been backed by gold at different stages in its history.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started with forex trading in Bulgaria.
Step 1: Get a digital device with fast internet connectivity.
You can use your desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone to trade forex. The value of the currency pairs listed frequently fluctuate. Having a personal device to constantly track these changes is essential to successful forex trading.
Step 2: Find an online forex broker.
There are several forex brokers available online. Go through their websites and choose a broker that lets you trade the currency pairs you are interested in.
Be sure to check the footer of their websites for information on the regulatory bodies that oversee their activities. If you can’t find any such information from the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or other reputable regulatory bodies, the broker can’t be trusted.
Step 3: Sign up for an account.
You can open a new account with the forex broker on their website. Some forex brokers require a minimum deposit to open an account. These brokers also offer different kinds of accounts based on your financial means and trading needs. Choose the one that’s right for you.
Step 4: Transfer funds to your account.
Once you’ve signed up for an account, you need to transfer funds to start trading forex. Depending on the broker you’ve chosen, you can choose your accounting currency and fund your account using several options. Generally, these funding options include bank transfers, wire transfers and debit cards, as well as ewallet transfers.
Step 5: Download a forex trading platform.
You need to download the forex trading platform on your computer or smartphone. Take the time to customize the look and feel of the platform to help you better take advantage of forex trading opportunities.
Step 6: Begin your forex trading journey.
Before you start trading forex, you might want to open a demo account using virtual money. Demo accounts can help you get used to the interface of the forex broker without taking unnecessary real money losses. After you feel confident using the platform and your trading strategy, you can start trading forex in a live account.
Bulgaria Forex Trading Strategies
Forex traders from all over the world rely on a few simple strategies with the goal of maximizing their profits and minimizing losses. You can consider using these forex trading strategies to earn better results from your trades.
News Trading
Global economic news and events can have a strong impact on forex markets. Many traders stay on top of influential financial information to anticipate the short-term exchange rate movements of forex currency pairs.
For example, you can look for information coming out about inflation rates, trade policies and multinational deals made between countries. News trading generally requires careful risk management, good timing and a correct market view to make a profit. You also run the risk of missing the window of opportunity if you’re not fast enough with your trade executions.
Day Trading
Day trading involves closely monitoring the intraday exchange rate movements of forex currency pairs within a single trading session. These trades can take place anytime during the day and the trader generally exits all positions on the same day. Traders have adopted this method to reduce losses from overnight market volatility.
Some day traders watch the market continuously, while others leave orders and log into their account a few times over the day to adjust trade positions. Day trading is quite common among short-term traders.
Scalping
Scalping is a strategy that generally involves making numerous trades throughout the day with the goal of taking many small gains and fewer small losses. The small profits earned from minor price movements can add up to a sizable income, although transaction costs can be substantial and need to be factored in.
Rapid price movements during intraday trading sessions can cause significant slippage on your stop-loss trade executions at some brokers. These losses can quickly negate your earnings and eat away at your profits. This method of trading requires a lot of time and focus to track exchange rate movements. Scalping may not be suitable for traders with a full-time job outside of trading.
Momentum Trading
Momentum trading or swing trading can involve taking overnight positions. Swing traders prefer to buy currency pairs low and sell them high as their exchange rate fluctuates during the week. These traders rely on shifts in market momentum and significant market volatility to profit.
With this method of trading, you can adjust your entry and exit positions throughout the week based on signals from momentum indicators to take profits and cut losses.
Forex Trading Example in Bulgaria
Trading currencies can be a rewarding opportunity to supplement your income. The lev is currently pegged to the EU euro at the rate of 1.9558, so Bulgarians can instead trade the highly liquid euro as a proxy for their own currency.
As an example, the EUR/USD forex currency pair is currently trading at 1.1800. You can consider buying €100,000 against the USD. After 1 month, the EUR/USD exchange rate might have risen to 1.2000. You can sell your long €100,000 position at that point and earn a profit of $2,000. If the market had instead declined to 1.1600, you would show a loss of $2,000.
Making Money with Forex in Bulgaria
In Europe, the Bulgarian lev has a higher value relative to the euro than the currencies of some of its neighboring countries, including Russia, Norway and Denmark. The image below shows the current EUR/BGN exchange rate and some of its recent trading ranges.
Best Online Forex Brokers in Bulgaria
Online forex brokers let you trade a variety of currency pairs in the forex market. You can easily manage your trading positions on these platforms. Most of these forex brokers allow you the luxury of 24-hour trading commission-free, although you will still pay away the dealing spread whenever you trade. You generally trade currency pairs on margin using these online platforms.
Take a look at these top forex brokers available online.
Account Minimum
$100 USD (or equivalent)
Pairs Offered
69
Account Minimum
$100 USD (or equivalent)
Pairs Offered
69
1 Minute Review
HYCM is 1 of the world’s leading forex brokers, offering investors access to over 69 unique currency pairs. However, forex isn’t the only thing the broker offers — HYCM also offers high rates of leverage, stock and ETF trading, commodity investing and much more. Getting started with HYCM is quick and easy, and most investors can open an account in as little as 10 minutes.
HYCM offers a varying fee structure, which allows investors to choose the spread option that’s best for them. A wide range of educational and investing tools are available, which can be equally beneficial to both experienced and novice traders. Though HYCM isn’t currently available in the United States, it can be a great choice for residents of the other 140 countries where it offers service.
Best For
Investors who want a customizable fee schedule
Traders comfortable using the MetaTrader platform
Islamic traders who need swap-free accounts that don’t build interest
Pros
Wide range of currency pairs available
Excellent selection of educational tools
$0 deposit and withdrawal fees
Cons
Not currently available to traders based in the U.S.
Account Minimum
100 of your selected base currency
Pairs Offered
80+
Account Minimum
100 of your selected base currency
Pairs Offered
80+
1 Minute Review
FOREX.com is a one-stop-shop for forex traders. With a massive range of tradable currencies, low account minimums and an impressive trading platform, FOREX.com is an excellent choice for brokers searching for a home base for their currency trading. New traders and seasoned veterans alike will love FOREX.com’s extensive education and research center that provides free, informative forex trading courses at multiple skill levels. While FOREX.com is impressive, remember that it isn’t a standard broker. You can’t invest in the stock or bond market through your FOREX.com and you cannot open an account with tax advantages. The confusing pricing and margin structures may also be overwhelming for new forex traders.
Best For
MetaTrader 4 users
Beginner forex traders
Active forex traders
Pros
Impressive, easy-to-navigate platform
Wide range of education and research tools
Access to over 80 currencies to buy and sell
Leverage available up to 50:1
Cons
Cannot buy and sell other securities (like stocks and bonds)
Confusing margin requirements that vary by currency
Limited customer support options
Cannot open an IRA or other retirement account
Account Minimum
$50 USD
Pairs Offered
47
Account Minimum
$50 USD
Pairs Offered
47
1 Minute Review
Though Australian and British traders might know eToro for its easy stock and mobile trading, the broker is now expanding into the United States with cryptocurrency trading. U.S. traders can begin buying and selling both major cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin and Ethereum) as well as smaller names (like Tron Coin and Stellar Lumens).
eToro offers traders the opportunity to invest their assets into premade portfolios or cryptocurrencies, similar to services offered by robo-advisors through traditional brokers. Though eToro isn’t a one-stop-shop for everything an investor needs, its easy-to-use platform and low spreads is a great way to enter the cryptocurrency market.
Best For
International Forex/CFD Traders
New cryptocurrency traders looking for an easy-to-use platform
Traders who want to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on-the-go
Pros
Simple platform that is easy to master
CopyTrader feature that allows new traders to copy the same strategies used by professionals
Virtual dummy account that gives you $100,000 to practice trades
Cons
U.S. traders currently limited to cryptocurrencies
Only 15 major coins available to trade
Account Minimum
100 EURO
Pairs Offered
50+
Account Minimum
100 EURO
Pairs Offered
50+
1 Minute Review
A fully regulated broker with a presence in Europe, South Africa, the Middle East, British Virgin Islands, Australia and Japan, Avatrade deals with mainly forex and CFDs on stocks, commodities, indexes, forex, cryptocurrencies, etc. This brokerage is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and began offering its services in 2006. It offers multiple trading platforms and earns mainly through spreads.
Best For
Beginners
Advanced traders
Traders looking for a well-diversified portfolio
Pros
Controlled by regulatory agencies of multiple countries
Choice offered in terms of trading platforms
Support available in 14 languages and trading platforms in 20 languages
Practice/demo account available for trying out
Breadth of trading assets
Cons
Does not accept customers from the U.S. as it isn’t regulated in the U.S.
Transferring funds to the account may take up to five days; withdrawals could take up to 10 days
Forex Terminology
You should be familiar with a few basic forex terms before you start trading. Millions of forex traders use these terms regularly during intraday trading sessions.
Pip: The smallest unit of exchange rate movement for a particular currency pair is a pip. Generally, forex pips are a 1-unit movement of the 4th decimal point.
Lot size: The lot size is a standardized trading amount and 100,000 base currency units are the standard lot size at most online forex brokers. You can buy and sell currency pairs in smaller lot sizes at most brokers.
Orders: An order is a command issued to an online forex broker to carry out your trade. When you want to buy one currency against another, you place an order to do so with your broker. To close out that long position, you can then place an order to sell the base currency against the counter currency.
Margin calls: An online forex broker can send you notifications called margin calls asking you to deposit more money. This might occur when you have 1 or more forex trades open and your margin account requires additional funds to maintain the existing position. Many online brokers will automatically close out your positions in this situation rather than issuing a margin call.
Trading European Currencies Can Be Rewarding
Bulgaria has a steady economy. The Bulgarian National Bank is actively engaged in maintaining the value of its lev steady against the euro. Trading currencies can also be a profitable strategy for Bulgarians with short-term and long-term forex market views. You can get involved in trading forex from Bulgaria now.
These new pairs have been available since July 1st, 2019 and provide an excellent opportunity to diversify your clients’ portfolios and increase their exposure to this vibrant 24/7 market.
Asset
Typical Spread
Leverage
Margin
Min Nominal Trade Size
NEOUSD
1.5% Over-market
2:01
50%
10
EOSUSD
2% Over-market
2:01
50%
10
MIOTAUSD
1.5% Over-market
2:01
50%
10
To unify their cryptocurrency instrument labels, They are relabeling their existing Ethereum, Ripple & Litecoin instruments, by replacing the existing instruments with new USD labelled ones:
Asset
Old Symbol
New Symbol
RIPPLE
XRP
XRPUSD
ETHEREUM
ETH
ETHUSD
LITECOIN
LTC_Mini
LTCUSD
These new pairs have also been available since July 1st,
The trading conditions for each one is identical to those of the older respective assets they replace.
Effective immediately, new positions are only available on the new pairs.
Avatrade Clients will not be able to open new positions on the old assets, but those already open will remain unaffected until July 29th.
Existing positions on XRP, ETH and Litecoin-mini that remain open on July 29th will be automatically replaced with corresponding positions on the new pairs, , at the same opening price and at no cost to clients.
as any broker that values their clients would do , Avatrade makes sure that the clients will not be affected by the change.
Neteller one of the most known Digital fiat currency wallet provider , has started allowing its users to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies including BTC, BCH, ETH, ETC, and LTC.
They do this on the large scale with a pilot in 10 countries and soon another 50 countries to join . They understand that if you do this effort it will only succeed if you can do this on a global scale.
founded in 1999, Paysafe Financial Services entered the market with the mission to provide an online alternative to the known traditional payment methods.
Most of the traders aiming us now neteller as one of the companies through which we made our deposits and if we had any profits also our withdrawals. A couple of years ago they left the Forex and Binary industry behind since the charge-back issue became just too expensive.
But as any companies knows, if you do not adept you die. The binary option market is all but dead and the Forex industry has moved also into the directions of the cryptocurrencies. thus, neteller understands that this is where the future is.
So Lasts week they announced that they are now offering a wallet with buy and sell cryptocurrency options.
As of today, Neteller users can buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies via a recognized cryptocurrency exchange including bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, ethereum classic and litecoin, purchased using any one of 28 fiat currencies available in the Neteller wallet.
It may not seem so exciting but for many users that love this service it actually is. More and more currencies will be added making them an true exchange in the near future.
Now one is able to fund their neteller account through many different means (Mobile, Epay, Paysafecard, local bank deposits, and bitcoin)
We think that will make the threshold for many people, who would want to buy or sell cryptocurrencies, lower. This in return is a good thing for the overall acceptance of the cryptocurrencies in the mainstream of every day life.
The rates offered are somewhat in the lower middle of the current market making them go for the save route. The average market rates on the major cryptocurrency exchanges differ all in all not that much anyways, as this is not the main reason to choose to buy Bitcoin through Neteller
The minimum cryptocurrency purchase or sale amount is “approximately equal to 10 EUR,” the firm clarified, adding that the maximum amount depends on the transaction limits associated with each account.
When You open an account with Neteller you have to choose your default currency. This is of course for most people in accordance on their geographical locations, people in Britain will go for the pound most Europeans go for the euro and pretty much the rest of the work goes for the US Dollar, thou other currencies are available
The fee is 1.5 percent for purchasing and selling cryptocurrencies from wallets with EUR or USD as the default currency.
The fee rises to 3 percent for wallets with other default currencies.
Neteller | Why is this a good move for neteller and one that we should expect from other online Payment providers as well ?
At this moment till last week Neteller users can pay, get paid on thousands of sites, and send money around the world through their system.
The company claims to have “millions of point-of-sale, ATM and online locations” for users to withdraw or spend their cash.
Last July 25, Paysafe ( which as you remember is the company that owns Neteller and Skrill) announced that another digital wallet provider in its group, Skrill ( formerly known as moneybookers), started allowing customers to “instantly buy and sell cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether and litecoin, using any one of the 40+ fiat currencies available in the Skrill wallet.”
We could now see that this was like their test run on this concept.
We do not know the numbers that Skrill produced since they offered this service but it must have been encouraging enough for Paysafe to include their flagship brand in this endevour.
We will see where this leads but we are hopeful that this is the next step in global acceptance to the cryptocurrency revolution. Let me know what you think
The currency trading industry and now also the cryptocurrency trading industry have gone through enormous volatile times the last couple of years. Now with trump and its trade wars. The fast rise and somewhat recline of the cryptocurrencies and the fast pace of international politics and economies that create high rises and steep fall of the currencies.
So what does it all mean and what can you do before start to trade on these news headlines.
Good brokers like LegacyFX and UBCFX provide the traders with the latest market news and updates on a continuous basis but if you are new to trading you still have no idea what to do with this.
You start by understanding that the involves a high degree of risk, including the risk of losing you hard earned money. Besides the ones that were lucky enough to have bought Bitcoin a couple of years back and cashed in in the end of 2017, most people don’t get rich overnight.
You have to understand that you only trade with money that you are able to lose, going hungry because you want to open a trade is not the right wy to go about it.
So, What is Forex?
You should by now understand that the value of currencies goes up and down every day.
This in general becomes apparent the moment you go on vacation and what you bought last year with your money now is not the same amount you get today at the exchange.
This is on a large scale, what a lot of people do not know is that there is a foreign exchange market – or ‘Forex’ for short – or “FX” for even shorter, where you can potentially make a profit from the movement of these currencies.
The most known Trader is George Soros who made a billion dollars in a day by trading currencies. This is of course on a scale that we are not able to reach and you need a huge amount of money to begin with. Still he made a billion in one day!!
The internet has played a huge part in making trading in currencies accessible for the masses. You also do not need huge amounts of money to actually do this. Now keep in mind that if you make 10% profit on your investment but the investment was just $50 you basically just end up with $55. still no bank will give you 10% interest on your money.
Many people and I am talking millions are now trading every day, most do this on the side and don’t do this as a full-time job, but there are today enough people that are full time traders and making enough money to live comfortably.
Retail forex market needed Brokers
The Forex market for the retail market was born, it started around 15 years ago to become more serious as technologies advanced and the stream of information became almost instant, this is important for trading as one second can make the difference between profit or loss.
So, the moment the technology was there the people that wanted to trade were there all that was needed were the Forex brokers that offered the platform for trading.
There are latterly hundreds of companies of not thousands that offer this service and there are good ones like LegacyFX and there are scams (these tend to not last long)
Forex explained in short
The Forex market is the largest financial market on the planet and has been for many years now.
Its average daily trading volume is more than $4 trillion. (just let that number sink in for a second). Of this total amount around 5% is the retail market meaning traders like you and me. Still 5% of 4 Trillion is still a number with a lot of zeros behind it.
If you compare that with the New York Stock Exchange, which only has an average daily trading volume of $55 billion. You truly see the size.
To give you another example:
if you were to put ALL of the world’s equity and futures markets together, their combined trading volume would still only equal a 25% of the daily Forex market. Insane right?
Why does this even matter?
It matters because there are so many buyers and sellers that transaction prices are kept low. To explain how trading the Forex market is different than trading stocks, here are a few major benefits.
Most Brokers don’t charge commissions – you pay only the bid/ask spreads.
There’s 24hour trading – you decide when to trade and how to trade.
You can focus on your currencies and become experts in only those pairs that you follow instead of following and selecting out of 5000 stocks
You can trade on leverage, (something to be very aware of as it can magnify potential gains but also your losses).
Forex is accessible for almost everyone– you don’t need a lot of money to get started
In the Forex market you can trade on Demo accounts to learn before you commit your money
How is Forex traded?
The mechanics of a trade are virtually identical to those in other markets. The only difference is that you’re buying one currency and selling another at the same time.
This is also the reason as to why the currencies are quoted in pairs, like EUR/USD or USD/GBP.
The exchange rate represents the purchase price between the two currencies.
Example:
The EUR/GBP rate represents the number of GBP one EUR can buy (relevant now with all the Brexit issues going on) . If you think the Euro will increase in value against the British Pound, you buy Euros with British Pounds. If the exchange rate rises, you sell the Euros back, and you cash in your profit.
Now the same works for strading Bitcoin, ethereum, Litecoin or other cryptocurrencies. this has become an entire new market and has introduced many people to Forex . you should here be also aware that trading cryptocurrencies is like regular trading so you will be able to lose great sums of money.
the Best thing i found about trading cryptocurrencies is that the Leverage by default tends to be very low which makes the risk of losing it all much smaller.
Sounds simply enough?
Why does not everyone Trade.
The same could be asked as to why not everyone plays poker, you can make money. The comparison between the 2 is actually closer than you might think.
All traders that are successful will tell you that 80% of successful trading is psychology and the other 20% is research. It takes time to get the research down, but it can take a lifetime to master the psychology.
People tend to do things differently when real money is on the line and are accepting losses in the hope that the trend will reverse or taking out profit too early because they don’t want to lose what they just have gained. In short, the psychology is the hard part.
One should be aware that you can loose real money and a lot of it very fast if you don’t know what you are doing.
Now most Good Forex brokers offer some educational tools, some more than others that will teach you how to trade. There is also something that is called social trading that will allow you to follow other traders and see what they are doing in order for you to learn and make money at the same time.
So here are some ground rules for those that look to start trading
Get involved in the market, watch read and listen to the news to understand what is happening
Go through a trading course ( a good one is here)
Open a demo account and trade at least a month (my advice to do this even longer)only on this before you even think about trading with real money.
Check out social trading, there are some options for this, this broker offers this also.
Try with an amount that you are able to afford losing. See this as your tuition money.
Take it slow, don’t become greedy and follow the basic rules
Basic Rules (there are many more but start with these)
The trend is your friend
Don’t add money to a losing position
Don’t trade on too many different currency pairs
Trade only with a good broker
Don’t open to many positions (no one needs 100 positions a day)
Develop your strategy and stick to it.
Know that NO ONE is 100% of the times right, everyone loses some.
Last but not least, don’t trade with money you cannot afford to lose.