What can I do with Longhorn FX?

With LonghornFX you can trade a large number of commodities, securities, currencies, and cryptocurrencies, and withdraw your profits in the form of Bitcoin. LonghornFX allows users to open either a MetaTrader4 (MT4) live trading account or an MT4 demo account to carry out their trades, or familiarise themselves with the software before starting trading. 

It is also important to note that traders can open as many live trading and demo accounts as they want with Bitcoin, Euro, Great Britain pound, and the United States dollar as the baseline currencies. Client funds are held in each user’s respective LonghornFX account and are only moved to the trading section when the trader opens a position.

The MT4 platform allows you to trade on your PC, android, iOS, or WebTrader. With these possibilities, you can check your trades from any place at any time and always have access to the platform in case you need to open or close a position.

Which assets can I trade?

According to LonghornFX, clients have access to over 183 financial instruments they can trade. Here is a quick summary of the assets you can trade on LonghornFX:

• Currencies. Traders can buy or sell 7 major currencies, 21 FX crosses, or 27 FX exotics, giving a total of 55 currency pairs.
• Cryptocurrencies. LonghornFX has 35 cryptocurrency pairs that clients can trade.
• Indices: The trading platform has 11 indices including US30, AUS200, SPX500, and UK100.
• Metals. Traders can choose from platinum (XPT), gold (XAU), silver (XAG), up to a total of 5 metal pairs.
• Futures. Currently LonghornFX offers only US dollar futures.
• Commodities. UKOil and USOil are the two commodities available on LonghornFX at present.
• Stocks. Clients can buy or sell up to 64 individual stocks including top equities like Apple, Google, Amazon, Netflix and many others on the platform.

Payment methods

Deposit methods and costs

LonghornFX accepts deposits in Bitcoin, and users can also fund their accounts using fiat currency via bank transfer. Users can fund their account with a credit or debit card, however they will be directed to third party platforms where they can purchase Bitcoin if selecting the option and the deposit still occurs in Bitcoin. Bitcoin deposits are charged a flat network fee of 0.0005BTC. This equates to about $5, but its exact value depends on the current price of Bitcoin.

LonghornFX withdrawal methods and costs

LonghornFX offers one main withdrawal method, which is Bitcoin. You then select the wallet you would like to withdraw from – USD, BTC, GBP, or EUR. The broker charges no fees for withdrawals but the amount leaving your wallet may be different from the amount you receive because of Bitcoin price fluctuations and a network fee of 0.0005 BTC charged to maintain the blockchain.

What devices can I use LonghornFX on?

Users can access LonghornFX through its web trading platform, and also by downloading MetaTrader 4 software. These options are available on a variety of devices, and traders can use LonghornFX on:

• Desktop computers
• Laptop computers
• Smartphones (iOS and Android)

How easy is it to use LonghornFX?

The LonghornFX website is very simple to navigate, with a variety of helpful and easy to access FAQs. In order to make trades using the platform, you will need to download MetaTrader 4 software from LonghornFX’s website, and it’s clearly visible where to click in order to download the necessary software. 

The process of making trades on LonghornFX will require familiarity with using trading software, so if you’re new to trading it is recommended that you open a demo account on the platform so you can learn the ropes without risking your money.

LonghornFX demo account

If you want to learn about LonghornFX and get a feel for trading without staking any of your capital, you can sign up for a demo account. The account is free to open and has all the features you’ll find on the live trading account, only you’re not trading with real money. You can use the demo account to refine your trading strategy before committing your funds in a real trading account.

LonghornFX allows you to set your virtual cash balance when creating the demo account and you can trade for as long as you want. However, the account will be terminated after 3 weeks of inactivity. 

Countries supported

When opening a LonghornFX account, you’ll see that it supports traders from lots of countries around the globe – from Europe to the Americas, and across Asia and Africa. However, you may need to confirm with the customer support team if people from your country are allowed to sign up for an account, as LonghornFX doesn’t make it clear if the service is available in every country.

Regulation

LonghornFX is not regulated by any major government body, with the company being registered offshore in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This means users should be careful when depositing funds with the broker, as there is no relevant body you can appeal to if you need to make a complaint.

Account verification

In order to open and verify your account on LonghornFX you need to provide:

• Your name
• Your email address
• Your phone number

You do not need to provide any ID documentation, and you are only required to verify your phone number and email address.

LonghornFX customer support

LonghornFX’s customer support team is available round the clock. You can contact them through any of the following methods.

• Live chat. Live chat is available 24/7 and the response is usually very fast.
• Request a callback. If you prefer to talk to a live person, you can request a call back by filling in your details on the website. There is no phone number listed on the website for you to call LonghornFX.
• Submit a support ticket. You can email the customer support desk and a member of their dedicated team will get back to you as soon as possible.

From experience, queries are resolved immediately, and the customer is asked for their feedback on the quality of service received. 

The stockbroker

First impression

LonghornFX’s website is simple and easy to navigate, and clearly signposts where users need to go in order to download the necessary software. When using LonghornFX, trades take place on MetaTrader4 (MT4) platform. Once clients sign up for an account, they can proceed to start a free download of any of the LonghornFX’s trading platforms which are:

• MT4 for Windows
• Web Trader
• MT4 for Android
• MT4 for iOS 

On the trading platform, users have tools that enable them to make new orders and check their trading history. You’ll also have access to tools for technical analysis such as bar charts, candlestick and line charts, and over 50 technical and fundamental indicators spanning a range of markets. 

On your trading terminal, you’ll see two modes for executing orders:

• Market execution. This is to execute an order at the current market conditions.
• Pending order. This is to process an order when a specified price is reached.

LonghornFX also gives its clients access to stop loss and trailing stop risk management options, so you can protect yourself from sudden market movements against your positions.

What currency pairs can be traded?

Traders have access to 55 currency pairs on LonghornFX. These include:

• AUD/USD
• EUR/USD
• GBP/USD
• NZD/USD
• USD/CAD
• USD/CHF
• USD/JPY

In addition to this, LonghornFX also supports the trading of 35 cryptocurrency pairs, among which are:

• BTC/USD
• ETC/USD
• NEO/BTC
• XRP/BIT
• BCH/BTC
• ETH/BTC
• NEO/USD
• XRP/USD
• BCH/USD
• ETH/USD
• OMB/BIT
• ZEC/BTC
• BIT/USD
• ETP/BIT
• OMG/USD
• ZEC/USD
• DASH/BTC
• ETP/USD
• QTUM/BIT
• mET/USD

Are there fees for trading?

Yes, when trading using LonghornFX a variety of charges apply. The main fee charged by LonghornFX is that for each lot traded, the broker takes a $6/£6 /€6 commission. This can be dependent on the size of the trade if smaller amounts are involved. For instance, a 0.10 lot also known as a micro lot will attract a commission of $0.60 (10% of the fee for 1 lot).

The other fees to be aware of are when you are making bitcoin deposits and withdrawals, you’ll be charged a fee of 0.0005BTC. This is a fee applied by the blockchain to cover minings costs, and it is fixed for all transactions whether it is $10 or $10,000 worth of Bitcoin.

What are the spreads?

The difference between the bid and ask prices also known as the spread is usually measured in PIPs when trading forex pairs. It’s not possible to give the exact spreads available on the platform as LonghornFX has a floating live spread approach to displaying the bid and ask prices. Clients get to enjoy competitive spreads in times of low market volatility but when the market calmness transits into high volatility, the spreads become high.

Can I trade assets with leverage on LonghornFX?

Yes. Clients opening LonghornFX trading accounts are asked to choose the amount of leverage they prefer to trade with, ranging from 1:1 to 1:500. This level of leverage is only available for trading forex and commodities, however. For all the other tradable assets on LonghornFX there are the following limits:

• Stocks (e.g. EBAY): 1:20
• Cryptocurrencies (e.g. BTCUSD): 1:100
• Energies (e.g. USOil): 1:100
• Indices (e.g. US30): 1:200

Trading with leverage is risky, and we advise only experienced traders use this option. New traders can be enticed with ideas that they can open up positions worth up to 500 times what they stake – but remember while this will generate money quickly if the market moves in your favour, it will also compound your losses if that doesn’t happen. You can quickly find yourself losing all your capital if you trade with too much leverage and things don’t go to plan.

What are the margins required?

The margins when trading on LonghornFX depend on what you’re trading, as the platform has different leverage available for different markets. Here’s a quick summary:

• Forex: 0.2%
• Commodities: 0.2%
• Stocks: 5%
• Cryptocurrencies: 1%
• Energies: 0.5%
• Indices: 0.5%

Can I open short and long positions?

Yes, on LonghornFX you can open both short and long positions. A trader is ‘going long’ if they believe that the price of an asset or currency will increase, or equally they can ‘go short’ if they believe the market is going to fall – in which case they close their position and look to reinvest their money once the price has dropped.

Are there withdrawal and deposit limits?

Deposits

For you to begin trading, you have to make a deposit either using Bitcoin, wire transfer, credit or debit card (if you use these latter options, however, you are directed to a website where they can purchase Bitcoin instantly). The minimum deposit allowed on the LonghornFX platform is $10 worth of Bitcoin, and there is no maximum deposit stated by the platform.

Withdrawals

There are no started withdrawal limits on LonghornFX. Withdrawal requests are reviewed and processed the same day they are submitted. Having said that, there is no guarantee that they will land in your wallet the same day. How soon your withdrawals are credited depends on the speed of the blockchain and the number of confirmations. Expect withdrawals to take up to 6 hours to arrive.

Trade size limits

The minimum position size LonghornFX allows is 0.01 lots while the maximum trade size is 1,000 lots. 

Security 

LonghornFX requires users to set a secure password, and to provide email and phone verification required opening an account. The platform also encourages its traders to activate the two-factor authentication (2FA) feature for added security. LonghornFX claims to hold clients’ funds in a cold storage system to keep them out of reach of hackers. 

Education and trading tools

Apart from the FAQ section on its website, which is informative, LonghornFX has limited educational resources. The site has a section with a couple of articles explaining basic things like deposits and withdrawals, spreads, Bitcoin, leverage, pips and a few more, but it’s far from extensive. Being one of the newest entrants into the online brokerage space, there is hope that the team is still building its resource base.

Summary of LonghornFX’s broker

Overall, LonghornFX’s platform allows users a quick and easy way to download MetaTrader 4 and place trades on a wide variety of securities, commodities, currencies, and cryptocurrencies. It is a relatively new platform, and so doesn’t yet offer too much in the way of educational resources, but seems to be expanding this aspect of the site.

Here are a few things to be aware of when using LonghornFX’s platform:

• One thing to be very careful of when using LonghornFX is not to go too far into the red. LonghornFX states that the client or trader is responsible for negative equity balances on their trading account. This means that the broker doesn’t offer negative balance protection as a risk protection measure. Instead, the client will be required to pay the full amount immediately.
• When the equity amount on the client’s trading account falls to less than 30% of the margin, the broker reserves the right to close any open positions even without consulting the client. 
• Residents of countries such as Canada, the United States, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Cuba, Myanmar, Ecuador, and North Korea may not have full access to some of the features on the LonghornFX platform. This is because of jurisdictional requirements for prior registration of security issues.
• The broker is not regulated but observes the conditions and procedures outlined in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regulations. This includes account verifications, trading and leverage limits on certain assets. 

Conclusion

LonghornFX may be a relatively new online broker but it has a variety of features that make it attractive to traders, from its use of Bitcoin as a payment and withdrawal method, to its incorporation of MT4 trading software. Clients enjoy fee-free deposits (aside from blockchain fees), same-day withdrawals, live support 24/7 backed by a dedicated customer service team, and competitive spreads.

Inexperienced traders also have the option of signing up for a demo account to learn and hone their trading strategies before opening a live trading account. This means you can learn the ropes without risking any of your capital.

The areas of improvement that LonghornFX needs to focus on include strengthening its risk management framework, increasing withdrawal options, adding more assets (especially in energies, metals and commodities), and work towards being regulated and available in more countries around the world.

While the demo accounts are incredibly helpful, LonghornFX also needs to beef up its training resources and flesh out its FAQ section with more information to help users who aren’t already familiar with trading. LonghornFX is a good place to trade for those who already know their way around, and especially for those who want the option of depositing funds in Bitcoin.