6 Best Regulated Forex Brokers USA (CFTC) March,2024 (2024)

Finding a good Forex broker in the US should not be too difficult, right? With Forex being the most active financial market and the US economy the largest in the world, there should be plenty of choices when you are looking for brokers for Forex in the USA. Well, things get a little complicated here. Due to factors like trading costs and regulation, choosing the right FX broker is not as straightforward as you might think. Find out below what to look out for when picking the right brokers for Forex in the USA.

• Plus500, multi-asset and CFD broker.
• Forex.com, Excellent trading conditions + NFA regulation.
• E TRADE, a one-stop financial firm with banking services.
• OANDA, Solid services + excellent currency converter.
• IG Markets, No withdrawal fee.

Compare the Best Regulated Forex Brokers that Accept US Clients

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How to Choose a Forex Broker as a US Trader

Just as the team at DailyForex considers multiple variables in whether we should recommend a particular US Forex broker, as a US trader you should also employ a thorough analysis considering numerous factors to find the best United States Forex broker. Whilst we do a lot of the hard work for you, here is a checklist you can employ for yourself, to use when examining the best Forex brokers for US traders.

1. Trading Costs: Spreads, Commissions, & Leverage

Spreads, and commissions (if charged) can make a substantial difference to your overall cost of trading, as these are going to be the biggest cost you face by far, unless you make very few trades and hold for the long term. It is important to be sure that you really know what spreads and commissions are going to really be – do not rely upon what you see in a broker’s demo account, as the spreads you see here typically do not reflect what you will face in a real, live money account.

Leverage – the amount that a broker will let you borrow to trade – is another critical issue. Almost every broker will offer quite generous leverage on Forex and many other asset classes, but if you are seeking high leverage, it is important to check the maximums allowed asset by asset.

2. Account Types

Some Forex brokers in the USA will offer their clients a choice of different types of accounts. The right choice of account type for you will probably depend upon the minimum deposit required, what you want to trade, and how often you trade.

Some general rules about which account type is going to be most suitable for you:

• The Micro Account accommodates deposits lower than $500.
• The Mini Account accommodates deposits lower than $10,000 and will be the more suitable vehicle for most retail Forex traders with more than $500 to deposit.
• The Standard Account is most suitable for more experienced traders with more than $10,000 to deposit. There is little doubt that if you can afford it, the higher deposit you make, the better deal you will get on overall fees and other trading conditions.

3. Minimum Deposit

Most Forex brokers in the USA require a minimum deposit to accept a new customer. This is justifiable as brokers incur their own operational fixed costs in opening and maintaining a new account. Fortunately, minimum deposits required by the top Forex brokers in the USA tend to be low and affordable for most Americans, at ranges between approximately $100 and $250. It is important to remember that these minimums are not applied to ongoing account balances, they just mean that to open an account you must start by depositing a minimum amount.

4. Trading Apps

The traditional image of the Forex trader as glued to their laptop or PC is out of date. More people are trading from apps, not least because using a trading app allows you to monitor and trade markets no matter where you are or what time of day or night it is. This does not mean that app traders are glued to the market, it means they use apps intelligently by setting their trading apps to alert them when something interesting happens in the market.

Every Forex broker in the US will offer their own dedicated trading app and they are mostly reaching extremely high standards.

5. Customer Service

Person-to-person customer service is something that you will probably never need, but you do want to know that if you need it, it is there and at a high standard.

Fortunately, due to the small number and generally high reputations of US Forex brokers, and high expectations of customer service in American culture, you are unlikely to find that you will be lacking help if you reach out and ask for it – or even if you do not.

All Forex brokers for US citizens today have automated FAQ searches which should troubleshoot a solid majority of any operational difficulties you might encounter in your trading.

Is Forex Legal in the US?

Yes. As a US trader, it is legal for you to trade Forex. US regulators exist to make sure Forex brokers accepting US clients are properly monitored to act ethically and lawfully.

Understanding the US Forex Market

It is not surprising that US traders quickly adopted Forex into their trading – the US already had a substantial community of retail traders because of its large stock market. As a US trader, moving from stocks to Forex was especially attractive because of the high leverage offered in Forex compared to stocks.

With the popularity of Forex trading, the competition among US-based Forex brokers intensified. New retail traders are often unsure about the diverse types of brokers available, and which one is best suited for their trading needs. We have created an in-depth analysis of all regulated Forex brokers in the USA and narrowed down the list to our top US Forex brokers, so you can choose the best broker for you. Our research included hundreds of hours of arduous work so that you can make an easy choice where to begin your Forex trading journey. Through our independent research, we found the right type of broker for various trading needs and skill-levels, from new retail traders to longstanding day traders to seasoned professionals.

The US dollar is the world’s largest currency and is considered the world’s reserve currency. Oil, gold, and most other commodities are priced in US Dollars. Plus, as mentioned before, the US contains the world’s largest equity market. All these factors lead to the US dollar being the world’s major Forex currency. The term “major pairs” are Forex pairs containing the USD, for example, EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, etc.. That said, US Forex brokers usually offer Forex pairs that do not contain the US Dollar, for example, EUR/JPY, CAD/JPY, GBP/NZD, etc. Forex pairs not containing the US Dollar are known as “crosses.” As a US trader, you can trade both major Forex pairs and crosses.

US Forex Market Regulation

When US Forex brokers appeared on the scene to meet the new demand from retail traders, the best US-based Forex brokers conducted their operations legitimately, but others did not operate with integrity or in a way that served their clients’ interests. US regulators quickly realized that they could not allow Forex brokers accepting US clients to provide dishonest services or steal client money.

Before retail Forex arrived in the US, the wider US financial sector was already tightly regulated, so it was only a matter of time before Forex brokers accepting US clients faced similar stringent oversight. That is a good thing – as a US trader, you want to be protected from brokers who do not operate honestly, to say the least.

What is the US Market Regulation?

If you are being offered services from a US Forex broker, they must be regulated by the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) and be a member of the National Futures Association (NFA). The NFA offers an online verification system called Background Affiliation Status Information Center (BASIC), where Forex brokerage firms can be verified for having the necessary regulatory compliance and approval.

How a Regulated Market Benefits You

Forex regulation in the US benefits you in two ways. Firstly, it ensures that regulated US Forex brokers are well run and capitalized, which helps lower the probability that your broker will collapse and leave you waiting to get your deposit returned while you wait for bankruptcy proceedings to be concluded. Secondly, it ensures that your broker cannot unfairly take advantage of you and must offer you a fair market, and the trading conditions which their advertising promises.

How to Verify Your Broker is Regulated

Regulated Forex brokers always publish the information verifying by whom they are regulated and usually also the details of their license. It is usually published at the bottom of the home page of their website, and sometimes at the bottom of every page within the website. Typically, regulated Forex brokers also have a dedicated web page giving full in-depth details of their regulatory arrangement.

Dodd-Frank Act

The Dodd-Frank Act, a set of US regulations passed in 2008 in response to the financial crisis, had a huge impact on US Forex brokers. Many feel that the stringent regulations resulted in US Forex brokers moving operations offshore or closing their doors completely. Those US Forex brokers that remain now face some of the most stringent capital requirements required by Forex brokers anywhere in the world plus hefty licensing costs.

It is worth noting that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) does not have authority over the Forex market because it does not consider currency pairs securities.

Client deposits at US regulated Forex brokers are not protected by any form of deposit insurance. Despite this lack of protection, US Forex Brokers are still seen as amongst the safest in the world because of strong CFTC and NFA oversight.

Leverage for US regulated Forex brokers is capped at 50:1 and this maximum leverage cap is designed to protect retail traders from excessive leverage. It also means that the best US Forex brokers all operate under the same maximum allowances for leverage thereby removing leverage as a factor when choosing amongst the best US Forex brokers for beginners or advanced traders.

As a final thought on US Forex market regulation: as a US trader if you come across an overseas Forex broker that is not registered with the NFA but accepts clients from the US, be extremely cautious before handing over your deposit. The advantage of working with the best US Forex brokers for beginners or advanced traders is a reliable, trustworthy firm to execute your trades.

Advantages of Choosing to Work with US Forex Brokers

The question to you as a US trader is whether these imposing restrictions are good for retail traders or serve as a detriment. The truth is that strong regulations are both beneficial and detrimental. As a detriment, the stringent requirements have made it difficult and costly for Forex brokers to accept US clients and that in turn has limited the choice of Forex brokers accepting US clients.

On the beneficial side, those Forex brokers for US citizens have worked very hard to meet all the regulatory requirements. They will be well-capitalized, have excellent compliance, and most importantly they are serious about being in the industry for the long-term.

All US regulated Forex brokers fall under the same set of regulations making the landscape much easier to navigate – there are no regional or state-level differences. That means if you are comparing one US Forex broker with another US Forex broker, you know that they will operate under the same set of rules, so you can use other criteria to determine the best Forex broker in the US.

Forex Trading Times in the US

The US Forex market for retail traders concentrates around the eastern time zone. Although there is no hard line that defines when the Forex market opens for US traders as it runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, it is widely agreed that the US opening time for Forex is at 8 a.m. Eastern Time. The first couple of hours of the US open is typically the most liquid during any 24-hour Forex period because London and other European centers are still operating at that time.

FAQs

Can you trade Forex in the USA?

Yes. Forex is legal to trade, and US Forex brokers are well regulated by the National Futures Association (NFA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

What is the best Forex broker for US beginner traders?

To make sure you find the right broker that caters to your specific needs as a beginner, check out our current list of the best US brokers on the market. In our reviews, we assess which brokers offer the best support and learning materials so that you can start off on the right track.

How to become a Forex trader in the US?

The keys to becoming a Forex trader in the US is having a methodology or trading strategy that you have profitably tested on a demo account, and then finding the best US Forex brokers that will execute your trades when you switch to a live account.

Is Forex tax free in the USA?

No, Forex profits are not tax-free in the USA. Short-term traders are not taxed on an advantageous basis either. Spot Forex profits are taxed as commodities 1256 contracts or under IRC Section 988.

Do Forex brokers report to the IRS?

Yes, all Forex brokers in the USA, and those abroad which accept US persons as clients, are legally obliged under US laws to report their clients’ trading profits to the IRS.

What Forex brokers can Americans use?

US persons can use any Forex broker which will accept them as a client. According to US law, Forex brokers outside the USA which accept US persons as clients are supposed to report to the CFTC, so very few Forex brokers outside the USA will accept US persons as clients. Many Americans feel uncomfortable trading with overseas brokers not reporting to the US, although this seemingly is not a criminal offence. This means the range of choice of Forex brokers for US persons is quite narrow.

Can US citizens trade Forex overseas?

The consensus opinion is that US citizens can trade with Forex brokers overseas even if they do not report to the CFTC, although there are very few such brokers accepting US persons as clients. Although it is seemingly legal for the trader, it is unclear whether it is advisable.

Do Forex brokers accept American Express?

There are some Forex brokers which accept American Express as a source of funding, while others do not.