Coins Era

Foreign exchange or forex, the storehouse for foreign currency and exchange, is the method for changing one currency to another. There are different types of forex accounts you need to know about before you jump for forex trading.

Here, you’ll know the various forex accounts types. Before we go there, you need to understand why the forex needs different accounts. Looking at it from the view of the trader and the broker will make it more clear. Let’s get in.

Trader’s Viewpoint

You will find traders coming up with a hundred thousand dollars to trade and can trade position sizes of up to 3 or 5 Standard Lots quite easily. And, some can come with only a hundred dollars.

It won’t be fair if a market only allowed the high rollers access to the market while kicking out the small-capital traders. As a result, the forex market was deregulated. What does this mean? It means that traders could spot just the right account type for their situation and use it suitably.

Broker’s Viewpoint

Brokers find it to be more advantageous to their balance sheets to occupy everybody in the market. Also, for ECN brokers, there are different accounts for different traders. Market makers stepped into the market to supply liquidity, and by breaking these positions and sharing them with traders with very small accounts, payments can be made from everyone.

Now, Let’s Get into the Types of Forex Accounts

There are mainly three types of forex accounts. Every forex account has a different name although some of them have the same characteristic features. They sometimes also can be assembled into the same category.

• Micro accounts
• Intermediate accounts
• VIP or Premium accounts

Micro Accounts

Micro account or mini account is defined as a small-cap account that permits traders to come into the economy with a very little amount, even as little as $100. Some of the brokers have also initiated differences into this account category that allow advance payments of as low as $20 to $50.

These generally limit the position sizes of the trades on the account to micro-lots. It assists the traders to manage the risk factor on their accounts. Micro account holders do not get gains from brokers.

Intermediate Accounts

Based on account nomenclature, intermediate accounts generally possess the most contrasts. It is also called the Standard account, Gold account, the Classic account, etc. in certain quarters. The distinctive feature of this forex account is that the least sum of the deposit is generally fixed to $500. On some brokerages, it expands up to $1000.

Traders are limited to trading mini-lots, although some platforms let till 1 standard lot position sizes on this category of account. This is the quality account category that was reachable to entry-level traders in the forex market until 2 to 3 years ago when entry-level capital demands lowered.

Premium Accounts

Premium, VIP, or Platinum accounts are for the VIP traders, who can afford up to $10000 as account opening capital. Brokers to give bonuses on VIP accounts give a 100% bonus.

VIP account holders get bonuses like prepaid debit cards, travel benefits, access to technical and fundamental analyses, etc. They can trade innumerable Standard Lots. Thus, they get the ability to earn lots on their accounts.

Last Note

These were the basic facts about the various forex account types. From one broker to another, the particular features will vary. Looking at the specific type of account that will match their circumstances before making a definitive selection is entirely dependent on the traders.

The invincibility of blockchain technology has been in question recently as news of private blockchain, especially meant for enterprise use, is being attacked by hackers. Initially, blockchain technology was lauded worldwide for being immune to hacking attempts. However, this worldview has changed drastically in the last few years, with more than $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen by hackers since 2017. As per the recent trends of hacking attempts, the hackers are targeting the private blockchain networks more than the public networks like Ethereum or Bitcoin. 

Theoretically, the private blockchain networks should be more secure and difficult to crack through as the ecosystem is smaller, and people involved are well-known to each other. Private Blockchain networks make it difficult for someone hacking the system to hide. However, this conception has been proved wrong as more and more private Blockchain networks start their online operations. The cybercriminals have found that breaking through these smaller ecosystems is much easier and is very much hackable, unlike what was earlier believed. 

Blockchain technology is entirely based on the network of computers, otherwise known as nodes. The design of blockchain technology is such that the node owners have a financial incentive in being associated with the system through a process called mining. The system is ideally simple as every transaction can be easily identified, verified, and added. Hacking the same, however, is quite difficult and moreover, highly expensive. Many large scale corporations, including New York Stock Exchange and Fidelity Investment Corp, have been trying to take advantage of the blockchain technology for a while. 

Unfortunately, the rush among these corporations to take advantage of this technology has left a few gaps open. The blockchain apps weren’t available for public use until recently as they were under development. Moreover, the enterprises are twisting the security and safety offered by blockchain technology to serve applications that give hackers a financial incentive, which wasn’t the case earlier. One such example is a security app named Orchid, which is backed by Ethereum. These apps are on production mode and have shifted from the research and development phase, which makes a potential prey for the hackers. 

With time and effort made by professional hackers, few of the loopholes in the blockchain technology are now exposed. It isn’t as invincible as it was earlier perceived to be. One of the biggest drawbacks of the blockchain system that is being misused is the 51-percent rule. For a transaction on the blockchain network to be approved, it needs to be approved by the majority or 51-percent of the participating nodes. So, if a single entity manages to sum up resources that allow it to control the majority, it can simply send the payments. It would then create an alternative version of the entire database where no such transaction took place. 

While collecting the computing resources to nine major cryptocurrencies as Bitcoin or Ethereum runs in thousands of dollars per hour, the smaller coins continue to be vulnerable due to lesser cost involved. Currently, the biggest threat to the corporate and private blockchain networks is from the inside, rather than outside. It is primarily because every employee or vendor who is invited within the network has access to the entire database without exceptions. It is not the case with larger public networks, such as that of Bitcoin. There are companies like Kaspersky that have a proven blockchain security auditing system in place, which can be hired by smaller private networks. As of now, the private blockchain networks should focus on threats from inside rather than outside. As the market for private blockchain network grows, there should be more companies offering security audits and maintenance support that these networks can rely on.