BlackBull Markets Review [year]

BlackBull Markets Editor’s Verdict

BlackBull Markets is a New Zealand-headquartered Forex broker and FinTech company. It prides itself on speed and precision, promising traders ECN/NDD execution with deep liquidity through the MT4/MT5 trading platforms. I have conducted an in-depth review to determine if their advertised ECN, deep liquidity, and price aggregation, as well as institution-level pricing for retail traders, lives up to the hype.

BlackBull Markets Overview

ECN/NDD Execution with Institution-Level Pricing

Three requirements any successful trader needs from an ECN/NDD trading environment are deep liquidity, institution-level pricing, and high leverage. BlackBull Markets delivers all three, and I especially like the underlying technology they utilize to achieve this. It ensures high-speed trading and offers scalpers and other high-frequency traders the precision trading they require. It would be great if they could in the future offer a wider selection of assets to trade.

Blackbull Markets Regulation & Security

Trading with a regulated broker will limit the potential for fraud and malpractice. I always recommend traders to check for regulation and verify it with the regulator by checking the provided license with their database. BlackBull Markets presents clients with two well-regulated subsidiaries.

The primary regulator of BlackBull Markets is the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA). It also maintains a subsidiary, BBG Limited, authorized by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA). BlackBull Group UK Limited provides payment clearing services.

All client deposits remain segregated from corporate funds, and the custodian bank is the ANZ Bank. BlackBull Markets is also a member of the New Zealand Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL) dispute resolution scheme.

The one thing I could not find, which left me disappointed, was a reference to negative balance protection. It appears that BlackBull Markets does not offer it, making highly leveraged trading an especially high-risk approach with this broker. I searched their legal documents, but none confirmed the existence of negative balance protection. However, from a regulatory perspective, I can strongly recommend this broker. From a security perspective, client deposits remain well-protected, but I cannot ignore the absence of negative balance protection, particularly for leveraged trading accounts.

BlackBull Markets is a well-regulated and compliant Forex broker.

I checked the official Seychelles FSA website, which confirms the regulatory status of BBG Limited.

Blackbull Markets Fees

Here is a screenshot of the BlackBull Markets MT4 trading account during the London-New York overlap session, the most liquid one, where traders usually get the lowest spreads.

I like the spreads available at BlackBull Markets, which confirm the existence of institution-level pricing for retail traders. A typical raw spread of only 0.1 pips during the London/New York overlap is very competitive and an excellent offer from BlackBull. Traders must deposit a minimum of $2,000 for access to these spreads. In my opinion, this is arguably a little high, but well within an acceptable range. High-volume traders may negotiate rebates with BlackBull Markets, and I appreciate the flexibility this broker provides in that department.

One of the most ignored trading costs is swap rates on leveraged overnight positions. Depending on the trading strategy, it may become the most significant fee per trade. I always recommend that traders check them before evaluating the total trading costs.

MT4/MT5 traders can easily access swap rates from their platform by following these steps:

1. Right-click on the desired symbol in the Market Watch window and select Specification.

2. Scroll down until you see Swap Long and Swap Short.

Below is a list of trading cost examples for buying and selling the EUR/USD, holding the trade for one night and seven nights, in the commission based BlackBull Markets trading account.

Taking a 1.0 standard lot buy/sell position, in the EUR/USD at the tightest spread and holding it for one night will cost the following:

Taking a 1.0 standard lot buy/sell position, in the EUR/USD at the tightest spread and holding it for seven nights will cost the following:

What Can I Trade on Blackbull Markets?

BlackBull Markets offers traders an excellent asset selection, placing it in the Top 5 brokers in the industry. Forex traders get 60+ currency pairs, but the bulk consists of 23,000+ equity CFD and the underlying asset for direct share dealing from 80+ global stock exchanges. It results in a broad-based choice of trading instruments ideal for demanding asset managers and long-term dividend income-generating portfolios. BlackBull Markets has also added cryptocurrency CFDs, and the only asset class not offered is ETFs.

Asset List and Leverage Overview

Blackbull Markets​ Leverage

BlackBull Markets offers maximum leverage of 1:500 for Forex traders, plus gold and silver. Indices and oil remain capped at 1:100. A three-tier system exists, lowering it to 1:200 above 0.50 lots and 1:100 above 1 lot.

Blackbull Makrkets Trading Hours

Forex trading is available from (all times shown in UTC) Monday 00:00 to Friday 24:00. Most commodities from Monday through Friday from 01:00 to 24:00. European index CFDs are tradeable Monday through Friday between 09:00 to 23:00, while US ones are available between 01:00 to 23:15 and from 23:30 to 24:00.

Account Types

I like the ECN Prime account at BlackBull Markets as it offers the best cost structure.The minimum deposit is $2,000 here compared to $0 for the ECN Standard account, but the minimum trading costs are $7 versus $8. I am a high-volume and high-frequency trader, so the $1 price difference results in thousands of dollars per year in more profits from the same trading strategy. The maximum leverage is 1:500, but most traders get between 1:100 and 1:200, which remains competitive.BlackBull Markets also offers an Islamic account, institutional one, and a special offer for active traders.

Demo Account

Regrettably, BlackBull Markets limits its demo account to just 30 days, and it is only available on the MT4 trading platform. While the trading conditions are not identical to a live one, BlackBull Markets should allow for longer than 30 days. Traders may select a demo balance between $5,000 and $100,000.

Blackbull Markets Trading Platforms

BlackBull Markets offers traders the core MT4/MT5 trading platforms, upgraded with the Autochartist plugin, assisting manual traders via automated chart pattern recognition and trading set-ups.BlackBull also offers the integrated use of TradingView as a standalone platform in addition to the MetaTrader solutions. Since BlackBull Markets is a FinTech company, I would like to see a proprietary solution. MT4 remains the leader in algorithmic trading, but MT4 and MT5 support it, and both have a built-in copy-trading system. BlackBull Markets offers MT4/MT5 as a desktop client, webtrader, and mobile app.

Overview of Trading Platforms

I like that BlackBull Markets offers the FIX API, allowing algorithmic traders to connect advanced trading solutions. Free VPS hosting from NYC Servers or BeeksFX is available for ECN Prime accounts with trading volume above 20 lots, which is an offer I find reasonable. BlackBull Markets also supports social trading via market leaders ZuluTrade and Myfxbook Autotrade plus newcomer HokoCloud. BlackBull Markets also allows its clients to connect their accounts to TradingView, an active community with 30M+ traders.

Research and Education

BlackBull Markets maintains a research section, providing daily news and views, a stock research report section covering assets listed in Australia, New Zealand, and the US, and model equity portfolios for Australia and New Zealand. The research also consists of technical analysis, but the entire package costs $45 monthly.

Beginner traders get fifteen videos, and numerous short Trading Guides, offering an in-depth introduction to trading. While I prefer more content, BlackBull Markets presents enough information for beginners. A Trading Glossary is also available.

Customer Support

Customer Support Methods
Support Hours	24/7
Website Languages	EN ES FR DE ZH PT TH Other

Traders have access to customer support 24/7 via live chat, which I find the most convenient form to connect. A phone number, including a toll-free for New Zealand, and nine e-mail addresses are also listed, one with support in Chinese. I appreciate the transparency at BlackBull Markets, as fully detailed contact information is provided.

BlackBull Markets answers some questions in its FAQ section and describes its products and services well. Therefore, I believe that most traders will not require assistance unless there is an emergency. In such a case, BlackBull Markets ensures a customer service representative is available.

Blackbull Markets Bonuses

While BlackBull Markets does not offer bonuses, it maintains an Active Trader Account where it presents qualifying traders with monetary incentives like lower commissions or services like free VPS hosting. Given the excellent trading infrastructure and competitive trading costs, I do not consider the absence of incentives for new retail traders as a negative factor.

Opening an Account

Opening an account at BlackBull Markets is acceptably quick and follows the normal standard in the retail Forex industry. I found some of the additional questions unnecessary, as traders can fill them out as they wish, and there is no verification of the answers. BlackBull Markets includes the account verification with the account opening form, which I like, as it is a requirement and saves traders the extra step from the back office. New traders must submit a copy of their ID and a proof of residency document dated within the past three months.

BlackBull Markets follows well-established industry practices for onboarding new traders.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit for the BlackBull Markets ECN Standard account is $0, for the ECN Prime $2,000, and for the Institutional one $20,000. While the minimum deposit for ECN Prime remains higher than some competitive brokers, I found them justifiable by cost and services provided and, therefore, acceptable and an excellent value for deposit requirement.

Payment Methods

Traders may deposit into their BlackBull Markets trading accounts via bank wires, credit/debit cards, Skrill, Neteller, China Union Pay and FasaPay.

Withdrawal options
Deposit options

BlackBull also allows deposits to be made in the following cryptocurrencies:

• Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Litecoin
• Ethereum
• Tether
• Stellar
• Ripple
• Chainlink
• USD Coin

Blackbull Markets Deposits & Withdrawals

I appreciate the flexibility at BlackBull Markets for deposits, as after the initial deposit, follow-on amounts remain at the discretion of traders. Another positive is that traders may deposit in nine currencies, but not all deposit methods support each of them. I do not like the $5 withdrawal fee, which most brokers do not charge. BlackBull Markets process all withdrawal requests within 24 hours, and the back office handles all financial transactions from an easy-to-use interface.

BlackBull allows traders to deposit any amount they wish following the initial minimum deposit.

Traders may deposit using six deposit methods and nine currencies.

Withdrawals above the deposit amount using payment processors are not possible. Traders must make such withdrawals directly to their bank accounts.

Bottom Line

I like the trading experience at BlackBull Markets due to its competitive cost structure and excellent trade execution. BlackBull Markets also supports API trading and offers VPS hosting, making it ideal for advanced algorithmic trading. The asset selection, especially for equity traders, ranks among the top 5 brokers within the retail Forex/CFD industry. The minimum deposit for the ECN Prime account of $2,000 is a bit high but remains acceptable. Overall, the core trading environment is outstanding, and I rank BlackBull Markets as a leading choice for demanding equity traders, asset managers, and Forex traders.

FAQs

Is BlackBull Markets regulated?

BlackBull Markets has a regulatory license from the FMA in New Zealand and the FSA in Seychelles.

Where is BlackBull Markets based?

The headquarters of BlackBull Markets is in Auckland, New Zealand.

How does BlackBull Markets make money?

BlackBull Markets makes money from spreads, commissions, and swap rates on leveraged overnight positions.

How do I open a live account with BlackBull Markets?

Clicking on Live Account on the homepage of BlackBull Markets opens the four-step online application process.

How do I deposit money with BlackBull Markets?

BlackBull Markets accepts deposits by bank wires, credit/debit cards, Skrill, Neteller, Union Pay, FasaPay, and selected cryptocurrencies.

How do I withdraw money from BlackBull Markets?

Traders can request withdrawals from the secure back office of BlackBull Markets in a straightforward process, usually completed within 24 hours except for bank wires.

Is BlackBull Markets legit?

BlackBull Market is a legit broker regulated in New Zealand, the UK, and Seychelles with an exceptional regulatory track record.

Can you trade crypto with BlackBull Markets?

BlackBull Markets offers cryptocurrency CFDs, but not physical cryptocurrency trading.

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