Monero (XMR) is an open-source cryptocurrency that aims to distinguish itself from its competitors through privacy and decentralisation. Proponents argue it could be the future of blockchain and the rise in value appears to support that. This page will break down precisely what Monero is, including its history, mining and wallets. The page will then conclude with price predictions and details on how to start day trading with Monero coins.
Top Monero Trading Brokers
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- Demo account
- Regulator: FCA, ASIC, CySEC, FSC, SCB, FSA
- Platforms: MT4, MT5, TradingView, TradeLocker
71.28% of retail traders lose money when trading CFDs -
- Demo account
- Platforms: xStation
- Min. deposit: $0
75% of accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. -
- Demo account
- Regulator: FCA, ASIC, CMVM , FSCA, SCB, FSA
- Platforms: TN Trader, MT4, TradingView
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- Demo account
- Regulator: ASIC, VFSC, FSA
- Platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, DupliTrade
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- Demo account
- Instruments: CFDs, Forex, Indices, Shares, Commodities
- Regulator: ASIC, CySEC, FSCA, FSC
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- Demo account
- Regulator: FMA, FSA
- Min. deposit: $0
Learn how we test brokers and why you can trust our ratings.
Here is a short overview of each broker's pros and cons
- Eightcap 4.6/5 Eightcap is a multi-regulated forex and CFD broker established in Australia in 2009. The broker has proven popular with active day traders, providing 800+ instruments with tight spreads and notable improvements in recent years, integrating the leading TradingView platform, alongside AI-powered financial calendars and algo trading tools with zero coding experience required.
- XTB 4.8/5 Founded in 2002 in Poland, XTB now serves more than 1 million clients. The forex and CFD broker combines a heavily regulated trading environment with an extensive selection of assets and a commitment to trader satisfaction, featuring an intuitive in-house platform with superb tools to support aspiring day traders.
- Trade Nation 4.4/5 Trade Nation is a top FX and CFD broker regulated in multiple jurisdictions including the UK and Australia. The firm offers low-cost fixed and variable spreads on 1000+ assets with robust trading platforms and training materials. The Signal Centre can also be used for trade ideas.
- Fusion Markets 4.6/5 Fusion Markets is an online broker established in 2017 and regulated by the ASIC, VFSC and FSA. It is best known for its low-cost forex and CFD trading, although its multiple account types and copy trading solutions cater to a range of traders. New clients can sign up and start trading in 3 easy steps.
- FBS 4.3/5 Founded in 2009, FBS is an award-winning CFD broker operating in over 150 countries with a client base exceeding 27 million traders. Traders are supported at every stage of their journey with 24/7 assistance, market analytics, trading calculators, and competitive pricing with zero commissions.
- BlackBull 4.5/5 BlackBull is a New Zealand-based CFD broker providing diverse trading opportunities on over 2,180 instruments. After undergoing a rebrand in 2023, it now sports a modern look and feel complete with professional-grade trading tools and ultra-fast execution speeds averaging 20ms.
Community Sentiment
See how users rate these brokers based on the average customer ratings submitted on DayTrading.com, plus ratings from Trustpilot, the Apple App Store and Google Play.
| Broker | Our Users' Rating | Trustpilot Score | Trustpilot Reviews | iOS App Rating | Android App Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eightcap | 3909 | ||||
| XTB | 2935 | ||||
| Trade Nation | 2147 | ||||
| Fusion Markets | 10051 | ||||
| FBS | 10177 | ||||
| BlackBull | 3515 |
Eightcap
Eightcap delivers in every area for day traders with a growing selection of charting platforms, education via Labs, and AI-powered tools. Now sporting 120+ crypto CFDs, it's also become a stand-out choice for crypto trading, winning our 'Best Crypto Broker' award two years in a row.
Christian Harris, Reviewer
Eightcap quick facts
- Demo Account
- ✔Yes
- Instruments
- CFDs in Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto
- Regulator
- FCA, ASIC, CySEC, FSC, SCB, FSA
- Platforms
- MT4, MT5, TradingView, TradeLocker
- Minimum Deposit
- $100
- Minimum Trade
- 0.01 Lots
- Account Currencies
- USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, SGD
Pros
- Eightcap stands out with a selection of powerful trading tools and resources, including MT4 and MT5, and more recently the 100-million strong social trading network TradingView.
- With tight spreads from 0 pips, low commission fees, Eightcap provides cost-effective and flexible trading conditions that can accommodate an array of strategies, including day trading and scalping.
- Eightcap has brought in GOLD247 for 24/7 trading opportunities on a gold/USD CFD with leverage up to 1:20, minimum trade size of 0.01 lots, and no commission, appealing to weekend traders interested in the precious metal.
Cons
- The demo account expires after 30 days and can only be extended upon request - a notable inconvenience compared to the likes of XM with its unlimited demo mode.
- Eightcap needs to continue bolstering its suite of 800+ instruments to match category leaders like Blackbull Markets with its 26,000+ assets, featuring a particularly weak selection of commodities.
- Despite a useful library of educational guides and e-books in Labs, Eightcap still trails IG’s comprehensive toolkit for aspiring traders with its dedicated IG Academy app and 18 course categories.
XTB
XTB stands out as a top choice for new day traders with the terrific xStation platform, low trading costs, no minimum deposit, and excellent educational tools, many of which are seamlessly integrated into the platform.
Christian Harris, Reviewer
XTB quick facts
- Demo Account
- ✔Yes
- Instruments
- CFDs on shares, Indices, ETFs, Raw Materials, Forex currencies, cryptocurrencies, Real shares, Real ETFs
- Regulator
- FCA, CySEC, KNF, DFSA, FSC, SCA, CMF, Bappebti
- Platforms
- xStation
- Minimum Deposit
- $0
- Minimum Trade
- 0.01 Lots
- Account Currencies
- USD, EUR, GBP
Pros
- The xStation platform continues to impress with its user-friendly interface and intuitive features, including customizable news feeds, sentiment heatmaps, and trader calculator, reducing the learning curve for newer traders.
- First-class 24/5 customer support is available, including a friendly live chat with response times of under two minutes during testing.
- XTB has boosted its interest rate on uninvested balances and added zero-fee ISAs (On ETFs and real shares, or 0.2% with transactions over €100k) for UK clients with a huge range of markets available.
Cons
- XTB does not offer a raw spread account, which is becoming increasingly common among competitors like Pepperstone, and may disappoint day traders looking for the tightest spreads.
- The research tools at XTB are good but could be great if they went beyond in-house features with access to leading third-party tools such as Autochartist, Trading Central and TipRanks.
- Trading fees are competitive with average spreads of around 1 pip on the EUR/USD but still trail the cheapest brokers like IC Markets, plus there's an inactivity fee after 12 months.
Trade Nation
Trade Nation suits discretionary traders who want to speculate on major indices like the US 500 or liquid FX pairs, and want the predictable all-in costs of fixed spreads. In tests, we found the fixed-spread TN Trader environment particularly useful for trading around scheduled economic releases owing to its reliable charting environment and because published spreads stayed capped.
Christian Harris, Reviewer
Trade Nation quick facts
- Demo Account
- ✔Yes
- Instruments
- CFDs, Forex, Indices, Shares, Commodities, Futures, Bonds, Spread Betting (UK and Ireland only), Cryptos (Bahamas entity only)
- Regulator
- FCA, ASIC, CMVM , FSCA, SCB, FSA
- Platforms
- TN Trader, MT4, TradingView
- Minimum Deposit
- $0
- Minimum Trade
- 0.1 Lots
- Account Currencies
- USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, ZAR, SEK, NOK, DKK
Pros
- In testing of the TN Trader account under normal market conditions, fixed spreads held while fills were prompt on major forex pairs, with a slight drift in the entry level as price ticked between click and fill.
- The demo comes with a $5,000 practice account and you can request a one-on-one platform walkthrough by callback - this level of personal help is rare.
- The broker expanded into Europe with regulated online trading services after securing authorization from Portugal's CVMV, boosting its safety protections for European residents.
Cons
- Withdrawals can take up to five business days, which is around the industry average but slower than the 1-3 days we’re increasingly seeing brokers offer in an attempt to quash withdrawal complaints from retail investors.
- There is no raw or ECN pricing tier, which are often prefered by day traders. No matter how much you deposit or trade, you use the same fixed (or variable on MT4) pricing as beginners, making it unsuitable for scalpers especially.
- Offshore SCB and FSA entities allow retail clients up to 1:200 and 1:500 leverage compared to 1:30 in regions like the UK, Europe and Australia, so an FSA client can have 16 times the exposure of a UK retail client on the same trade, but with less oversight and no compensation scheme.
Fusion Markets
Fusion Markets is a standout option for forex traders looking for excellent pricing with spreads near zero, industry-low commissions and recently TradingView integration. It’s a particularly good broker for Australian traders where the company is headquartered and regulated by the ASIC.
Jemma Grist, Reviewer
Fusion Markets quick facts
- Demo Account
- ✔Yes
- Instruments
- CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto
- Regulator
- ASIC, VFSC, FSA
- Platforms
- MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, DupliTrade
- Minimum Deposit
- $0
- Minimum Trade
- 0.01 Lots
- Account Currencies
- USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, SGD
Pros
- Withdrawal processing times have been slashed to under an hour and can be processed 24/7, making it faster and easier for active traders to withdraw any gains.
- The range of charting platforms and social trading features is excellent, with MT4, MT5, cTrader and more recently TradingView, catering to a wide range of trader preferences.
- Fusion Markets is set up to support algo traders with a sponsored VPS solution and a 25% discount if you opt for the NYC Servers VPS for MT4 or cTrader.
Cons
- Fusion Market trails alternatives, notably IG, in the education department with limited guides and live video sessions to upskill new traders.
- The demo account expires after 30 days, limiting its potential as a useful trading tool alongside a real-money account.
- There is no proprietary trading platform or app built with beginners in mind, a notable drawback compared to AvaTrade.
FBS
FBS is an excellent choice for day traders at every level and budget, with just a $5 minimum deposit and intensive academy for aspiring traders alongside access to MT4 and MT5.
Christian Harris, Reviewer
FBS quick facts
- Demo Account
- ✔Yes
- Instruments
- CFDs, Forex, Indices, Shares, Commodities
- Regulator
- ASIC, CySEC, FSCA, FSC
- Platforms
- FBS App, MT4, MT5
- Minimum Deposit
- $5
- Minimum Trade
- 0.01 Lots
- Account Currencies
- USD, EUR, AUD, JPY
Pros
- 24/7 customer support that performed excellently during testing is available, alongside a $5 minimum deposit, and a huge variety of 200+ funding options, making it ideal for traders with small accounts.
- FBS offers lightning-fast execution speeds from just 10 milliseconds, placing it among the industry leaders for highly active traders like scalpers who demand rapid order processing.
- The introduction of the FBI Assistant has given active traders useful, AI-powered intelligence to assess charts and patterns with potential trade ideas that can be executed in one click.
Cons
- Although the FBS app offers a terrific mobile trading experience for aspiring traders and MT4/MT5 cater to advanced traders, the absence of cTrader and TradingView, which are increasingly offered by alternatives like Pepperstone, will deter day traders familiar with these platforms.
- Despite enhancing the selection of currency pairs, now providing over 70, FBS still trails industry leaders like BlackBull Markets in its market offering with a particularly narrow selection of commodities and indices.
- There are only four base currencies available - EUR, USD, AUD and JPY (region dependant) - which isn't practical for minimizing currency conversion fees for many global traders, and is especially striking given the broker’s user base spans over 150 nations.
BlackBull
After improving its trading infrastructure with Equinix servers in London, reducing latency for traders, BlackBull is an obvious choice if you want to day trade stock CFDs with ECN pricing. With competitive spreads and no commission on a growing roster of digital tokens paired with USD, BlackBull also works for active crypto traders.
Christian Harris, Reviewer
BlackBull quick facts
- Demo Account
- ✔Yes
- Instruments
- CFDs, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Futures, Crypto
- Regulator
- FMA, FSA
- Platforms
- BlackBull Invest, BlackBull CopyTrader, MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, AutoChartist
- Minimum Deposit
- $0
- Minimum Trade
- 0.01 Lots
- Account Currencies
- USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY, ZAR, SGD
Pros
- BlackBulls’s research is superb, especially the daily ‘Trading Opportunities’ articles that break down complex market movements into easy-to-understand insights, making it simpler to capitalize on emerging trends.
- BlackBull is a much greater fit for aspiring traders following the overhaul of its ECN Prime account, now featuring improved spreads averaging 0.16 on EUR/USD and a more accessible minimum deposit of $0 compared to the old $2,000.
- After partnering with ZuluTrade and Myfxbook, alongside improvements to its own CopyTrader, and finally enabling cTrader Copy, BlackBull offers one of the most comprehensive copy trading experiences we've seen.
Cons
- Unlike most top brokers, BlackBull charges an irritating $5 withdrawal fee, which can detract from the overall cost-effectiveness, especially for active traders who frequently move funds.
- Although the Education Hub now features improvements like webinars and tutorials, the courses we’ve explored need more focus on explaining the wider economic factors influencing prices.
- Despite a growing selection of 2,180+ assets, including additions to its Asia Pacific indices, they are mainly stocks with an average selection of currency pairs and indices.
Monero Live Price Chart
What is Monero?
Essentially, Monero forms part of a system that enables direct digital exchanges between parties. In this respect, it is similar to Bitcoin (BTC). However, Monero promises totally private transactions.
This sophisticated cryptocurrency runs on:
- Windows
- MacOS
- Android
- Linux
- FreeBSD
It’s worth mentioning that while many cryptocurrencies have a maximum supply of coins, Monero boasts an unlimited total supply.
History
An air of mystery clouds Monero. Having said that, we do know:
- Monero quite literally means ‘coin’ in Esperanto.
- Monero is built on an underlying CryptoNote Protocol that was launched in October 2013, under the pseudonym Nicolas van Saberhagen.
- The anonymous creator ‘thankful_for_today’ then coded and brought the cryptocurrency to life.
- It was the hard forking of the cryptocurrency in 2014 that resulted in the Monero coin we now know.
September 2014 saw Monero suffer from a flaw in CryptoNote that was exploited. This weakness allowed for the creation of two subchains that would not recognise the validity of transactions. Fortunately, the issue was swiftly remedied by developers.
2016 was a particularly successful year for this cryptocurrency. Market capitalisation jumped along with transaction volume. This is partly thanks to the adoption by the major darknet market AlphaBay.
Another interesting news story has surrounded the alleged interest of North Korea. Using malware, Minero was allegedly mined from a computer and then sent to Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang.
Technical Makeup
You do not need an in-depth understanding of Monero’s technical architecture to start day trading. However, basic knowledge will allow for more accurate technical analysis and price speculation.
Monero has a ‘view key’ and a ‘spend key’. The view key can be shared for optional transparency. However, the system is engineered for straightforward processing via mobile devices. It is impossible to accurately calculate a wallet balance without a spend key.
Privacy
The CryptoNight proof-of-work hash algorithm is the foundation Monero is built on. It promises important algorithmic nuances in terms of blockchain obfuscation. Usually, public ledger cryptocurrencies allow for addresses with questionable activity to be refused by others. However, Monero obscures details about the sender, recipient and amount of each transaction.
It does this in several ways. Firstly, it replaces the unit of the currency with another unit. The ring signatures then blend the spender’s address with a number of others. This makes it extremely challenging to identify links between transactions. Also, stealth addresses are created, which makes identifying address destinations practically impossible for all but the sender and receiver. Lastly, a ‘ring confidential transactions’ process obscures the transaction value.
Monero Uses
Before you get bogged down in current prices and exchange rates to USD and Euro, it’s important you are aware how Monero is being used.
Some have capitalised on the cryptocurrency’s privacy capabilities to avoid the law. The egalitarian mining process ensures you can distribute mining efforts, exploring avenues of both legitimate online publishers and illicit hackers. The latter has been quietly embedding code into both websites and apps.
Unfortunately, this has meant popular uses for the Monero cryptocurrency include:
- Drugs
- Hacking
- Weapons
- Gambling
- Trafficking
- Prostitution
Both AlphaBay and Oasis are dark web marketplaces that have utilised the anonymity of Monero. While it remains outside of capital control, some in the world may want to hold back.
Benefits
- Security – Despite questionable usage, there is no denying Monero promises an impressive level of encryption and anonymity. This is certainly one of the biggest factors behind the rise in historical and live prices.
- Accessibility – Day trading when you don’t have market knowledge can be risky. However, there is a wealth of information online that ensures you can get all components of Monero’s offering explained. You can find white papers, yearly charts, price graphs, 5-year predictions and detailed price analysis.
- Transaction time – The cryptocurrency promises staggering transactions per second speeds (TPS) of 1700.
- Wallets – There is a growing number of ways you can store your cryptocurrency, including Android and iOS wallets.
- Node list – The official Monero website makes it easy to obtain full nodes and even walks you through the process.
There are a number of benefits to this new cryptocurrency. However, is this all enough to make Monroe a good investment?
Drawbacks
Before you make your mind up, you should also consider the following:
- Mining difficulty – Javascript miners and those employing other mining algorithms need to be wary. Dishonest pool managers, depreciation and wallet complications all pose a risk.
- Trust – Some Monero explorers will already have come across misleading information. There is a serious risk of pump and dumps, so you must consider the accuracy of price forecasts. Just because it’s at its highest price now, doesn’t mean it won’t plummet shortly.
- Competition – The cryptocurrency market is booming. As a result, Monero will have a tough job of gaining and even maintaining market share.
How to Buy Monero
There aren’t too many exchanges where you can buy Monero. For example, Coinbase is not an option, despite it being the most popular digital currency exchange.
Fortunately, there are still a number of cryptocurrency exchanges and websites you can turn to:
- Kraken
- Bitfinex
- Poloniex
- LocalMonero
- MoneroForCash
It is worth checking reviews, price quotes and transaction fees before you make a purchase. Some of these websites will also provide prices live, latest news, long-term outlooks, as well as guidance on spotting potential opportunities.
Alternatively, you could find an individual who will sell you these altcoins directly.
Momentum is growing on forums as technical questions are being answered. As a result, more investors are starting to buy Monero. This should mean there will be less difficulty buying these cryptocurrency coins in the future.
Client Software & Wallets
A user will require client software, also known as a wallet, to connect with the Monero network. Fortunately, the Monero Project has created the necessary implementation. The primary software daemon is called Monerod. This will read the blockchain and claim your transactions. Monero-wallet-cli will manage your account, wallet address and process new transactions. Lastly, Money GUI enables you to connect with the previously mentioned components via a graphical interface.
It is also worth noting third-party implementations of Monero clients exist. For example, Monerujo facilitates Monero use on Android. Online web wallets will allow you to network through the browser via a third party website. In addition, light wallets and keeping your coins on Ledger Nano S are popular options.
Overall, there are hardware, desktop, mobile, and offline paper wallets to choose from. On top of that, users will have an increasing choice as developers continue to deliver updates.
Mining
Monero coin mining (XMR) allows for users to benefit from reward blocks by joining mining pools. Alternatively, you can start solo mining. No specific hardware or software, including application-specific integrated circuits, are required. This means Mac, Windows and Android mining is all available.
In fact, the following consumer grade hardware should all be up to the task:
- X86
- X86-64
- ARM
- GPUs
Having said that, mining rigs will encounter difficulties, regardless of whether your GPU, CPU or cloud mining. All will require a considerable amount of costly electricity.
So before you join a team, decide whether you want to be a web browser miner or USB miner. You can then find free, detailed mining guides online that even come with XMR mining calculators.
A useful tip is to search by benchmarks when trying to find the right system.
What’s Next for Monero?
According to stats and price charts, the Monero cryptocurrency is experiencing considerable growth and may even be undervalued. This is perhaps unsurprising when you consider the anonymity prevents those you pay, such as a landlord, having access to your overall financial picture.
Even Litecoin founder, Charlie Lee has expressed an interested in working with this cryptocurrency. It also boasts the fastest block generation speed, one minute, of all CryptoNotes. However, scalability and profit calculators remain ambiguous at best, particularly if the cryptocurrency remains primarily in illicit markets.
For further crypto guidance, you can also see our cryptocurrency page.