Nadex is a US-based exchange providing powerful trading tools and advanced features to traders of all experience levels. Nadex is not a brokerage, but a CFTC-regulated exchange.

Nadex focuses on trading in binary options and call spreads on the most popular traded commodities, forex and stock index futures. This review of Nadex will evaluate all elements of their offering, including pricing, accounts and trading platforms &#; including NadexGo, the new mobile platform, before concluding with a final verdict.

A Brief History

Before looking at the potential for day trading returns, it can help to understand how Nadex has evolved into the leading exchange of its kind. The exchange was launched in and was originally known as ‘HedgeStreet’. The objective at that point was to create an electronic marketplace that facilitated trading in financial derivatives to retail investors. However, by HedgeStreet closed its doors.

UK-based IG Group Holdings Plc. purchased the company and in HedgeStreet was re-branded the North American Derivatives Exchange (Nadex). With sophisticated new technology and instruments.

It&#;s worth highlighting that while the parent company is based in London and listed on the FTSE , Nadex headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois.

Products

Part of the improved product range saw a greater choice of binary options. In fact, their binaries and call spread contracts cover an array of underlying markets, including commodity futures, equity index futures and spot forex rates. Furthermore, Nadex members can take positions on all of the following assets on:

• Stock Index Futures – US (S&P ), Wall Street 30 (DOW), US Tech (Nasdaq), US SmallCap (Russell ), FTSE , Germany 30 (DAX), Japan (Nikkei), China 50
• Forex pairs – EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, AUD/USD, EUR/GBP, USD/CAD, AUD/JPY, GBP/JPY, EUR/JPY
• Commodities – Crude Oil, Gold, Silver, Copper, Natural Gas, Soybeans, Corn

Traders are also able to benefit from a choice of expiration times, including intraday, daily and weekly expirations. But while using Nadex does mean you can start trading on just 5-minute forex or 20 minute stock index binary options, their product range does not include second binaries or similar products, as some competitors do.

Nadex do add new products regularly, and Touch Bracket™ contracts are one such addition. The Touch Bracket™ is a contract which allows the trader to speculate on price movement of a market within a pre-defined range. The range is limited by the floor and ceiling prices. Within these levels, the value of the contract will move in linearity with the movement of the underlying market.

The micro lot sizes of the new Touch Bracket™ contracts provide options to trade with low capital requirements. With the built-in floor and ceiling structure, whether long or short, the contracts provide pinpoint risk control guaranteed. No slippage and no nasty shocks. This provides the power of leverage with but with managed risk – The maximum risk on any trade is the only capital required to secure that trade. Once the trade is open, the capital requirements never change, even when held overnight, making these contracts as easy to swing trade as to day trade.

Minimum Initial Deposit

Nadex welcomes traders by requiring just a $ minimum initial deposit. This is actually just half the industry average. In fact, Nadex has made strides to ensure once you have funded your account, you can start trading a variety of markets in binaries and spreads immediately.

This low initial deposit is particularly attractive for beginners who may not want to risk too much capital at the offset.

An even more powerful aspect of risk protection is the capped risk. The most you can lose on a binary options is the amount you paid to enter the trade, since the binary&#;s value cannot go below zero. Since you can never risk more than you have in your account, your losses cannot exceed deposits.

Spreads & Commissions

Most brokers do not offer genuine exchange trading. Because Nadex is an exchange and not a brokerage, traders can submit their orders direct to the exchange and not through a broker. Therefore, Nadex members also do not need to pay any broker commissions.

Instead, Nadex charges a fixed fee of $1 per side, per contract. If a binary options trade expires worthless, Nadex will waive the settlement fee. These trading and settlement fees are Nadex&#;s sole source of income. This means they do not trade against their traders.

Some suggest this may mean attractive earnings potential as your trading costs are lower. In terms of payouts, maximum losses and profits are calculated via entry/exit times, as well as the contract type.

Payouts can exceed % while losses are limited to the amount of capital initially invested. Because you cannot take trades if you do not already have the needed amount in your account, losses cannot exceed deposits.

Because Nadex does not participate in trading, the bid/ask spreads in individual markets, as well as the pricing, are determined solely by the participant buyers and sellers. That said, as a CFTC-regulated exchange, Nadex partners with multiple market makers to ensure viable liquidity and bid/ask spreads.

Nadex Call Spreads

Nadex also offers a unique product which they also call &#;Call spreads&#;. These are offered on a number of markets, including stock index futures, commodities and forex. But fear not, understanding these spreads is also straightforward.

You can trade the price of a market like EUR/USD within a range. As the price of EUR/USD fluctuates, so does the spread, although it remains within a predetermined upper and lower limit.

It’s worth highlighting that if the value of EUR/USD exceeds one of the limits, the EUR/USD spread value will come to a standstill at whichever limit it is breaching.

At the upper limit, the spread stops at a maximum value. At the lower limit, the spread reaches a minimum and will not lose any more value, no matter how far the underlying market drops.

As a result, you get enhanced control over your risk-reward ratio. This is because you decide your risk parameters via the call spread limits.

You have intraday and daily call spreads. Each will require a careful spread strategy. This is hopefully where the Nadex trading platform comes into play. Details of which can be found further below.

You hopefully now know what a Nadex spread is. However, for a more detailed breakdown of forex and binary spreads, head over to the official website. You will also find contract specs.

Leverage

The advantage of Nadex spreads in terms of leverage also needs to be explained. Normally, spot forex traders in the US, for example, can’t get better than Nadex spreads are fully collateralised and dont involve margin. They are not a leveraged trading product, but more like a short-term option. However, in many cases the cost of a Nadex spread can be lower than trading the underlying market outright.

This low cost of can effectively give you a high reward vs risk. You also have a certain degree of risk control, since your maximum risk is capped. Plus you can exit early to further limit your losses. Alternatively, you can seize your profits before the spread expires.

Other Trading Fees

Reviews of Nadex have been quick to highlight their pricing structure is fairly transparent. As a result, traders do not have to worry about a range of hidden fees that will cut into their end of the day capital. Having said that, there is a $25 returned deposit fee. If you do need to pay any other fees, you will encounter clear notices.

So, is Nadex a good exchange in terms of fees? If used carefully, trading with Nadex could well mean generous leverage and low trading fees, and all while keeping risk levels low. However, as is the very nature of day trading, your capital is always at risk.

Unfortunately, user reviews are quick to point out that Nadex often falls short in terms of account promotions and special offers versus other binary providers. However, occasionally they will run free trading days and other similar offers. You will need to check on their official website for any current details of these.

Nadex Trading Platform

One of the most important components of the trader&#;s experience is the platform. This is where you will spend the majority of your time, conducting market research and executing trades.

Results from Nadex’s proprietary platform reviews are mixed. While you have everything you need, from technical indicators to free real-time market data feeds, the platform has somewhat of a foreign feel. Hence new traders may want to get a feel for the platform using the demo account first.

How to Trade

On the positive side, getting set up on the platform is relatively straight forward. Simply head to the ‘Finder’ window on the left of the platform to select an asset. This will bring up a clean selection of expiration time frames to choose from.

Note all times are listed in Eastern Time (ET).

Once both the asset and expiry have been chosen, your ‘Markets’ window will update. You will then be met with price levels available for trading. Normally you can expect around 10 levels to choose between.

Nadex binary options range from 0 to The former is when the settled option did not finish in the money, while the latter reflects an outcome that did take place.

Your trading ticket will then confirm:

• Expiry time
• Price level
• Bid size
• Current bid and offer prices

You will then need to select buy or sell and specific a trade size. You also have the option to alter the indicative price above or below current levels to see if your position will be ‘matched’. As a regulated exchange, Nadex will never take the other side of your trade. Your order will only be matched by another trader.

Of course, you can close your trades at any time. This will allow you to realise profits or reduce losses. Finally, the figures your ticket displays highlight the outcomes if you allow the option to expire.

Then you just need to hit ‘Place Order’. If matched, you should be able to view your trade in the Open positions window. However, if it is only partially matched, it will be automatically moved to the Working Orders screen. You will then get an email confirmation with the details of your trade and another when an order is settled.

Platform Verdict

As forex and binary options customer reviews have explained, the platform is fairly user-friendly allowing even for beginners to understand how to trade with ease. Access to historical data is given, as are all the necessary symbols and tools to interpret price action.

Mobile Apps

Mobile app reviews are quick to point out that Nadex’s new Progressive Web App offering called NadexGo is one of the most comprehensive on the market.

As soon as you have completed your download of NadexGo, you will start to appreciate the sleek user interface and concise design. In fact, the dealing ticket trading area looks extremely similar to the desktop platform.

Conducting research is straightforward while setting up alerts is quick and hassle-free. You also get access to the same free signals while viewing your order history is simple. On top of that, you can utilise binary options app tutorials to help you make the most of your Apple or Android app.

Overall then, the mobile apps provide a smooth transition from the desktop-based platform. Furthermore, NadexGo is actually supported by a browser-based interface which you can open up from within your mobile device. This should all help alleviate concerns among traders who worry they won’t be able to implement a 20 minute or hourly options strategy effectively.

Methods of Payment

Once you have signed up, you will need to go about funding your account. Fortunately, Nadex offers a number of ways you can go about deposits and withdrawals, including:

• Debit card
• Wire transfer
• ACH transfer (US residents only)
• Paper check (US residents only)

Note bank verification will be required for some transactions and credit cards are not accepted. Users may need to pay withdrawal fees if they use wire transfers, which will cost $25 but will normally be processed the same business day. Whereas ACH transfers are free but usually take between three to five days.

You can head to your account section to choose a specific payment amount. Also, see their FAQ page for details on minimum withdrawal limits, proof and any other issues, as these will depend on the payment method and can change over time.

While these payment methods are fairly industry standard, some user reviews did complain about the lack of an option to fund an account or take profits via PayPal.

Nadex Accounts

Opening a Nadex account is relatively straightforward. There are just two account types to choose from, a US individual account and an international individual account available for residents of over 40 other countries. For a full list of countries, visit the Account types pages at the Nadex website.

All you need to do is head online and follow the on-screen instructions. You will need to provide:

• Date of birth
• Permanent residential address
• Social Security Number or National Identification Number

Note you may have to upload supporting documents before you can start trading. You will also need to fund your account. When you sign up you will also be given information on how to close your account.

Demo Account