gersegal's  Instablog

The different FX social network and copy trading platforms targeted by MetaQuotes for elimination from unauthorized access to MT4 servers have taken different approaches to the situation. On the one hand is Tradency, which announced that it will "cease operation with MetaQuotes systems, shifting Mirror Trader brokers to [other] various currently available proven solutions."

However most of the other copy trading companies are basically ignoring MetaQuotes warning, realizing that the MT4 brokers want and need the volumes provided by copy traders, and are finding IT solutions to circumvent the ban.

Myfxbook has announced that it is business-as-usual for its MT4 clients. Myfxbook did point out that MetaQuotes is blocking Myfxbook from automatically accessing MT4 servers (which Myfxbook believes is because of the high load they created on their servers), and as such Myfxbook stopped offering the auto update option for its trading clients. Instead, Myfxbook asked clients to simply switch from the auto update option to the EA method instead.

Myfxbook made clear that no other functions of Myfxbook are affected and that everything is working as expected.

As a side note, Myfxbook did say that they're working on integration with new trading platforms. As we said when this story broke, we believe that the big winners in all this will be the leading independent FX platform providers, such as Leverate and X Financial Solutions. They all have the MT4 copy trading firms (ZuluTrade, Myfxbook, Tradency, Tradeo...) knocking on their doors, scrambling to have an alternative to MT4 out there.

Stay tuned to LeapRate, this story will be interesting to follow -- and may reshape the entire retail trading industry.

For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.

Bitcoin prices and volumes on Mt Gox showed very strange patterns at a normally slow time.

Another reason why FX brokers are still generally reluctant to add Bitcoin trading... Coinsetter Blog pointed out a very interesting phenomenon, whereby it questioned whether Bitcoin prices were being manipulated this past Sunday, June 2. After several weeks of relative stability in the Bitcoin market, Coinsetter pointed out that this weekend saw a rapid and otherwise unexplained drop in Bitcoin prices, as per the chart below: Another reason why FX brokers are still generally reluctant to add Bitcoin trading...

After hovering near the $130 level the prior week, strong selling pressures forced the Bitcoin price down to about $120 over the course of just several hours. Alongside the price movement came a large jump in volume. Coinsetter also noticed multiple "clog sales" (i.e. small transactions of the same size in rapid progression). In all, $5.3 million of Bitcoins were sold off during a seven hour period. This equated to more than 40,000 BTC of trading volume, which was returned to the market as buy orders about an hour later. Coinsetter's prognosis: possible market manipulation.

Manipulating the market for instruments having low trading volume such as Bitcoin is fairly easy. Coinsetter points out that given that Bitcoin's displayed and perceived current price is based on the "last price", big selling on a small orderbook can make it appear that prices are dropping for a more legitimate purpose.

Bitcoin prices this week have drifted back up a little, but remain below last week's $130 level.

We'll keep following this story. Stay tuned to LeapRate...

For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.

Another reason why FX brokers are still generally reluctant to add Bitcoin trading... Coinsetter Blog pointed out a very interesting phenomenon, whereby it questioned whether Bitcoin prices were being manipulated this past Sunday, June 2. After several weeks of relative stability in the Bitcoin market, Coinsetter pointed out that this weekend saw a rapid and otherwise unexplained drop in Bitcoin prices, as per the chart below: Another reason why FX brokers are still generally reluctant to add Bitcoin trading...

(click to enlarge)

After hovering near the $130 level the prior week, strong selling pressures forced the Bitcoin price down to about $120 over the course of just several hours. Alongside the price movement came a large jump in volume. Coinsetter also noticed multiple "clog sales" (i.e. small transactions of the same size in rapid progression). In all, $5.3 million of Bitcoins were sold off during a seven hour period. This equated to more than 40,000 BTC of trading volume, which was returned to the market as buy orders about an hour later. Coinsetter's prognosis: possible market manipulation.

Manipulating the market for instruments having low trading volume such as Bitcoin is fairly easy. Coinsetter points out that given that Bitcoin's displayed and perceived current price is based on the "last price", big selling on a small orderbook can make it appear that prices are dropping for a more legitimate purpose.

Bitcoin prices this week have drifted back up a little, but remain below last week's $130 level.

We'll keep following this story. Stay tuned to LeapRate...

For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.