There’s a new kid in the block – Berlin based FXBees launched and offers traders to share their data. Here’s a quick introduction of this interesting site.
FXBees labels itself as the “first social forex broker†– traders can open an account with a broker through their platform, rather than connect an existing one. The account can either be real or a demo account. This is a major difference from another social forex site that instantly comes to mind: Currensee. FXBees is similar to Currensee, but there are some differences:
By allowing demo accounts, FXBees opens doors to beginners that just want to try out forex trading. While this is interesting and will enable getting many members quickly, there’s a big difference between performance on a real account and on a demo account. Psychological issues, proper money management (with limited real money compared to unlimited monopoly money) and differences between execution in real accounts and demo accounts all make a difference.
In his review of FXBees, Michael Greenberg emphasizes these differences and receives interesting comments.
The design of their site is great. The color and layout are very friendly, with successful traders standing out. Real and demo accounts are clearly labeled. There’s also an option to drill down and see what times traders trade, which currency pairs they specialize in, and lots more.
The site is available in English and German and consists of an open forum in addition to the interaction that is available between traders which become friends.
In order to attract good traders, FXBees offers a compensation for those successful ones that share their data. This also sounds similar to Currensee’s Trade Leaders program.
And in order to attract beginners, FXBees now offers a free $30 account for new members. No deposit is necessary, but FXBees requires these beginner traders to pass a basic quiz, in order not to burn out their account instantly.
All in all, FXBees is a great initiative, that is part of the evolution of the forex market, on the road to becoming more mainstream. Andre Derek’s team still has work to do in order to reach Currensee’s mature platform, especially with tackling the issues of forex demo accounts. Nevertheless, it seems that they’re on the right track.
