Deriv Review
Why Deriv Doesn’t Suck In 50 Words
This is a broker that successfully blends Binary Options and Contracts For Difference, while still offering a platform for everyone. New traders who don’t care about technical analysis can choose between 2 trading platforms (proprietary to Deriv.com), while more experienced traders can go for Meta Trader 5, which is well-known for its versatility.
Why Deriv Sucks In 50 Words
At Deriv.com you can trade digital options and CFDs on various assets but the asset basket is rather limited, at least when compared to the “big boys” of the industry. Some brokers offer a few hundred assets, while Deriv only offers a bit over 50. That’s still enough to find good trading opportunities, but more options are always welcomed.
Is Deriv A Scam?
Although this broker was launched in 2020, it is part of the Regent Markets Group, which is rooted back in 1999 and has operated BetonMarkets.com (later rebranded to Binary.com), we can safely say that we are dealing with an old-timer despite the immaturity of Deriv.com. Furthermore, the company is regulated in all jurisdictions where its branches operate, albeit the financial regulators are not among the fiercest in the business. Bottom line: Deriv.com and especially Regent Markets Group are not scams but caution is always advised.
Should I Open An Account With Deriv?
Deriv is a new and exciting digital option, FX and CFD broker launched in 2020 but with roots back in 1999. It is a new trading platform powered by Regent Markets Group, which successfully launched and operated BetonMarkets.com and Binary.com, two very well-known brokerages. The services offered on Deriv.com are provided by Binary Group, with several branches, all regulated in their jurisdictions, as follows:
• Binary Investments (Europe) Ltd – regulated as a Category 3 Investment Services provider by the Malta Financial Services Authority – license no. IS/70156. The office is listed at W Business Centre, Level 3, Triq Dun Karm, Birkirkara, BKR 9033, Malta.
• Binary (FX) Ltd, which is licensed by the Labuan Financial Services Authority (license MB/18/0024). Address – Lot No. F16, First Floor, Paragon Labuan, Jalan Tun Mustapha, 87000 Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia.
• Binary (V) Ltd – licensed by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission and located at Govant Building, Port Vila, PO Box 1276, Vanuatu, Republic of Vanuatu.
• Binary (BVI) Ltd – Licensed and regulated by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission. Located at Kingston Chambers, P.O. Box 173, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
This broker offers 3 main trading platforms: DTrader, SmartTrader, and DMT5 (Meta Trader – as a webtrader and as a downloadable version). DTrader is a simple platform that allows digital options such as Rise/Fall, Higher/Lower, and Touch/No touch but also more exotic options such as Even/Odd. You will win an Even trade if the last digit of the last tick is an even number and you will win an Odd trade if the last digit is an odd number. This seems closer to gambling than to trading, but at least we know there’s something for everyone.
The SmartTrader platform has a different layout but the biggest difference is that you will be able to use much longer expiry times, up to 365 days. Both platforms have limited technical analysis capabilities, with some indicators and some drawings available. An interesting option available only on the DTrader platform is the Multiplier Option. With this, you can choose a multiplier up to 500x, which will increase your potential profit and loss. The trades opened this way don’t have an expiry and it feels like this is a hybrid between CFDs and options. Interesting, but not everyone’s cup of tea.
Last but not least, DMT5 is a Meta Trader platform that can be downloaded and installed on your desktop or used as a web version (no download necessary but limited features). On this platform, clients will be able to trade CFDs and to open three types of accounts: Synthetic, Financial, and Financial STP.
• The Synthetic account allows trading on synthetic indices, which are indices designed to mimic the movement of real-world assets but are unaffected by real-world events such as speeches of heads of central banks, economic releases, and others. Leverage for this account goes up to 1:1000
• The Financial account allows CFD trading on major and minor pairs, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, with leverage of up to 1:1000
• The Financial STP (Straight-Trough Processing) allows CFD trading on FX majors, minors, and exotics, with leverage up to 1:100, so it’s much lower than the other 2 accounts but it’s still very acceptable.
Overall Deriv.com is a very interesting addition to the vast number of online brokers but what we like the most is the flexibility they offer. The minimum deposit and withdrawal are just $10 (even $5 for some methods), they offer both digital options and CFDs, as well as some other choices such as Even/Odd which are closer to gambling, but not really gambling. Last but definitely not least, they are regulated in all jurisdictions where they operate, so it’s a matter of taste: if you like what they offer, they seem like a trustworthy broker so you may want to give them a try.
The broker can be contacted at the addresses listed at the beginning of this review, as well as via their international help desk (phone +44 1942 316229) and/or email [email protected].
*Disclaimer: Deriv offers complex derivatives, such as options and contracts for difference (“CFDs”).
These products may not be suitable for all clients, and trading them puts you at risk. Please make sure that you understand the following risks before trading Deriv products:
a) you may lose some or all of the money you invest in the trade,
b) if your trade involves currency conversion, exchange rates will affect your profit and loss.
You should never trade with borrowed money or with money that you cannot afford to lose.
Deriv Complaints
This broker is too “young” at the time of writing, thus we couldn’t locate any complaints coming from real uses. If that changes in the future, we will make sure to update this review.
Deriv Withdrawals
The accepted withdrawal methods are bank transfers, credit/debit cards, e-wallets, and cryptocurrencies. All major cards and wallets are accepted, with very low minimums ($5 – $10) and only one business day needed for processing. Clients can also use cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Tether (processing time: 1 business day + 3 network confirmations).
Deriv Extras
Synthetic Indices can be considered an Extra feature and on top of this, Deriv.com offers DBot, which is a strategy-building tool that uses drag-and-drop “blocks”. The tool is completely web-based (no download or installation needed) and allows users to create their own automated trading strategy without any special coding knowledge. The third notable extra is Multiplier Options, which allow for greater profits but also increase risk.
Deriv Overall Ratings
User Friendliness 19/20
The website is translated in 11 languages and has a user-friendly layout, with easy-to-find information. As for the platforms, Deriv offers something for everyone, from newbies to advanced traders (DTrader and SmartTrader are newbie-friendly, while DMT5 offers technical analysis capabilities). Demo accounts are available but U.S. traders are not accepted.
Number Of Assets And Expiry Times 17/20
Deriv offers an interesting asset line-up, composed of currency pairs, stock indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and Synthetic Indices (these are various indices engineered to simulate real-world price action, unaffected by market events such as news or liquidity events). Cryptocurrencies are only available to trade on the DMT5 Financial account and the range is rather limited, but in fact, that’s something we can say about the entire roster of tradable assets.
The expiry times range from a few ticks (extremely fast) and minutes on DTrader to ticks, seconds, minutes, and days on SmartTrader. In other words, if you are looking for very fast trading, you can use DTrader, otherwise use SmarTrader. The longest expiry is 365 days and the user can select increments of one minute/hour/day, which is very flexible.
Commissions, Support And Effective Return 18/20
There’s no commission to trade on DTrader and SmartTrader but CFD trades on DMT5 will carry a spread, which is normal. Support is presented in the form of a Help Centre and you will not find a Live Chat feature, which may be viewed as a disadvantage by some. The effective returns are average but they fluctuate quite a lot: during our review, we saw assets in the 60% range but also above 90%.
Deposit and Payment 18/20
The lowest possible deposit is $5 (just a couple of e-wallets) but most methods will have a minimum of $10 and cryptocurrency deposits have no minimums. The methods are the usual: cards, bank wires (min deposit $500), and e-wallets.
Withdrawal minimums are as low as $5 or $10 using cards and e-wallets, while currencies will have
flexible minimums. For example, at the time of writing it was 0.0029 BTC and 0.027 ETH but according to the website, these sums may change depending on market fluctuation. The processing times are very fast: instant for most deposit methods and 1 business day for most withdrawal methods.
Website Extras 18/20
DBot – create your own automated trading strategy and Synthetic Indices, which include the Volatility Index, Bear/Bull Market index, and more. Multiplier Options are an interesting feature, as well as the very low deposits and withdrawals.
Deriv.com Overall Ratings (89) + Regulated (+3) = 92/100
*Disclaimer: Deriv offers complex derivatives, such as options and contracts for difference (“CFDs”).
These products may not be suitable for all clients, and trading them puts you at risk. Please make sure that you understand the following risks before trading Deriv products:
a) you may lose some or all of the money you invest in the trade,
b) if your trade involves currency conversion, exchange rates will affect your profit and loss.
You should never trade with borrowed money or with money that you cannot afford to lose.