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Bullwaves Review 2024

Written By

Christian Harris

Written By

Christian Harris

Christian is a seasoned journalist with decades of experience. He transitioned from tech journalism to finance to follow his interest in investing. He has been trading stocks, futures, forex, and cryptocurrencies for more than 5 years, becoming an eToro Popular Investor. With hands-on expertise across various assets, he offers valuable trading insights.

» Christian Harris Profile Page

Edited By

James Barra

Edited By

James Barra

James is an investment writer with a background in financial services. As a former management consultant, he has worked on major operational transformation programmes at prominent European banks. James authors, edits and fact-checks content for a series of investing websites.

» James Barra Profile Page

Fact Checked By

Jemma Grist

Fact Checked By

Jemma Grist

Jemma is a writer, editor and fact-checker focused on retail trading and investing. Jemma brings a unique perspective to the forex, stock, and cryptocurrency markets and works across several investment websites as a researcher and broker analyst.

» Jemma Grist Profile Page

Updated

Sep 9, 2024

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Overall Rating

3.9 / 5

Bullwaves is #37 in our CFD broker rankings.

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Customer Reviews

Regulation & Trust

2.5 / 5

Accounts & Banking

3.5 / 5

Assets & Markets

3.8 / 5

Fees & Costs

3.8 / 5

Platforms & Tools

3.3 / 5

Customer Support

3.5 / 5

Minimum Deposit $250

Trading Platforms MT4, MT5

Instruments CFDs, Forex, Metals, Indices

Regulators FSA

Account Currencies USD, EUR

Payment Options Debit Card, Visa, Mastercard, Neteller, Wire Transfer, Credit Card

Pros

• Both MT4 and MT5 are supported, so day traders can choose from leading charting platforms based on their preferences.
• Registering on the Bullwaves website and setting up an account only takes a few minutes based on tests.
• All three accounts offer commission-free trading, which means users can execute trades without incurring costs beyond the spread.

Cons

• Bullwaves operates without regulation in major jurisdictions, holding a license with one 'red tier' regulator, the FSA, meaning it lacks oversight from reputable authorities to ensure compliance with strict financial standards.
• The lacking selection of 250+ instruments limits flexibility for day traders, especially compared to industry leaders like Blackbull Markets with its 26,000+ instruments.
• Customer support performed woefully during tests with no 24/7 chat support as advertised, and no response to our email queries.

This review of Bullwaves offers an in-depth analysis of the day trading experience, based on firsthand usage and comparisons with suitable alternatives from our extensive database of around 500 online brokers.

Regulation & Trust

Bullwaves operates under Equitex Capital Limited, which is authorized by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles (Seychelles FSA).

While the Seychelles FSA enforces regulatory and compliance requirements, it is less rigorous compared to more established regulatory authorities – giving it ‘red tier’ status in line with our Regulation & Trust Rating.

And while Bullwaves claims to hold clients’ funds in segregated accounts and offers negative balance protection, its lack of regulation means it does not provide public financial disclosures or list on any stock exchange. This sets it apart from highly trusted brokers like Plus500 or IG.

Accounts & Banking

Live Accounts

Bullwaves offers three account types, all providing access to the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. However, they differ in terms of spreads and leverage.

• The most accessible account is the Classic Account, which can be opened with a minimum deposit of $250. The minimum deal size is 0.01 lots, spreads are from 2.0 pips, and the maximum leverage is 1:200. Geared towards newer traders.
• Next in line is the VIP Account, which requires a minimum deposit of $10,000. This account reduces spreads from 1.5 pips, but the minimum deal size is increased to 0.05 lots. Geared towards experienced traders.
• Lastly, the Elite Account further reduces spreads from 1.1 pips and increases leverage to 1:500, but the minimum deal size is increased to 0.1 lots and the minimum deposit is a sizeable $50,000. Geared towards veteran, high-budget traders.

All accounts support EAs, scalping, hedging, and VPS. However, they differ in their stop-out levels, which are set at 50%, 35%, and 25% respectively.

What’s interesting is that Bullwaves allows up to six different trading accounts, including two Classic, two VIP, and two Elite accounts, all of which can be easily opened through the client dashboard.

Disappointingly, Bullwaves doesn’t support PAMM (Percentage Allocation Management Module) accounts, which are commonly used by money managers to oversee multiple accounts.

The account opening process itself is quick, taking only a few minutes. However, I encountered several dead links on the website, including the main ‘Sign up’ link, which was frustrating. I had to search for an alternative link on the site to proceed.

Additionally, the welcome email I received was badly formatted in parts, which didn’t build confidence.

Christian Harris

Author

Demo Accounts

Bullwaves offers a risk-free demo account compatible with MT5. With the paper trading account, you can test strategies without constraints right from the get-go.

Having said this, it’s unusual not to offer a demo MT4 account.

Deposits & Withdrawals

Bullwaves’ banking options are relatively flexible and include bank card (Visa, Mastercard and virtual card), Neteller (e-wallet), bank wire, and USDT cryptocurrency (TRC20 and ERC20).

It’s disappointing they don’t support other popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Litecoin, or other popular e-wallets including PayPal and Skrill.

International bank wire deposits typically take 3-5 business days to appear in my Bullwaves account.

While Bullwaves does not levy charges for bank wire deposits, sending and correspondent banks may apply fees according to their individual fee structures. SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) transfers typically reflect within the same business day, with very low associated fees.

It’s important to mention that Bullwaves deals only in USD and EUR currencies. When depositing cryptocurrency, it undergoes automatic conversion into one of these fiat currencies.

Similarly, withdrawals follow the same pathway, returning funds to the original account and method used for funding.

Assets & Markets

Bullwaves focuses on forex and CFD trading, omitting popular asset classes such as real stocks, ETFs, commodities, cryptocurrencies, or options.

Its array of tradable products is also limited compared to most other brokers, encompassing just 33 currency pairs along with two CFDs in precious metals (gold and silver) and six major indices (Germany 40, FTSE 100, S&P 500, Dow Jones, Nasdaq-100, CAC 40).

Notably, forex is the largest and most liquid global market, but Bullwaves only provides an extremely limited selection of major and minor pairs — exotic forex pairs aren’t even catered for.

In comparison, CMC Markets provides access to over 300 forex pairs, while IG offers 100 currency pairs for trading and XTB offers a collection of over 2,100 global markets and multiple asset classes.

Leverage is available up to 1:500, which is also disappointing compared to some off-shore brokers which offer 1:1000 and 1:2000, though higher leverage significantly increases the risk of large losses.

Considering the broker offers cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals, I’m surprised there is no support for trading any crypto even if conducted via CFDs, which means I wouldn’t acquire the underlying coins.

Traders seeking a broader range of cryptocurrencies should consider eToro, which offers a selection of over 100 cryptocurrencies.

Christian Harris

Author

Bullwaves does not offer passive income opportunities, such as earning interest on idle account balances, which distinguishes it from competitors like XTB and Interactive Brokers.

Additionally, Bullwaves lacks copy trading, which may be a drawback for passive investors. eToro is an excellent alternative here – I personally use the broker’s social trading platform.

Fees & Costs

Bullwaves catches your attention with its fee structure, featuring no commissions.

However, the spreads offered by Bullwaves vary depending on the type of account you have. For major currency pairs like EUR/USD and USD/JPY, spreads can start from 2.0 pips with the Classic Account.

Yet day traders and scalpers aiming to capitalize on every pip might find brokers like IC Markets, which offers zero spread accounts (albeit with small commissions), more appealing.

Bullwaves charges a fixed fee of €10 for bank wire withdrawals equal to or below €100, and the same fee applies to other withdrawals (excluding card refunds) equal to or below €20.

Regarding account maintenance, Bullwaves may apply a $10 inactivity fee if there are no trades made for 30 days – kicking in much faster than most top brokers.

Platforms & Tools

Bullwaves does not have its own proprietary trading platform, which might be a concern, especially for those new to trading. However, they compensate for this by offering support for two widely recognized third-party platforms: MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.

Both MT4 and MT5 are accessible on various devices, including desktop and mobile, and can also be run directly in web browsers.

For beginners, MT4 is often the preferred choice due to its simplicity and extensive range of technical indicators and tools. It is a user-friendly platform, though its asset selection is primarily limited to forex and CFDs.

In contrast, MT5 offers a more comprehensive set of features, supporting a broader range of assets. It also boasts faster processing speeds and advanced backtesting capabilities. However, its interface may be slightly more complex for beginners, and its scripting language differs from that of MT4.

Unfortunately, Bullwaves does not support other popular charting platforms like TradingView and cTrader, which could be a drawback for day traders who prefer these tools.

Misleadingly, Bullwaves embeds TradingView educational content on its site, which may lead some traders to believe that the third-party platform is supported.

Research

Many brokers, lacking the resources to generate their own content, license high-quality analysis tools from providers like Trading Central or Autochartist. However, Bullwaves falls short in this regard and does not offer access to these tools – even though it advertises Autochartist on its website.

Furthermore, there is no economic calendar, no blog content, no technical or fundamental forecasts, and no market sentiment indicators. This complete lack of resources makes Bullwaves completely unsuitable for new traders.

To further compound the inadequacy, Bullwaves’ website is full of holding pages that display dummy text and misleading comment counts.

Education

Bullwaves falls short in this area, as it does not provide any educational resources. Consequently, new traders must seek out alternative sources to acquire essential skills in risk management, technical analysis, and trading psychology.

The Bullwaves website doesn’t even include an Education section, so there are no immediate plans to match the trading tutorials, webinars, and other educational resources offered by leading brokers, notably IG.

Customer Support

Whereas the best brokers offer various support options available around the clock, 7 days a week, including live chat, email, and localized telephone support hotlines, Bullwaves simply offers a contact form, email address and Seychelles-based phone number.

There is also no live chat option, even though the website claims ‘24/7 live support’, and the vast majority of brokers we’ve evaluated support this feature.

I really could have done with chatting to a live agent when I encountered some difficulties setting up my Bullwaves account.

I emailed support to try and help me to resolve my issue, but I never received a reply.

Christian Harris

Author

Should You Trade With Bullwaves?

Bullwaves is a fairly new broker with an urgent need for improvement if it aims to compete with industry leaders.

It doesn’t charge any commissions, helping to keep trading costs straightforward. In addition, both MT4 and MT5 trading platforms are supported, and there’s a reasonable selection of funding options.

On the downside, the website is full of broken links (it looks like an unfinished off-the-shelf WordPress theme), there are no research or educational tools, and customer support is almost non-existent. I was also left wanting in terms of the minimal range of financial instruments offered and the basic regulatory compliance.

Overall, Bullwaves is best avoided until it becomes a better-presented package.

FAQ

Is Bullwaves Legit Or A Scam?

Bullwaves is a relatively new brand with its registered address in Seychelles. Due to the broker’s recent entry into the market, there is limited information available to evaluate its reputation. Consequently, we recommend that traders exercise extreme caution when considering this broker.

Is Bullwaves A Regulated Broker?

Bullwaves operates under Equitex Capital Limited, which is regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles (FSA). Although the Seychelles FSA enforces compliance standards, it is not a well-regarded regulator.

Is Bullwaves Suitable For Beginners?

Bullwaves is definitely not suitable for novice traders because it lacks a proprietary trading platform, any educational materials or reliable support to assist aspiring traders.

New traders may find platforms like eToro and Plus500 more suitable alternatives to consider.

Is Bullwaves A Good Broker For Day Trading?

Bullwaves is reasonably well suited for day trading because of its fast execution speeds and compatibility with scalping and hedging strategies. Both MT4 and MT5 serve as advanced trading platforms, offering comprehensive charting tools, technical indicators, and order types designed to facilitate the execution of day trading strategies.

That said, its various shortcomings mean it doesn’t rival the best brokers for day trading.

Does Bullwaves Have A Mobile App?

No, however MT4 and MT5 offer mobile applications for both iOS and Android devices. These apps enable traders to access their accounts, monitor real-time market data, execute trades, manage positions, and utilize a range of analytical tools conveniently while on the go.

Top 3 Alternatives to Bullwaves

Compare Bullwaves with the top 3 similar brokers that accept traders from your location.

1. IG – Founded in 1974, IG is part of IG Group Holdings Plc, a publicly traded (LSE: IGG) brokerage. The brand-US offers spread betting, CFD and forex trading across an almost unrivalled selection of 17,000+ markets, with a range of user-friendly platforms and investing apps. For 50 years, IG has maintained its position as an industry leader, excelling in all key areas for traders.
   Go to IG
2. Interactive Brokers – Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a premier brokerage, providing access to 150 markets in 33 countries, along with a suite of comprehensive investment services. With over 40 years of experience, this Nasdaq-listed firm adheres to stringent regulations by the SEC, FCA, CIRO, and SFC, amongst others, and is one of the most trusted brokers for trading around the globe.
   Go to Interactive Brokers
3. Plexytrade – Established in 2024 and headquartered in Saint Lucia, Plexytrade is an ECN/STP broker. Geared towards active traders, it supports four account options, crypto deposits and withdrawals, plus very high leverage up to 1:2000 made possible by its unregulated status.
   Go to Plexytrade

Bullwaves Comparison Table

Compare Trading Instruments

Compare the markets and instruments offered by Bullwaves and its competitors. Please note, some markets may only be available via CFDs or other derivatives.

Bullwaves vs Other Brokers

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