Fixed Time Trading | Best Platforms & Strategies
Fixed time trading is a straightforward concept that involves predicting whether a price will rise or fall within an agreed time period. It can be applied to a variety of markets including forex, cryptos, stocks and indices, but can rapidly descend into gambling without a considered strategy. Applying research and technical analysis can give traders the edge they need to make fixed time trading profitable.
In this article, we cover the meaning of fixed time trading, followed by a guide on how to develop the best trading strategies. We’ll also cover how to select a broker and trading platform suitable for fixed time trading, what to trade, and technical analysis techniques.
Best Brokers for Fixed Time Trading
After reviewing our broker directory, we have determined that these are the 6 best brokers for fixed time trading:
Here is a short summary of why we think each broker belongs in this top list:
- Capitalcore - Capitalcore is an offshore broker, based in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and established in 2019. Traders can choose from multiple accounts with better pricing as you move through the tiers. Where Capitalcore distinguishes itself is its high leverage up to 1:2000 and zero swap fees on CFDs, though these don’t compensate for the weak oversight and paltry education and research.
- AZAforex - Established in 2016, AZAforex is an offshore broker offering short-term trading on 235+ global financial markets, including through binary options with payouts of up to 90%. Three accounts (Start, Pro and VIP) offer unique features, but all provide access to the broker’s Mobius Trader 7 platform, which has benefited from performance upgrades over the years.
- Binarium - Binarium is an established international broker offering binary options trading on diverse markets including stocks, indices, forex, commodities and cryptocurrencies. Traders can start trading with as little as $1 and earn payouts up to 80% of their stake.
- Crypto.com - Crypto.com is one of the biggest names in cryptocurrency trading, developed with the aim to expedite the world's transition to DeFi technologies. The crypto exchange offers token lending, pre-paid cards, NFTs and more. The firm was established in Germany in 2016 and its quality is proven by its 150 million users.
- Bubinga - Established in 2023, Bubinga is a binary options broker that offers short-term trading opportunities on forex, commodities, stocks and cryptos, with the range of markets increasing as you move through the five account tiers (Start to VIP).
- BinaryCent - BinaryCent is an unregulated binary options broker that offers 24/7 trading on forex, cryptos and stocks with payouts up to 95%. Despite its lack of regulation, this broker takes client security seriously and stores client funds in European banks. The broker also offers CFDs with very high leverage up to 1:500.
Capitalcore
"Capitalcore runs one of the most advanced binary options platforms we’ve tested, making it a stellar option if you need serious charting power, with TradingView integration offering over 5 chart types and 90 indicators. Its 'double up' and 'rollover' capabilities to replicate or extend short-term trades with a click, are also excellent for strategy development."
Christian Harris, Reviewer
Capitalcore Quick Facts
| Demo Account | Yes |
|---|---|
| Instruments | Forex, Metals, Stocks, Cryptos, Futures Indices, Binary Options |
| Platforms | WebTrader, Pro |
| Minimum Deposit | $10 |
| Minimum Trade | 0.01 Lots (CFD/Forex), $1 (Binaries) |
| Account Currencies | USD |
Pros
- The support team are available 24/7 and responded within minutes during testing with helpful responses.
- Capitalcore is one of the only brokers to charge zero swap fees, which may appeal to Islamic traders looking to comply with Islamic Finance.
- Unlike most brokers, Capitalcore offers an unlimited demo account that takes under 5 minutes to open.
Cons
- The web platform was inconsistent during testing, with occasional technical glitches that meant the trading platform wouldn’t load.
- Capitalcore’s threadbare education and research seriously trail category leaders like IG, making it less suitable for aspiring traders.
- Platform support is limited to proprietary software, so there's no integration with the market-leading MetaTrader or cTrader, which offer built-in economic news and support automated trading.
AZAforex
"AZAforex is best suited to active traders looking for a choice of American and Chinese options, with different payout structures to standard high/low options. It’s also excellent for mobile traders, offering a dedicated app that provides a more comprehensive experience if you’re trading on the go compared to the mobile-optimized web browsers most firms use."
AZAforex Quick Facts
| Demo Account | Yes |
|---|---|
| Instruments | CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto, Binary Options |
| Platforms | Mobius Trader 7 |
| Minimum Deposit | $1 |
| Minimum Trade | 0.0001 Lots |
| Account Currencies | USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY, MYR, IDR, CHF, RUB, THB, VND, UAH, CNY |
Pros
- AZAforex provides high leverage of up to 1:1000, allowing for potentially greater returns with smaller capital. While this comes with increased risk, it's an attractive feature if you are an experienced trader looking for aggressive growth strategies.
- Few brokers offer binary options as part of their portfolio. Still, AZAforex includes them, allowing you to speculate on short-term price movements with fixed risk and reward up to 90%.
- AZAforex supports a huge and growing variety of payment methods, including bank transfers, credit/debit cards, e-wallets, and cryptocurrencies, providing flexibility for funding and withdrawals. This variety accommodates traders from different regions and preferences.
Cons
- While functional during testing, the Mobius Trader 7 platform is proprietary and not widely used by other brokers. This creates risks of potential price manipulation or discrepancies in market data, as there's no external verification like with MetaTrader or cTrader.
- AZAforex still operates without regulation from a recognized financial authority, which raises concerns about transparency, fund safety, and accountability. You may have no recourse in disputes, making it riskier than regulated brokers.
- AZAforex offers basic trading guides and a blog but lacks robust educational tools such as video tutorials, webinars, or interactive learning resources. This makes it less appealing for beginners who need comprehensive learning support. A lot of the content is outdated, too.
Binarium
"Binarium has been designed with simplicity in mind, featuring a fast, fully digital sign-up process and an intuitive platform and app with 100+ indicators. With binaries spanning 60 seconds to 3 months, it caters to both short and longer-term traders."
Binarium Quick Facts
| Demo Account | Yes |
|---|---|
| Instruments | Forex, Stocks, Cryptos |
| Platforms | TradingView |
| Minimum Deposit | $5 |
| Minimum Trade | $1 |
| Account Currencies | USD, EUR, AUD, RUB |
Pros
- The $10,000 demo account, smooth sign-up, and 24/7 support make for an attractive onboarding experience.
- Binarium has the best education centre we’ve seen amongst binary options brands, complete with information on core topics like trading basics and account options, plus professional video guides to using the platform.
Cons
- Binarium has some way to go to match the investment offering of binary firms like Quotex, with a particularly weak selection of around 20 currencies and 3 cryptocurrencies.
- Payouts of up to 80% are on the low side of binary options platforms based on our evaluations, which may deter traders looking for the possible best returns, though you can get back up to 15% of losing trades.
- Despite being operational since 2012, Binarium is an unregulated broker with limited transparency on its website, raising safety concerns and potentially putting your capital at risk.
Crypto.com
"Crypto.com is a snug fit for aspiring crypto traders who want to buy, sell and trade over 400 digital tokens. Its strike options and prediction markets spanning financial, economic, election, sport, and cultural events via its CFTC-regulated entity also make it a secure option for US traders interested in binary-style contracts on an intuitive app."
Crypto.com Quick Facts
| Demo Account | Yes |
|---|---|
| Instruments | Crypto, Stocks, ETFs, Prediction Markets and Strike Options (US only) |
| Regulator | SEC, FCA, MAS, AMF, CySEC, CBI, ASIC, FINTRAC, CIMA, VARA, OAM, HCMC, CFTC, OSC, KoFIU |
| Platforms | Own |
| Minimum Deposit | Varies by payment method |
| Minimum Trade | $1 |
| Account Currencies | USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, ZAR, TRY, SEK, NOK, DKK, CHF, HKD, PLN, CZK, AED, SAR, HUF, BRL, KES |
Pros
- Crypto.com uses a cold wallet solution that integrates multi-signature technology and geographic distribution to enhance security. This approach ensures robust protection of user assets with highly secure offline storage.
- Crypto.com has expanded beyond crypto in some regions, offering over 9000 stocks and ETFs for traders looking to build diverse portfolios and opportunities in different sectors.
- The platform supports unified portfolio tracking across cryptocurrencies, stocks, ETFs, and more recently prediction markets, all within a single interface, simplifying asset management for multi-asset traders and providing consolidated insights.
Cons
- Withdrawal fees apply to crypto transfers and fiat withdrawals, and these can be significant for active traders making smaller transfers. The minimum withdrawal limits are also relatively high, which restricts flexibility for managing smaller portfolios or quick liquidity needs.
- Customer support primarily relies on chatbots and email, with limited reliable phone support from our testing. This can lead to delays in resolving urgent issues, such as account access or transaction problems, which can be frustrating for crypto day traders who need quick assistance.
- The app's high bid-ask spreads on many coins can be costly for traders placing market orders. Wide spreads mean the price you pay when buying is noticeably higher than the price you receive when selling, cutting into profits, especially on lower-volume trades.
Bubinga
"With an account that takes under 2 minutes to create, trade sizes from $1, and popular assets like U.S. technology stocks and key currency pairs, Bubinga suits aspiring traders looking to make simple high/low trades on well-known assets."
Bubinga Quick Facts
| Demo Account | Yes |
|---|---|
| Instruments | Binary Options, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto |
| Platforms | Own, TradingView |
| Minimum Deposit | $10 |
| Minimum Trade | $1 |
| Account Currencies | USD, EUR, JPY, KRW |
Pros
- Bubinga’s order execution speed is decent. During active trading, the platform handled quick entries and exits without noticeable lag. For day traders, this responsiveness is important for catching tight expiry windows, which start from 1 minute.
- Bubinga’s web platform has been built with beginners in mind – no cluttered interface – just a simple chart and basic settings to configure the expiry time, stake and binary direction.
- Bubinga stands out from most competitors by offering Tradeback, which repays part of the previous week’s trading losses, with payments made to accounts every Tuesday.
Cons
- The platform’s limited research tools means you have to juggle multiple apps or sites for market info. Not having live news or market analysis inside the platform makes it harder to react quickly.
- Withdrawal limits on lower-tier accounts can be frustrating. When you start, you might find it hard to cash out more than a small amount at once, which slows your access to your profits. It pushes you to keep funding your account beyond what you might feel comfortable with.
- The lack of regulation at Bubinga is a concern. Without oversight from a trusted body in DayTrading.com’s regulator tracker, there’s always a risk that your funds won’t be fully protected.
BinaryCent
"BinaryCent suits active binary traders looking for a quick and easy sign up and weekly trading competitions. With its $250 minimum deposit, among the industry’s highest, it’s geared towards experienced, well-funded traders."
BinaryCent Quick Facts
| Demo Account | Yes |
|---|---|
| Instruments | CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Cryptos, Options, Commodities |
| Regulator | VFSC |
| Platforms | TradingView |
| Minimum Deposit | $250 |
| Minimum Trade | $0.01 |
| Account Currencies | USD |
Pros
- Trade binary contracts from $0.10 allowing trading opportunities for all budgets
- Copy trading and binary options bots are useful for beginner traders
- Simple and straightforward proprietary platform for binary options trading
Cons
- Not available to traders based in the US
- The $250 minimum deposit is higher than most binary options brokers
- Not overseen by any reputable regulator, raising risks and reducing customer protections
What Is Fixed Time Trading?
Fixed time trading requires a prediction about whether the price of an asset will increase or decrease within a fixed period. It therefore falls under the definition of binary options, which involves choosing between two outcomes with a time expiry.
If the prediction is correct, the trader will receive the initial investment back plus a bonus. If not, the trader will lose the initial investment. Because the bonus is stated upfront, the potential outcomes are known before completing the trade, unlike other types of trading where profits and losses are variable.
Fixed time trading is a simple trading method that can offer high returns. However, the returns are defined by the broker, which means the odds change depending on the likelihood of a correct prediction. The odds are also stacked against the trader overall, meaning a winning trade will return a lower bonus than the potential loss.
For this reason, many people believe fixed time trading is gambling. However, this is not the case if applying analysis and research when making predictions.
How Fixed Time Trading Works
There are several steps to follow when carrying out fixed time trading:
1. Pick A Market
Fixed time trading can be applied to a range of markets including forex, stocks, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies. Trading across these markets will help to diversify your portfolio and reduce your total risk exposure. However, no matter which market you choose, be aware that you will only be predicting the outcome of the trade and will not own the asset itself.
2. Select The Expiry Time
Expiry times can be anywhere from a minute to a few hours. Some brokers offer even longer-term trading than this, though it is rare. Longer-term fixed time trading is more likely to be influenced by fundamentals, such as company performance or economic news. For short-term trading, avoid trading around news announcements, when prices can become extremely volatile and hard to predict.
3. Choose The Investment Level
Always choose how much to invest based on a percentage of your overall capital. A general rule is to risk no more than 1% of your capital on a single trade.
4. Select The Price Direction
This will be based on your analysis of whether you predict the price will increase or decrease when entering the trade (strike price) to the time expiry.
5. Confirm
Once the trade is confirmed, it’s a waiting game to see if the prediction was correct. However, some brokers now offer the option to alter the trade after investment. This can include ending the trade early, extending the trade, or placing more money into the trade (for example if you become more confident that you will make a profit). The potential reward will be updated accordingly.
Choosing A Fixed Time Trading Broker
The first thing to establish when trading is which broker to use. Here we summarise the key elements to consider when searching for the best providers.
Platform
High-quality desktop platforms and mobile apps are essential when fixed time trading. They should have good technical analysis tools including charts and indicators, with intuitive interfaces that you can confidently navigate.
Profit Potential
Potential profits are set by the dealer and will therefore vary between brokers. Compare potential percentage returns as well as any fees to ensure they won’t wipe out your profits. Also check minimum deposit requirements to ensure they are appropriate for your investment level.
Demo Account
Check if the broker offers a demo account. This is a great way to practice fixed time trading using virtual funds, while getting familiar with the platform environment.
Fixed Time Trading Strategies
Fixed time trading shouldn’t be a gamble, so use technical analysis to make informed trading decisions. Here we cover some example strategies.
One of the simplest ways to carry out fixed time trading is to take advantage of short-term trends. For example, find an uptrend using candlesticks, then open an ‘up’ position. An uptrend occurs when each candlestick peak is higher than the previous peak, and each trough is higher than the previous trough.
For more in-depth analysis, use a technical indicator. The Directional Movement Indicator (DMI) is one of the best indicators for fixed time trading. This is because it can indicate the strength of a trend, suggesting whether it will be sustainable or not.
The DMI is formed of three lines:
- The Average Directional Index (ADX) – The ADX is used to quantify the strength of the trend, but is independent of the trend direction
- The DI+ Line – This is the positive directional movement line
- The DI- Line – This is the negative directional movement line
The signals to look for when fixed time trading are an ADX above 25. This indicates a very strong trend, but needs to be used in combination with the DI lines to determine whether the trend is upwards or downwards. It is recommended that ADX readings below 25 are avoided when fixed time trading.
Next, look at the DI+ and DI- lines. If the DI+ line rises above the DI- line, an uptrend is indicated.
Below, we highlight an example of a strong uptrend as indicated by the DI+ (blue line), DI- (black line) and ADX (red line), which is sitting above 25 the whole time.
Tips for Fixed Time Trading
Here we list some top tips for beginners looking to start fixed time trading:
- Invest only a small percentage of your capital per trade. As there is the potential to lose the entire investment in each trade, losses can accumulate quickly.
- Use longer-term time scales when starting fixed time trading. This will make the process less intense at first.
- Set trading limits and stick to them. This includes the number of trades per day and investment amount. This should be based on the amount you are willing to lose, assuming you predict all your trades incorrectly.
- Take advantage of online resources, courses and books to research the asset you are trading or if you simply want to know how to learn about fixed time trading.
- Check when news announcements are expected for the asset you are trading, including company reports and central bank updates. This will allow you to plan your strategy accordingly.
Is Fixed Time Trading Legal?
Fixed time trading is legal, though banned by regulatory authorities in some countries. For example, the ESMA in the EU and FCA in the UK ban fixed time trading for retail traders. Retail traders would be able to use an unregulated broker in these locations, but this comes with the limited protection of funds. A better option is to use a broker regulated outside the UK or EU, providing the regulator is reputable.
Similarly, fixed time trading brokers cannot be based in India according to SEBI, but Indians could participate in fixed time trading using a broker located outside of India.
Forex Trading Vs Fixed Time Trading
While forex trading and fixed time trading involve predicting the future price of an asset, forex trading does not have a set time period. This means the trader has the flexibility to sell at any point, which has the potential to be at any price. Forex prices are also partly based on market conditions whereas fixed time trading returns are defined by the broker.
Final Word On Fixed Time Trading
Fixed time trading is one of the easiest investing concepts to understand, but requires quality research and analysis to be executed successfully. Whilst it can result in large returns even in quiet markets, it also requires discipline to avoid losing large amounts of money in a short period.
FAQ
What Is Fixed Time Trading?
Fixed time trading is a method where traders predict whether a price will rise or fall within a set time period. If correct, the trader will receive their original investment back in addition to a percentage bonus. If not, the original investment is lost.
Is Fixed Time Trading Gambling?
Fixed time trading is not gambling if used in combination with appropriate research and analysis to guide trading decisions.
Is Fixed Time Trading Halal?
If the trade has been researched and analysed, it is arguably not gambling and therefore Halal. Consequently, it is up to the individual trader to decide whether they are taking a gamble and therefore if it is Halal. Consult your religious leader for further guidance.
Is Fixed Time Trading Legal?
Fixed time trading is legal, though some authorities ban it such as the SEBI in India and the FCA in the UK. Traders located in these countries can still participate in fixed time trading by using a broker regulated in other parts of the world.
What Is The Best Strategy for Fixed Time Trading?
There are numerous strategies that can enhance fixed time trading. The Directional Movement Indicator is a great example of technical analysis that can be used to forecast the strength and direction of a known trend.