Yes, Forex Trading is legal in Eritrea and the country has a population of roughly 3.2 million potential Forex Traders. As there is not an independent regulatory body in the country, all financial transactions in the country, including Forex Trading, is regulated by the Central Bank of Eritrea. The growth of Eritrea’s economy has largely been contributed to the commencement of full operations in the gold and silver Bisha mine, production of cement in the Massawa cement factory, and investment in Eritrea’s copper, zinc, and Colluli potash mining operations by Australian and Chinese mining companies. Aside from standard forex trading, Islamic forex trading is also legal and available in the country. The two major religions in Eritrea are Christianity and Islam with an estimated 36% – 52% of the local population identifying as Muslim. Local Muslim investors must choose a Forex Broker who makes both standard and Islamic forex trading accounts available in order to trade in accordance to Sharia Law.
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Here is an overview of 5 of the best Forex Brokers who make Standard and Islamic Forex Trading accounts available in Eritrea.
IC Markets
IC Markets is a regulated Forex ECN and CFD broker which offers more than 236+ financial instruments across Forex, Commodities, Indices, Bonds, Cryptocurrency, Stocks and Futures on the MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5 and cTrader platforms for desktop, web and mobile. IC Markets is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), as well as the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Segregates client funds | Limited range of instruments |
| Established in 2007 | Not FCA Regulated |
| Regulated by ASIC | |
| Min. deposit from $200 |
IC Markets offers traders three main types of live trading accounts to choose from, including Raw Islamic swap-free accounts and the use of a free demo trading account.
Trading Benefits
| Trading Features | Accounts offered | Funding methods |
| Allows scalping | Demo account | Credit cards |
| Allows hedging | Mini account | Bank Transfer |
| Offers STP | Standard account | PayPal |
| Low min deposit | Zero spread account | Skrill |
| ECN account | Neteller | |
| Islamic account |
Customer support is available 24/7 via Live Chat, Phone and Email.
XM Group
XM Group (XM) is a group of regulated online brokers regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Low stock CFD and withdrawal fees | Limited product portfolio |
| Easy and fast account opening | Average forex and stock index CFD fees |
| Great educational tools | No investor protection for non-EU clients |
XM offers traders more than 1000 financial instruments to trade on both the MT4 and MT5 platforms, including Forex Trading, Stocks CFDs, Commodities CFDs, Equity Indices CFDs, Precious Metals CFDs and Energies CFDs. Forex trading is available on over 55 pairs, including the major USD, GBP, EUR and JPY pairs. Traders must take note that XM does not offer binary options or futures.
Trading Benefits
| Trading Features | Accounts Offered | Funding Methods |
| Negative Balance Protection | Micro | Wire Transfer |
| Low Spreads | Standard | Credit/Debit |
| Low Commission | XM Zero | Neteller |
| Hedging Allowed | UnionPay | |
| Scalping Allowed | WebMoney | |
| Qiwi |
Customer Service is available via live chat, Phone and email support.
eToro
eToro is an online broker which was founded in 2006 and offers CFDs and Social Trading, with a head office based in Cyprus, UK. eToro is supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) regulatory bodies and has been in operation for over 14 years.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Used by 6,000,000+ traders | Doesn’t allow scalping |
| Established in 2006 | Inactivity Fee |
| Regulated by Financial Conduct Authority, CySEC, ASIC | Limited range of instruments |
| Min. deposit from $200 |
eToro offers traders two ways to trade: CFDs, Social Trading and eToro traders will need to make a minimum deposit of $200 and the platform can accommodate various levels of traders from beginner to expert. Traders can trade in a wide variety of over 100 instruments and over 50 currency pairs on eToro’s user-friendly custom trading platform which is available as a browser-based web application. eToro also offers traders mobile apps for Android and iOS, making it easier to keep an eye on and execute trades.
Trading Benefits
| Trading Features | Accounts offered | Funding methods |
| Offers STP | Demo account | Credit cards |
| Low min deposit | Micro account | Bank Transfer |
| Mini account | PayPal | |
| Standard account | Skrill | |
| Islamic account | Payoneer | |
| Neteller |
eToro supports a wide range of languages including English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian. 24/6 customer support is available via telephone and support ticket.
HFM
HFM was established in 2007 is well regulated by FCA, CySEC, DFSA, FSCA and SFSA.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Segregates client funds | Limited range of instruments |
| Established in 2010 | Not FCA Regulated |
| Regulated by CySEC | |
| Min. deposit from $1 |
The HFM MT5 terminal offers 21 different timeframes, superior analysis tools, trading across HFM asset classes, close to 100 simultaneous charts, hedging and one-click trading and 80+ technical indicators plus an in-built economic calendar. The account can be accessed from anywhere using an iPhone, interactive charts for 9 timeframes, advanced trading functions, one-click trading, 24 analytical objects, and 30 technical indicators.
Trading Benefits
| Trading Features | Accounts offered | Funding methods |
| Allows scalping | Micro account | Credit cards |
| Allows hedging | Mini account | Bank Transfer |
| Offers STP | Standard account | Neteller |
| Low min deposit | Zero spread account | |
| Offers Negative Balance Protection | Islamic account |
Customer support is available via phone and email.
IQ Option
IQ Option is a broker developed under the IQ Option Europe company which was founded in 2013. IQ Option contains a CySEC license Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission from Cyprus, with permission to provide its financial services within the European Economic Area zone, with several licenses from other EU local jurisdictions. IQ Option offers its clients services in binary options, stocks and shares, currencies, and ETF trading.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | Does not provide MT4 and MT5 trading platforms |
| Easy and convenient method of opening an account | Not available for traders in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and other countries |
| Wide range of trading instruments on offer | |
| No deposit and withdrawal fees |
IQ Option provides clients with a proprietary platform which is also used for CFDs and for binary options trading. Traders can also install the mobile trading app which is provided free of charge. The mobile trading app has been designed specifically for use on smartphones and mobile devices and allows traders to check their account status, keep updated with all the developments in the market as well as to execute trades.
Trading Benefits
| Trading Features | Accounts Offered | Funding Methods |
| Low min. deposit | Standard | Alipay |
| Low Spreads | VIP | Credit Card |
| Regulated by CySEC | Demo | MoneyGram |
| Perfect Money | ||
| QIWI | ||
| Skrill | ||
| Wire Transfer |
The IQ Options trading platform and website are available to traders in thirteen different languages and allows traders to choose the currency to trade with. The selections of currencies are: GBP, RUB, EUR, IDR, USD, MUR, and Yuan.
Customer service is available via email, live chat or the telephone.
In Conclusion –
Forex Trading is indeed legal in Eritrea with laws and rules in regards to the local financial markets determined by the countries regulatory authority.
FAQS
Is Forex Trading Legal in Eritrea?
Yes, Forex Trading is legal, popular and well-regulated in Eritrea.
At what age are local investors allowed to trade Forex in Eritrea?
There is no set age for local investors to trade in Forex. However, the legal age for purchasing alcohol in the country is set at 18 years of age and this can be seen as an accurate, legal age for Forex Trading.
What is the revenue service in Eritrea?
The local revenue service in Eritrea is the Inland Revenue Department.
Who is the regulatory authority of financial services in Eritrea?
As there is not an independent regulatory body in the country, all financial transactions in the country, including Forex Trading, is regulated by the Central Bank of Eritrea.
What is the local currency in Eritrea?
The local currency in Eritrea is the Eritrean Nakfa.
Who is the best Forex Broker in Eritrea?
There is no one Forex Brokerage Firm which is suited to all investors. Forex Traders must consider factors such as Regulation, Account Types and Customer Service before making a final brokerage choice.
Is it profitable to trade forex in Eritrea?
It is indeed possible to be profitable when trading Forex. However, there are steps to follow such as self-education, making use of a demo account and more.
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