Forex, short for foreign exchange, is where money in one currency is exchanged for another. It is the largest and most liquid financial market in the world, it involves buying, selling, and exchanging currencies at determined prices. Everyday about 7 and a half trillion dollars are traded globally. Forex enables governments, businesses, and individuals to conduct international transactions. The Forex market operates 24 hours five days a week. Due to the market operating so much, exchange rates for different currencies are always changing.
Forex trading is all about currency pairs. You buy one currency while simultaneously selling another. Capitalizing on the price fluctuations between the two currencies. For example, if the Euro to US dollar exchange rate is 1.1234 then one Euro is worth 1.1234 US dollars. The exchange rate represents how much of the quote currency (USD) you would need to get one unit of the base currency (EUR).
The Story of Forex Trading
Modern decentralized Forex trading became popular in the 1990s with the advent of electronic trading platforms and the internet. This era saw a significant shift from traditional exchange-based trading to electronic trading systems that allowed traders to access the Forex market directly from their computers.
The development of online trading platforms, such as MetaTrader, facilitated the growth of retail Forex trading by providing individuals with access to real-time market data, execution capabilities, and a wide range of financial instruments. The ability to trade Forex from anywhere in the world with internet connectivity attracted a larger pool of retail traders and contributed to the popularity of decentralized Forex trading.
Currency and exchange dates back thousands of years. In ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece, barter systems and early forms of currency were used for trade. These early currencies often included commodities like grains, livestock, and precious metals. The Romans used a system of coinage that facilitated trade and commerce within their empire. They also established networks of currency exchange to facilitate transactions across regions.
During the Middle Ages, international trade and commerce expanded, leading to the emergence of money changers and early Forex markets in major trading centers like Venice, Genoa, and Amsterdam. These markets facilitated the exchange of different currencies to support international trade. The Renaissance saw further development in currency exchange mechanisms, with major Forex trading hubs in Europe playing a crucial role in facilitating cross-border transactions. The colonial era saw the rise of mercantilism and the establishment of colonial currencies linked to European powers. Currency exchange became integral to colonial trade and economic policies.
The modern Forex market, as we know it today, began to take shape in the 1970s with the transition from fixed exchange rates to floating exchange rates. The collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971 marked a significant shift toward decentralized Forex trading and the emergence of electronic trading platforms. Modern Forex markets are accessible to the majority of our world’s population. As long as you have internet access, entering the market is indeed very easy.
Why are Prices so Volatile in the Forex Market?
We’ve mentioned the collapse of the Bretton Woods system above and to answer this, we must go back to the Bretton Woods Agreement. The Bretton Woods Agreement, established in 1944 during a conference held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, was a landmark international monetary system that aimed to stabilize global currencies and promote economic cooperation after World War II.
The agreement established a system of fixed exchange rates, with major currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar, and the U.S. dollar itself pegged to gold at a fixed rate of $35 per ounce. This fixed exchange rate system aimed to provide stability and predictability in international trade and finance. Although the Bretton Woods system was meant to provide stability there were issues with it that eventually caused its downfall.
The fixed exchange rate for the USD and gold of $35 did not allow for adjustments based on changing economic conditions, trade imbalances, or inflation rates in different countries. As a result, economic fundamentals diverged from the fixed exchange rates, leading to strains on the system. Over time, persistent trade imbalances between countries led to pressure on exchange rates.
Countries with trade surpluses accumulated reserves of U.S. dollars, while deficit countries faced depletion of reserves and currency devaluation pressures. These imbalances created tensions within the fixed exchange rate system. The U.S. dollar’s role as the key reserve currency under the Bretton Woods system meant that the United States had to maintain a balance between domestic economic policies and international monetary obligations.
This balance became increasingly difficult to sustain as economic priorities shifted. Speculative attacks on currencies became more frequent as traders and investors anticipated changes in exchange rate policies or doubted the ability of countries to maintain fixed exchange rates. These speculative pressures contributed to volatility in currency markets. Economic shocks, such as oil price spikes and inflationary pressures in the 1970s, further strained the fixed exchange rate system. Countries faced challenges in maintaining price stability and economic growth while adhering to fixed exchange rates. The convertibility of the U.S. dollar to gold at $35 per ounce put pressure on U.S. gold reserves.
As other countries exchanged dollars for gold, the U.S. gold reserves dwindled, raising doubts about the sustainability of the fixed exchange rate system. All this led to something we call today the “Nixon Shock”.
The Nixon Shock was announced in 1971 by former President Richard Nixon, Nixon suspended the dollar’s convertibility to gold and effectively ended the Bretton Woods system. This transition to floating exchange rates allowed currencies to fluctuate based on market forces, leading to increased flexibility but also to much greater volatility in currency markets.
Now that we’ve got all the dry facts out of the way, let’s dive into the real reason you came here today.
How can I Start Forex Trading Forex as a Beginner?
Even before we answer this question, we want to discuss something that will probably be the best advice we can give you today. We know what it’s like to be a new trader taking your first steps in this world. It’s probably not easy, in fact it’s probably very hard, extremely frustrating and at the end of each day you’re left wondering “should I even get into this”? That thought likely isn’t yours truly, and only a thought from your surroundings, maybe family, or friends, the news.
But if you stayed till here reading this then at the back of your mind you don’t want to believe what’s been told to you by what we mentioned above about trading, you don’t want to believe that it’s risky or not worth it. You know that’s not true, and you know that there is unlimited success to trading. If you think like that, you’re on the right track then. The best thing we can tell you today is that the only, and we mean THE ONLY way for you to succeed is when you’ll block all the negative voices driving you to failure which weren’t even yours to begin with.
When getting into investing, trading, and Forex trading you must believe in yourself fully, otherwise you’ll get nowhere because you’re driven by fears and ego. So if you are hesitating about this, or don’t think you have what it takes, you should stop reading this now and come back when you’re ready to let go of your illusionary fears. Trading is about believing in yourself even when it gets hard, and it can get frustrating, especially in the beginning. Mindset should come before anything else.
Today it doesn’t matter how much money you have to start, if you have a bachelors in economics, nothing that’s mentioned above has any value anymore. You can read books by those people who did get the bachelors and you’ll learn from them exactly what you would learn in the four years of their degree, for only a fraction of the cost. You can open an account for $150 but in reality have a $5,000 capital because you opened an account with a prop firm. There is no better way to learn than from experience.
To Start, learn the basics of Forex trading, including terminology, market dynamics, trading strategies, risk management, and technical analysis. Read books, watch video tutorials, take online courses, and follow reputable financial websites (like us, choose us, choose OFP Funding) to expand your knowledge. Understand the factors that influence currency prices, such as economic indicators, geopolitical events, and central bank policies. In the beginning it might seem hard but if you spend 15 minutes a day consistently learning and reading what you can about the market, the results will speak for themselves in a few months.
What you don’t want to do is question your “readiness” about starting to trade. Everyone starts somewhere. Open a free demo account to practice Forex trading, start getting individual insights and acquire YOUR skills. You can only watch so much of traders on YouTube. Like in school, after theory comes practice, the same rule applies in trading. You must practice. Once you’ve been doing it for a bit (it can be from weeks to months depending on the trader) you can start putting in your money into small accounts, preferably demo accounts.
But don’t set a timeframe for when you’ll start trading, it’s wrong. If you set a goal for yourself to start trading after one month but don’t meet that expectation you will probably feel that “trading just isn’t meant for you”, and if the time you think you should start trading with real money is after a year of trading on virtual accounts, but you feel ready before that goal you set for yourself, you may never get into it because “you are breaking a promise you made to yourself” and you’ll be driven out of this by fear of starting it “too soon”.
In reality there’s no value in setting goals like this, you must be connected to yourself and be able to evaluate yourself honestly about whether you are ready to start real trading. Be in tune with yourself and LISTEN. Don’t start trading when you’re not ready because other people are doing it. You’ll fail if you let your ego control you. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Be inspired by others sure, but you cannot be anyone else, the best thing you can do is embrace your individual strengths and weaknesses.
Instant Funding Demo Accounts
You might think, “why did we mention demo accounts?” Well, there’s a reason for that. We love demo accounts, overall that’s what we do. We revolutionized the prop trading industry with our demo accounts. Unlike evaluation firms, your initial fee IS NOT to pay for some pop quiz about trading no one asked for, but your initial fee goes straight to the payment of your account.
Let’s say you got a $50,000 account, did you pay 50 Thousand Dollars for it? Of course not! You paid $876 for it (not to mention the discounts we offer on our accounts so you probably wouldn’t even pay this much for it) now try finding another instant funding firm that has such attractive prices. Your account leverage is 1:100, fyi (for your information) other instant funding firms only allow like a 1:10 or 1:50, but I can go on talking about OFP Funding’s pros compared to others until tomorrow so I’ll stop myself here.
The real benefits of instant funding demo accounts is that you get to see results quick. You also get to see what real Forex trading is like as you have bigger capital for less effort. No challenges, no phases, just start trading. Go see for yourself.
In Conclusion
Today anyone can be a very successful Forex trader because of one simple reason. Out of the 100% of people who want to trade Forex, there are only about 1-5% (and this is an “optimistic” outlook) of people who are ready to do the real work, let go of their limiting beliefs about trading, take the risk of failure and accept if with a whole heart. After failure comes success for those who keep trying.
The sad thing is, is that most people quit right before they would’ve finally gotten their well deserved success. You see, all those traders you see on Instagram and Tiktok were in you’re place once, they just got out of it. All the traders living your dream life, we’re exactly like you, no one got it the easy way (except for minimal exceptions like 0.0001 type of exceptions). Everyone worked hard to eventually have their money work for them instead.
Daily piece of advice, don’t give up just because you haven’t gotten where you wanted to get to. Don’t give into the limiting thoughts that have no value in anything. If something’s not working that doesn’t mean just stop the whole operation, it means to do some minor fixes and everything will work out from there. It’s not magic and no trader even tries to sell the dream that they got their luxurious lifestyle out of “thin air.”
But ordinary people like to blame these successful people for selling lies and that they only show the good side of trading, but of course that’s what they’re showing, there’s nothing wrong with it! They got to the good side! They got to where every trader dreams about getting to, let’s be honest. We all want results and we want them fast, so when you see that Forex millionaire with his penthouse in Dubai you think to yourself, why am I not there yet. Don’t worry, if you’re on the right path, you’ll get there.
This is the realest guide you can get on the internet, no magic, no shortcuts, just practical advice based on experience and knowledge. So.. What are you waiting for?
CLAIM BEST 80% ACCOUNT MODEL: NO CHALLENGE, JUST INSTANT FUNDING