Strong points
Capital.com is a brokerage platform that offers investments in many products, including cryptos. The platform offers more than 6,000 investment products for investors to pick from. It is a good crypto broker for diversification.
In this Captial.com exchange review, we will examine the platform’s history, features, fees, regulations, advantages, disadvantages, and frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Capital.com.
Capital.com
Capital.com
78.1% of small investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Let’s start with a general overview of the Capital.com platform.
Created in 2012, Capital.com is a brokerage platform that offers investments in many products, including cryptocurrencies. This means that on Capital.com you can invest not only in crypto but also in assets like commodities, FOREX, stocks, etc. The Capital.com exchange offers more than 6,000 investment products, with cryptocurrencies comprising only a fraction of the entire range of the platform’s investment products.
If we had to cite some figures, you should know that Capital.com has more than 5 million customers worldwide. The company also has 800 employees with offices located around the world as follows:
Capital.com
Capital.com
78.1% of small investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
The platform’s services are also accessible from your smartphone thanks to its mobile application called Investmate. Investmate is available on Apple and Android.
The person behind the Capital.com platform is Viktor Prokopenya. Viktor Prokopenya is not only a lawyer but also holds several other diplomas, including
In 2012, Viktor Prokopenya established VP Capital, the principal investment firm from which the crypto platform Captil.com would later emerge. In addition to Capital.com, VP Capital is also the firm behind Currency.com, Banuba, and Facemetrics.
We founded Capital.com with a simple idea in mind: there should be no barriers to financial trading. For too long, finance, and in particular trading, has been confined to the elitist world of large institutions and city traders. But now a whole new generation of investors educated in mobile technology and the Internet has emerged, promising to change the face of traditional investing forever. To give everyone the chance to learn how to trade and invest on their own, we have built a platform that is engaging, informative and easy to use. We focused on three strategic enablers to achieve our goal: education, fair and transparent pricing, and cutting-edge technology.”
Viktor Prokopenya, founder and CEO of Capital.com
The Capital.com platform offers several products and services. Want to discover what products and services are offered, read on!
The Capital.com broker provides extensive crypto trading options with a wide selection of cryptocurrencies available for you to pick from, including:
The broker also offers less popular coins and tokens like ApeCoin (APE), Aragon (ANT), EOS (EOS), etc. On the other hand, it’s crucial to note that Capital.com only offers CFD trading for cryptocurrencies. As a reminder, a CFD stands for “Contract For Difference”.
A CFD is an asset that acurately mirrors the price movements of an underlying asset. For instance, a Bitcoin CFD tracks the identical price patterns as “real” Bitcoin. The difference is that with CFD trading, you can also make money if the price falls with short selling.
Ultimately, with a CFD, you invest in price differences, but at no time do you hold the asset yourself. This means that with Capital.com, you cannot buy Bitcoin or other crypto and store it in your wallet. If this is your wish, we advise you to choose a pure crypto exchange that does not trade CFDs.
On the other hand, if CFD trading suits you, then Capital.com is a good platform for you! Additionally, it allows you to use 2:1 leverage. In other words, you can multiply your winnings by two! Before starting, however, we advise you to train yourself in extensively on CFD trading. This is because this type of trading is risky, as the platform reminds us on its home page:
« Trading CFDs on cryptocurrencies is risky! These are complex and high-risk financial products. The cryptocurrency market is very volatile and subject to significant fluctuations. So trade with caution. Prepare yourselves! It is not enough to be a trader to trade CFDs on cryptocurrencies. To do this, you need to make sure that you have enough knowledge and experience.”»
As mentioned above, Capital.com is not just about trading in crypto. The platform offers other markets where you can invest. On Capital.com, you can invest in:
The Investmate mobile application brings together all of Capital.com’s services on mobile. You can trade quickly and easily, simply using a smartphone.
Capital.com’s pro web platform can be connected to TradingView, giving you more analysis tools. Capital.com also works with MetaTrader 4, which allows you to trade automatically.
On Capital.com, you can follow a weekly 30-minute webinar for free. To do this, all you need to do is register. This webinar allows you to keep up to date with economic news and developments in the main markets.
The webinar is led by David Jones, a professional analyst who began his career in financial analysis in the 1990s and writes regularly for Shares Magazine. He also presented the program “Wake Up To Money” on BBC 5 for 2 years.
The broker provides a demo account to take your first steps in crypto in complete security. In addition, it offers content aimed at educating you on the world of crypto and blockchain. For example, you will find courses on the following topics:
The broker also offers you its glossary which allows you to understand certain concepts. For example, the glossary contains the following terms and expressions:
Capital.com
Capital.com
78.1% of small investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
How do you get started in crypto trading on Capital.com? Just follow the following few steps.
Opening an account on Capital.com is pretty simple. You have two options: the first is fill out the regular registration form which asks you for an email address and a password. Alternatively, for a faster registration, you may opt for swift connectivity via platforms like Facebook or Google..
Typically, the broker will verify your email address. To do this, they will send you an email and you will have to click on the link to finalize the creation of your account. You can open up to 10 accounts (including demo accounts) with different currencies on Capital.com.
The next step is to deposit funds into the broker’s account, which will enable you to trade later. The minimum deposit requirement on Capital.com is $20. There are several deposit methods available to you, including bank card transactions and transfers, as well as options like Skrill and PayPal.
As a reminder, Capital.com operates as a broker specializing in CFD trading rather than a traditional cryptocurrency exchange. As a result, you will not be able to make direct cryto transfers into your your Capital.com account.
For example, you will not be able to connect your crypto wallet (if you have one). As mentioned above, the crypto assets available on the broker are only CFDs and therefore cannot be held directly.
Once you have opened your account, you will land on the home page which includes 5 menus:
For crypto trading, navigate to the “Markets” tab. Once you have selected the correct crypto pair, you will be automatically sent to the trading interface. Once there, you will have access to essential trading information such as price variations, transaction volumes, etc.
Fees are an important element to take into account when choosing a platform. See Capital.com’s fee schedule below.
The broker Capital.com has made a compelling offer to investors by deciding not to charge any fees for deposits and withdrawals. So, if you withdraw your money from Capital.com, you won’t have to pay anything. To be clear, this is a major advantage.
Additionally, and unlike some of its counterparts, Capital.com does not penalize customers for inactivity. Many exchanges implement fees beyond a certain number of days of customer inactivity, but this is not the case with Capital.com. However, if you plan not to use the platform for a while, we recommend that you withdraw the funds for added security. Withdrawals are free so feel free to take advantage of this information!
In theory, there are no trading fees on Capital.com. But be careful though, there are overnight fees. What are overnight fees? This is a fee the platform charges you to hold your assets overnight. For cryptos, the platform justifies these fees in the following way:
“Cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile markets, which means Capital.com takes additional risks to hold your crypto positions overnight”
The implication of this is that leaving your cryptos dormant on Capital.com, will attract fees that you have to pay. This should be taken into account in particular if your strategy consists of investing in crypto over the long term. In this case, perhaps it would be better for you to choose a platform that does not charge these types of fees.
Overnight fees are specific to each crypto and take into account the volatility of its price. Additionally, the fee payment window differs for each cryptocurrency. Let’s take an example to better understand how overnight fees are charged on Capital.com.
Let’s say you want to buy Bitcoin. To do this, you must then choose the following currency pair: BTC/EUR . On Capital.com, you will find the following overnight fees: 0.05% for a LONG position and 0.014% for a SHORT position. In addition, the page tells you that overnight fees apply in the case of Bitcoin from 9:00 p.m. UTC. For the example, let’s say you buy 0.05 BTC and the price of Bitcoin is €22,000. In this case, you will pay overnight fees equivalent to:
Spreads are another way in which the Capital.com platform earns its money. What is a spread? To put it simply, it is the price difference between the purchase and sale of the same asset. For example, if you go to the Bitcoin page, you will see that its price is different depending on whether you want to sell or buy.
Technically, these are not typical fees since the is directly integrated into the transaction price. In other words, when you make a trade, spreads do not appear as additional fees to pay as is the case with overnight fees.
We understand that the lower the spread, the better. On the Capital.com website, the platform prides itself on being one of the most competitive in terms of spreads. For comparison, with a displayed spread of 66 for the BTC/USD pair, Capital.com would do better than eToro or Plus500.
The Capital.com platform is regulated by several entities around the world. This is a strong point in a field where many players do not make this effort. According to their website, Capital.com is regulated in the following countries:
What about Europe? The Capital.com company is not regulated by the European agency. Specifically, it does not have PSAN approval, which is granted by the AMF, France’s Financial Markets Authority, for Digital Asset Service Providers.
Without being a handicap, it is still a negative point compared to other brokerage platforms like eToro for example which has this approval. While this does not call into question the reliability of Capital.com, PSAN approval is an undeniable guarantee of confidence. The absence of PSAN approval also explains why you will not see Capital.com advertising on your screens.
To be precise on the aspect of European regulations, Capital.com still meets the requirements imposed by MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive). The MiFID directive (version 2 came into force in January 2018), requires financial institutions to know the profile of their customers. In addition, MiFID requires these same institutions to inform their clients accurately and transparently about the potential risks involved. This is one of the reasons why you will find recurring messages on Capital.com on the risks associated with CFD trading for example. As a matter of fact, if you go to the Capital.com site, you will see the following message at the bottom of your screen:
“CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 84.01% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money” »
Capital.com
Capital.com
78.1% of small investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
The Capital.com broker implements several measures to guarantee a high level of security. For example, Capital.com keeps its clients’ funds in separate bank accounts. This means that the company cannot “mix up” its own cash flow with that of its customers. This is a prudent approach that helps protect customers in the event of financial difficulties encountered by the company.
In addition, Capital.com has no rights to its clients’ funds. Customers’ money is spread across several accounts opened with recognized banks such as Eurobank, Astrobank, etc. These are subject to regular checks to ensure their compliance. Also, the firm is covered by a compensation fund in the event of difficulties. The amount of compensation for clients depends on the legal conditions in place with each client and is limited to €20,000.
Despite these measures, we must criticize the absence of two-factor identification (2FA), a method that is offered by many platforms and provides increased security. 2FA operates by requiring verification at two stages, typically involving a code sent to your smartphone. This adds a crucial layer of defense against malicious actors attempting to hack your credentials and carrying out unauthorized operations in your name.
Risk warning:
CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of losing money quickly due to leverage. 84% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should ask yourself whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
