FXCM Research Team

The evolution of information systems technology has given rise to many industries that impact the global financial landscape. Among the most prominent are remote securities trading, the exchange of cryptocurrency assets and the fledgling decentralised finance (DeFi) sector. The latter two arenas are inherently connected to the blockchain. The blockchain is a digital system for recording data sets that is extremely difficult to alter. Essentially, it is a decentralised public…

Copper is one of the most ubiquitous, versatile and abundant metals. The red metal, as it's known, is corrosion-resistant, a good conductor of both heat and electricity, and can be molded into any number of shapes, sizes and thicknesses. As a result, people use copper in coins, jewelry, pipes, electric wiring, and musical instruments, among other things. Copper's use by humans dates back about 10,000 years. When combined with tin,…

Solana and Ethereum are both highly prominent blockchain platforms that leverage smart contracts. These two platforms have their respective strengths and weaknesses, but either way, developers are building applications on them. This piece will provide an overview of these two platforms, and help show why an investor would choose to put their money into one over the other. Solana Overview Solana is a blockchain platform that leverages several innovations to…

Capitalise is a software company, which aims to redefine the way traders utilise automation when creating and managing their strategies. Founded in 2015 by two fin-tech veterans, it is already used by some of the leading international brokers around the globe, FXCM included. It lets you navigate your way through the financial market using everyday English, thus allowing users to optimize their experience without being familiar with technically-complicated algorithmic trading…

This week, FXCM senior market specialists, Nik and Russ, discuss the announced accelerated taper of the Fed's asset purchasing program and rate outlook for 2022. They also talk about the BoE's surprise hike, the ECB's policy stance, and look at the key calendar items for this week.

Since its launch circa 2009, Bitcoin (BTC) has been the benchmark of the cryptocurrency asset class. Active crypto traders from Japan to New York have bought and sold BTC in a variety of markets, namely the physical and cash exchanges. Over time, a multitude of new Bitcoin futures products were introduced to the financial world. Market participants are able to trade digital assets on a variety of platforms. The most…

In this podcast, FXCM Senior Market Specialists, Nikos and Russell, discuss the NFP, participation rate, and unemployment rate. The two also look at the Fed pivot and what it means for the market. RBA and BoC statements are due for release this week, and Friday sees the CPI numbers. Join us for perspectives on these and more.

The emergence of the new Omicron Covid strain lead to a big market sell-off on Friday as participants sought safe-havens. Join FXCM Senior Market Specialists, Russell and Nikos, as they discuss what this means for markets. The two also talk about this week's important calendar items, including Fed Chair Powell's testimony on Capitol Hill, the OPEC+ meeting on Thursday, the NFP release on Friday, and more.