FX Foreign Exchange Trading Beginner's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

FX is an abbreviation for Foreign Exchange, which is a financial transaction where one buys and sells foreign currency (foreign exchange) to profit from exchange rate differences. It seeks profit based on fluctuations in exchange rates by buying and selling currency pairs.

Foreign exchange trading is a transaction where two currencies are simultaneously bought and sold. For example, buying EUR/USD means buying the Euro and selling the US Dollar. It is the largest financial market in the world, operating 24 hours a day.

A currency pair is a trading unit composed of two currencies. Examples: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, etc. The first currency is the base currency, and the second is the quote currency.

It is the second currency in a currency pair, representing the amount of the relative currency needed to buy or sell one unit of the base currency.

You can think of a Buy as opening a position, regardless of whether it is a Long or Short position. There may be differences depending on the broker. Sell means closing a position.

Long is opening a position anticipating a price increase, and Short is opening a position anticipating a price decrease. You can pursue profit by trading in both directions—from price increases as well as decreases.

It is the minimum unit of an exchange rate, referring to the fourth decimal place in most currency pairs. Example: 1.1234 -> 1 pip = 0.0001. The decimal point notation may differ for currencies with small base units like the Japanese Yen. For the Yen, 1 pip is 0.01. This is because the dollar is about 1 dollar = 150 yen, but the Euro is about 1 Euro per 1.1 dollars. Numerically, displaying the Yen up to the fourth decimal place is inefficient and meaningless, so it is not shown. In other words, the pip unit can change based on the currency's actual value.

A point is a unit smaller than a pip, referring to the fifth decimal place. Example: In 1.12345, 1 point = 0.00001.

It refers to the trading unit, where 1 lot is 100,000 units of the base currency. Some brokers also offer Mini Lots and Micro Lots. For example, 1 lot for EUR/USD is considered 100,000 US Dollars, and 1 lot for USD/JPY is based on 100,000 Japanese Yen.

It refers to a trade of 0.01 lot (1,000 units) and is suitable for small investors or beginners.

It is a trading unit of 0.1 lot (10,000 units). It is larger than a Micro Lot but smaller than a standard 1 Lot.

It is a feature that allows large trades with a small amount of capital. Example: 1:1000 means you can trade up to 10,000 USD with 10 USD.

It is the amount held as collateral in leveraged trading, like a deposit. It is essential for maintaining the trade.

It is the remaining usable margin in the current account. It affects the possibility of entering additional positions.

It is a system that demands additional deposits if the funds in the account fall below the maintenance margin.

It is the minimum maintenance margin ratio at which the broker automatically closes positions if the margin is insufficient.

It is the difference between the selling price (Bid) and the buying price (Ask). It is a source of revenue for the broker and is recognized as a transaction cost.

Fixed is a spread that is always constant, while Variable changes according to market conditions. Variable is more common and often lower.

Some brokers, such as those with ECN accounts, charge a separate transaction fee in addition to the spread. This is usually around $6 to $7/lot for a round trip.

It is the process of carrying a position over to the next trading day if it is held for more than one day. Swap is applied at this time.

It is the interest incurred for holding the currency. It is applied as either positive or negative based on the interest rate difference.

The swap amount received or paid differs depending on whether the position is Long or Short. Example: Buy EUR/USD -> +Swap, Sell -> –Swap. This is the interest rate based on the interest rate difference between the respective currencies.

It is a phenomenon where an order is executed at a price less favorable than the requested price. It is likely to occur, especially during news announcements or sudden price spikes/drops.

It is a situation where the broker asks for the order again with a new price due to a difference between the current market price and the requested price during a market order.

It is an order type that is executed immediately at the current market price. It is the fastest, but slippage may occur.

It is an order set to be executed only when the desired price is reached. Execution is not guaranteed.

It is a function that pre-sets an automatic liquidation price to limit losses if the market moves contrary to expectations.

It is a function that automatically closes a position when the target profit is reached to secure the gain.

It is the price at which the position was first opened.

It is the price at which the position was closed. The profit or loss is determined by the difference from the Entry Price.

It is an abbreviation for MetaTrader4, the most widely used FX trading platform worldwide.

It is the successor version to MT4, a platform with more features and a faster server structure.

cTrader is one of the widely used foreign exchange trading platforms along with MT4/MT5. Its advantages include a deep Level II order book, fast execution speed, and a clean interface, making it a recommended platform when using an ECN broker. However, it may be somewhat unfamiliar to those accustomed to the MT series, so beginners can start with MT4. Note that some brokers do not support cTrader.

It is the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee, the body that makes decisions on interest rates and monetary policy.

They are statistics that show the state of a nation's economy, such as interest rates, GDP, unemployment rate, and consumer prices.

• XMNo commission, small lot ($0.01$ lot) trading possible, offers a sign-up bonus.
• VantageUp to 1000x leverage, various bonuses, ECN spreads.
• FPMarketsAuthentic ECN structure, supports cTrader/MT4/MT5.

All three offer Korean language support, , highly reliable regulation,, and diverse trading platforms.을 제공합니다.

• XMPossible to deposit KRW via domestic banks (Shinhan, Kookmin, etc.)
• Vantage: Supports StickPay, E-Pay, and domestic banks. 지원
• Infinox: Possible to deposit KRW via E-Pay and bank transfer.
• FPMarkets: Possible to deposit KRW directly from the bank.

Most brokers allow KRW deposits through e-wallets like StickPay and E-Pay.If you want the lowest fees, depositing via USDT has the lowest commission.

XM: Domestic bank transfer and USDT deposit.

Vantage: Domestic bank transfer and USDT deposit.

FPMarkets: Domestic bank transfer and USDT deposit.

Infinox: Domestic bank transfer and USDT deposit.
※ Most have no deposit fees, and are reflected within 5 minutes.

The FX market is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.

• Monday 6:00 AM to Saturday 5:00 AM (Korean time)
• The most active time is when London and New York overlap (21:00 to 1:00 KST).

However, the trading hours for some products (e.g., Stock CFDs) are limited, so you need to check the hours for each product.

No, it is not. The use of an overseas broker itself is not illegal, and there are no restrictions on its use. However, since you are not protected by the legal framework of Korean financial authorities, the responsibility for broker selection and risk management rests entirely with the user. Brokers do have their own insurance or compensation schemes in place.

For more details on this content, please refer to the article Is FX Broker CFD Illegal? 글을 참고하시기 바랍니다.

Overseas FX brokers have acquired financial licenses outside of Korea and operate legally.되고 있습니다.
Foreign exchange trading itself is not prohibited in Korea, and there are no regulations restricting the use of overseas firms.
However, domestic investor protection regulations do not apply, so you must prepare for asset protection yourself. This means you should not use scam/fraudulent brokers. For this, you should use a secure broker that has been operating for 10 years or more.

As of 2025, the brokers with a high proportion of Korean users are as follows: 한국 사용자 비중이 높은 브로커는 다음과 같습니다:

• XMEasy for beginners to start, sign-up bonus and 24hour Korean service support.
• InfinoxVarious bonuses, KRW deposit/withdrawal, and 24hour Korean service support.
• FXProPopular cTrader, stable trading, weak Korean service and no KRW deposit/withdrawal, but the highest global recognition.
• IC MarketsLowest ECN spreads and commissions, preferred by advanced traders, no KRW deposit/withdrawal and no Korean service.

• Lowest Spread::
  • IC Markets (ECN)Average 0.1 pip for EUR/USD.
  • FPMarkets0.1 to 0.3 pips.
  • Vantage (RAW 계정)Around 0.1 pip.
• Lowest Commission::
  • FPMarkets (ECN)$6lot.
  • Vantage PRO ECN$3lot.
  • IC Markets$6lot.

Commissions and spreads vary by account type. The above figures are based on ECN accounts; Standard accounts (STP) only charge a spreadwithout commission.

CFD (Contract for Difference) means a "Difference Settlement Transaction.", 가격 변동에만 투자It is a method of investing only in price fluctuations without actually owning the asset.That is, it is a structure where you bet on the direction in which the price of a product, such as gold, oil, indices, stocks, or foreign exchange, will rise or fall, and only the profit/loss difference is settled.

Foreign exchange (Forex), indices (US500, NAS100, JP225, etc.), commodities like gold/silver/crude oil, individual stocks in the US/Europe/Korea, and virtual assets (BTC, ETH, etc.) can all be traded as CFDs in one account., 지수 (US500, NAS100, JP225 등), 금/은/원유 같은 원자재, 미국/유럽/한국 개별 주식, 가상자산 (BTC, ETH 등) 모두 한 계좌에서 CFD 형태로 거래 가능합니다.

Log in to the FX broker -> Access the personal area, then select Deposit -> Select Cryptocurrency (USDT) -> Confirm the deposit address (wallet address) provided by the broker.

Log in to Binance (or Bitget, etc.) -> Select the Withdrawal Menu -> Select USDT.

Copy and paste the address provided by the FX broker -> 주소를 복사해서 붙여넣기 (Must) confirm the network (Tether TRC20, ERC20, etc.) matches 네트워크(Tether TRC20, ERC20 등) enter the amount, and submit the withdrawal request. The deposit is usually reflected within 5 to 30 minutes.

Now it has become impossible. Even deposits and withdrawals of less than 1 million KRW from domestic coin exchanges like Upbit are only possible to and from a 'coin wallet' or 'exchange wallet' registered and verified domestically under the user's name, meaning that regardless of the amount—small or large—all deposits must be made through overseas coin exchanges like Binance.

Yes, you can. Most major coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum can be traded, but very minor coins may not be tradable, so confirmation is required before trading.