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When was forex available to public trading?

Forex, or foreign exchange, is the largest financial market in the world, with trillions of dollars worth of transactions occurring every day. It is the buying and selling of currencies on a global scale, with the aim of making a profit from the fluctuations in exchange rates. Forex has been around for centuries, but it wasn’t until recently that it became available to the public for trading.

Before the 1990s, forex trading was primarily the domain of large financial institutions, such as banks and hedge funds. These institutions had access to the interbank market, where they could trade currencies at the best possible prices. However, the average retail trader did not have access to this market and had to rely on currency exchanges or brokers to trade currencies.

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In the early 1990s, the internet revolutionized the financial industry, and forex trading became more accessible to the public. Online trading platforms and brokers began to emerge, offering retail traders the opportunity to trade currencies from the comfort of their own homes. The first online forex trading platform was launched in 1996 by a company called Matchbook FX.

The popularity of online forex trading grew rapidly, and by the early 2000s, there were dozens of online brokers offering forex trading services to retail traders. The introduction of leverage also made forex trading more accessible to the public. Leverage is a tool that allows traders to control large positions with a small amount of capital. For example, a trader with a $1,000 account could control a position worth $100,000 with 100:1 leverage.

However, the early days of online forex trading were not without their problems. There were many unscrupulous brokers who took advantage of inexperienced traders, offering them unrealistic returns and using deceptive marketing tactics. There were also technical issues with the trading platforms, such as slow execution times and unreliable data feeds.

In response to these issues, regulatory bodies began to emerge to protect retail traders. In the US, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was established in 1974 to regulate commodity futures and options markets. In 2000, the CFTC was given authority over the forex market, and the National Futures Association (NFA) was established as a self-regulatory organization for the forex industry.

Today, forex trading is a regulated industry, with reputable brokers operating in jurisdictions around the world. Retail traders have access to a wide range of trading platforms and tools, and can trade currencies 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. The introduction of mobile trading has also made it possible for traders to trade on the go, using their smartphones and tablets.

In conclusion, forex trading has come a long way since its early days as the domain of large financial institutions. The internet and the introduction of online trading platforms have made it more accessible to the public, and regulatory bodies have emerged to protect retail traders. Today, forex trading is a global industry, with millions of traders around the world participating in the market every day.

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