Olymp Trade is a popular online broker that offers binary options alongside forex and CFD trading. They do not call their binary options by that name; they label them fixed-time trades instead. Calling binary options something else has become quite popular among brokers who seek to distance themselves from the tarnished reputation of the retail binary options industry.
Founded back in 2014, Olymp Trade has grown significantly since then, attracting millions of users worldwide through a combination of heavy marketing, a simple platform interface, and low minimum deposit requirements. While it is more well-established and widely recognized than many newer offshore-only binary brokers, questions remain regarding its regulatory oversight and transparency, since it is not supervised by any of the stricter financial authorities.
Trading Platform Experience
Olymp Trade provides a proprietary web browser and mobile-based platform. The design is polished and accessible, with a strong emphasis on beginner-friendly navigation. The platform is not suitable for more experienced traders who needs support for complex strategies, since it does not provide much in the way of serious technical analysis tools, support for algorithmic trading, etc. Basic charting, indicators, and educational resources are included, but advanced features are absent.
For binary options (branded as fixed-time trades), the platform makes it easy for traders to select the underlying asset, choose expiry time (ranging from 1 minute up to several hours), and decide on direction (for High/Low binary options).
In addition to binary contracts, the platform also supports forex and CFD trading, which gives it more variety than binary-only brokers.
Underlying Assets Available for Binary Options
Olymp Trade offers a fairly broad selection of markets for binary option (fixed-time trades).
- Forex pairs. Both majors, minors, and some exotics are found here. Roughly three dozen forex pairs are available as underlying for fixed-time trades on this platform, including heavily traded pairs such as EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY.
- Commodities. The focus is on hard commodities. Both metals (gold, silver, platinum, copper) and energies (Brent crude oil, WTI crude oil, natural gas) are available.
- Indices. Speculate on major stock benchmarks from around the world, such as S&P 500, NASDAQ, Dow Jones, FTSE 100, DAX, Nikkei 225, Hang Seng, CAC 40, EURO STOXX 50, and Russell 2000.
- Individual stocks from well-known companies such as Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, BMW, Visa, Nintendo, Facebook, IBM, McDonald’s, Boeing, Starbucks, and Coca Cola.
- Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether (Ethereum), Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Ripple, Zcash, and Dash. Some are fiat/crypto pairs, while others are crypto/crypto, e.g. ETH/BTC and LTC/BTC.
- You can use fixed-time trades to speculate on certain exchange traded funds (ETF) and thereby gain exposure to funds such as a NASDAQ tracking index fund or a Bitcoin fund.
- Synthetic indices are also available for speculation.
Account Tiers
For real-money accounts, there is a status-based system in place with three levels: Starter, Advanced, and Expert. Each level comes with additional benefits.
Starter is the default status, and only a minimum deposit is required to attain this status. You get access to roughly 10 indicators for technical analysis, and some preset strategies. The trade limit is normally $3,000 per fixed-time trade (FTT), but there are exceptions.
Advanced level can be attained either through deposits (approximately $500) or through experience points (XP). You earn XP by trading. Examples of advanced level perks: Increased payouts on certain fixed-time trades, commission discounts (up to 10%), higher trade limits on FFTs, priority processing of withdrawal requests, and access to more indicators and trading strategies. You also get a personal advisor and can attend webinars.
The expert level can also be reached through either deposits or XP. For the deposit route, around $2,000 is required. On this level, you can access FTTs where the payout percentage is up to 93%. You get commission discounts of up to 20%. Your trade limit is $5,000 per FTT and you can keep up to 100 positions open at the same time. Your withdrawal request have the highest priority. You have access to 14 indicators, 35 trading strategies, a personal analyst, expert-level education material, and webinars. You will get permission to make certain ”risk-free” fixed-time trades, but conditions apply, so read the fine print.
Statuses only last for 30 days, so in order to stay on your level, you need to keep depositing or earning enough XP. XP is earned through trading volume, profitable trades, tournaments, and by completing daily tasks on the platform.
Regulation and Reputation
Olymp Trade has built more visibility and recognition than many other binary options brokers, largely through marketing campaigns and sponsorship arrangements. When it comes to reputation, trader opinions are mixed: some appreciate the ease of use, asset variety, and educational tools, while others point out withdrawal delays, restrictive bonus policies, and the lack of strong legal protection in case of disputes.
Olymp Trade was founded in 2014 and is owned by Saledo Global LLC, a company registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and island nation in the Caribbean. The registered address is
Euro House, Richmond Hill Road, Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, P.O. Box 2897. The principal place of business is First Floor, First St. Vincent Bank Ltd Building, P.O. Box 1574, James Street, Kingstown, St. Vincent & the Grenadines.
The trademark Olymp Trade is operated by Smartex International Ltd, registered in Seychelles, and island nation in the Indian Ocean. This entity is cited in press materials from the Financial Commission (FinaCom), indicating the Olymp Trade business sphere joined FinaCom as a member firm under that name in 2016.
There are also ties between Olymp Trade and Smartex International Ltd, another company registered in the Seychelles. Smartex International Ltd is mentioned as a legal entity behind the Olymp Trade trading platform when the Financial Commission (FinaCom) announced Olymp Trade’s membership in 2016. Smartex International Ltd has the registration number 144540 and its registered address is 103 Sham Peng Tong Plaza, Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
In some of its marketing materials, Olymp Trade mentions being licensed by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) through the company Aollikus Limited, with the license number being 40131. Aollikus Limited is a registered financial dealer in Vanuatu with the address 1276 Govant Building, Kumul Highway, Port Vila, Republic of Vanuatu. Vanuatu is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean and it does not provide strong trader protection. The VFSC is not considered a top-tier financial authority when it comes to trader protection. Exactly how much power the VFSC has to actually enforce its rulings regarding Olymp Trade is unclear, since the ownership structure is opaque and involves several offshore locations.
The International Financial Commission (FinaCom)
Olymp Trade is using its membership in the International Financial Commission (FinaCom) in its marketing material, but while this name might sound impressive, it is not a financial authority or other government-level regulator. It is simply a private organization that brokers can pay to join and it offers some conflict mediation services to its members. Mostly, it is used to make brokers based in offshore jurisdictions seem a little bit more well-regulated and trustworthy.
FinaCom is registered in Hong Kong, but has strong connections to Russian financial institutions and professionals. Nikolai Isayev, with a background in the Russian financial sector, has been the commission´s COO since 2017.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Olymp Trade supports multiple payment methods, including credit/debit cards, e-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, Perfect Money), bank transfers, and cryptocurrency transfers. Minimum deposits are low, $10 for most transaction methods, making the platform accessible to small-scale traders.
Withdrawal are usually processed within 24 hours for higher-tier accounts, but can take several business days days for standard-level accounts. While many traders report successful withdrawals, complaints of delays and blocked requests do exist, particularly when bonus terms or account verification come into play.
Examples of accepted transaction methods:
- Bank cards, including Visa, MasterCard, JCB, and China UnionPay. Very fast deposits.
- E-wallets, such as Skrill, Neteller, Perfect Money, WebMoney, FasaPay, AstroPay Card, Google Pay, Jeton, GlobPay, Volet, and Binance Pay. GlobePay require a $50 minimum deposit. Fast deposits.
- Cryptocurrency transfers, e.g. BTC, ETH, USDT, TRX, SOL, XRP, DAI, SHIB, and DOGE. Fast deposits. For ETH, the minimum transfer is the equivalent of $250. For BTC and USDT, it is $100.
- Bank transfers can take anywhere from 24 hours to several business days to process.
For most of the transaction methods, Olymp Trade will not charge deposit and withdrawal fees.
Customer Support
Support is available 24/7 through live chat, email, and phone. Response times are generally faster than those of smaller offshore brokers, and multilingual support is available, reflecting Olymp Trade´s global user base.
Live chat is available from the trading platform and from Olymp Trade´s web site.
Emails are usually answered within 24 hours. The email for English support is support en@olymptrade.com. Other addresses are available for other languages, such as
Hindi support at support hi@olymptrade.com and Arabic support at support ar@olymptrade.com.
Country and region specific phone numbers can be found on the trading platform. If you can´t access that list, you can call one of the major phone support centres (they are in Malta and Cyprus) or send an email and ask for the best phone number for you.
- +357 25030996 (Cyprus)
- +356 2034 16 34 (Malta)
Why Are Traders Choosing Olymp Trade?
Olymp Trade is picked by retail traders who want to access retail binary options and are okay with using an offshore broker. This platform is not suitable for a trader who wants to be protected by a strong financial authority that enforces strict trader protection rules. The fact that Olymp Trade has been in the business for many years lends it some credibility despite its opaque ownership situation.
Traders who pick Olymp Trade are interested in short-term trading, not investing. Speculation is chiefly carried out through derivatives such as binary options (fixed-time trades) and contracts for difference, and not by actually buying and owning assets. The platform’s fixed-time trades (binary options) provide expiry times as short as one minute. This suits short-term speculators who enjoy quick outcomes and frequent trading opportunities rather than long-term strategies.
With a minimum deposit as low as $10, Olymp Trade is one of the more accessible binary options brokers. Its clean, modern interface and step-by-step onboarding also make it approachable for newcomers who want to experiment with fixed-time trades without committing large sums. The trading platform is simple and well-liked by inexperienced traders.
Olymp Trade offers a variety of assets, including forex, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies, and stocks, on a single platform. For traders who like the idea of speculating across asset classes without juggling multiple brokers, this all-in-one access is appealing.
Olymp Trade accepts many different cryptocurrencies and this is a big plus for some traders. It also accepts a lot of different fiat money transaction methods, including an big assortment of regional methods that are largely unknown outside their specific geographical range. For traders in underbanked locations where small local solutions are much more accessible than a MasterCard or a traditional bank transfer, this can be a really important aspect.