Trading media are divided into several types :
- mobile or android platform
It is very convenient because it can be carried everywhere.
- desktop platforms
The advantages of a wide screen. You are also more free to draw detailed auxiliary lines for the direction of candle stick patterns.
- trading on website
Some brokers provide a special trading platform in their website area. For this, of course, must login first.
The Origin of Meta Traders
In the history of the metatrader platform, this platform is actually a software used for trading. This software, like other computer software, can be downloaded and installed on a personal computer for free, and of course FREE.
Because this software is very useful for traders, often metatrader software is better known as the metatrader platform. Metatrader platforms are now very popular among traders and become their mainstay for trading forex, stocks or commodities.
The metatrader platform has proven its stability in bringing traders to the gates of trading success, so that until now no one has been able to beat the popularity of the metatrader platform. Almost all brokers in the world provide a metatrader platform for their clients to use.
To learn the history of the metatrader platform, let's go back to currency trading in the past. Trading currencies, stocks and commodities has existed long before the metatrader platform was created. Therefore, the question arises 'How did the ancients carry out their trading activities?'
In the past, access to financial markets could only be done by specialized trading companies, therefore, if there were individuals/companies who wanted to trade shares, they had to go to a broker.
Communication for trading needs between brokers and traders was done only by telephone, the fastest medium at the time, and that still caused problems. In addition to being deemed less fast, the transmission of important data via telephone also costs a lot of money.
MetaQuotes Corp
On this basis, a software company in Russia called Meta Quotes Sotware Corp (MQSC) began developing special software for the needs of financial markets, in 2000. From this company, Metatrader software was born.
The metatrader platform immediately became popular and was touted as a big hit for its ability to deliver transactions on financial markets in real time. This innovation from MQSC immediately replaced the trend of telephone-based trading to online-based forex trading.
Previously, MetaQuotes had released several versions of MetaTrader since 2002, but they tended to be considered failed products. The new warm welcome received by MetaTrader 4 which is favored by traders, because it allows the installation of trading robots and the use of technical indicators more easily and intuitively with the MQL4 programming language. Traders can watch price movements in real-time, apply technical analysis, as well as Buy/Sell orders and monitor transaction history on one screen.
For brokers, the MetaTrader 4 platform which has six integrated components (Server, Client, Data Center, Administrator, Manager, Mobile) also makes IT department performance easier. During 2007-2010, the number of top forex brokers who adopted MetaTrader 4 continued to grow until this platform became the number one online trading software with the largest number of users worldwide.
Over time, MetaQuotes felt that MetaTrader 4 was too “outdated” and had difficulty accommodating the new features traders needed. Therefore, MetaQuotes started developing the MetaTrader 5 trading platform in 2009. Real accounts based on the MetaTrader 5 trading platform were launched in September 2010.
At the very beginning of the release of MetaTrader 5, traders balked at this trading platform. The problem is, although it looks similar to MetaTrader 4 at a glance and is even equipped with more advanced technology, it has two drawbacks:
The earliest versions of MetaTrader 5 implemented the FIFO (First In, First Out) rules. The real purpose of MetaQuotes is to comply with United States rules that prohibit hedging techniques in a single account. However, the result is that this platform is rejected by the majority of traders from various regions. MetaTrader 5 uses a different programming language from MetaTrader 4, namely MQL5. As a result, traders are reluctant to switch to MetaTrader 5 because they have to rewrite the trading robot or expert advisor that they already rely on.
Responding to these criticisms, MetaQuotes finally revised the FIFO rules, so that each broker can set for themselves whether to apply FIFO (prohibiting hedging) or not applying it (allowing hedging). Subsequently, starting from build 600, MQL4 and MQL5 can be used to perform the same MetaEditor, thus helping a smoother transition for traders from MetaTrader 4 to MetaTrader 5.
Finally, in January 2018, MetaQuotes announced it had stopped selling licenses and updated new functionality on MetaTrader 4. Since then, many forex brokers have only allowed opening of new accounts on MetaTrader 5, although MetaTrader 4 is still allowed for existing traders.
