The MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform is very popular with forex traders For forex brokers, over 95% have it on offer on their websites. Its popularity is mainly for its features and indicators, although it was not always this way, but has evolved and grown in popularity over the years. The MT4 was launched in 2005, and it was similar to today’s version, it has undergone many changes, and more features and indicators added. Here are some of the reasons that make the platform so accessible:
1. MetaTrader is Free
The MetaTrader 4 platform outranks all platforms in many ways, even though there are other competing platforms, but which charge fees. The MT4 platform is entirely free for all traders, making it more attractive to other platforms, which may have more advanced features. The reasoning behind this fee is that you can use the would-be fee to fund your account, rather than spend it on a paid platform.
2. The MT4 has Numerous Features
The MT4’s numerous features are significant reasons the MT4 became so famous when the platform was launched in 2005. Some of the features that made market analysis and trading smooth was:
a) The charts setup which is easy to use
b) A market watch window
c) Navigator window
d) Automated Trading
e) Over 80 Pre-Installed Indicators
f) Pepperstone Market Terminal
These features are today a market standard, but back then, MT4 had zero competition. The other available platforms did not have the features MT4 was offering at the time. However, the company has not slacked and has continuously upgraded the platform with new features such as one-click trading, signals, news sections, and other trading instruments.
3. Simple and Easy to Use Interface
Going live as a trader should mean beating the market, and emerging with profits. Winning is not always guaranteed, and trading on a complicated platform would make winning harder. Trading on a simple trading platform makes things easier for a trader. The MetaTrader 4 has all the required features and indicators, yet has a simple user interface. The chart positioning is on the right, rates, and symbols on the left, and the other features are at the top. The platform is also much easier to use with its customizing and one-click trading features.
4. Easy Programming Language
MT4’s programming language is a crucial aspect of the platform. The language has made it easier for programmers, traders, and third parties to create and implement the Expert Advisors (EA) and trading robots indicators. Besides the indicators and EAs provided by the MetaQuotes Corporation, there are now indicators and third party robots exclusively built for the MetaTrader
4. Traders have developed scripts
that can perform functions such as taking a screenshot of part of a chart, including the indicator.
5. Convenience
A trading platform needs to be convenient for the trader. The mt4 offers convenience in various ways, but the most important include:
· Minimizes resources: The MT4 uses minimal support from your gadget or computer. It also works well when you have low internet bandwidth, meaning it moves faster to the next stage.
· Stable server: The MT4 server is currently more advanced than before. It beats the competition. It can support over ten thousand simultaneous trades.
· Communication: There is a mailbox section in the client terminal, enabling a broker to communicate essential news to their clients in real-time, which is convenient and saves them a lot of trouble.
· Security: The MT4’s safety is excellent after it was improved from the previous versions. The improvement was to thwart DDoS (Distribution of service attacks), and it connects each end with 129-bit keys.
6. Conclusion
The MT4 did not gain popularity overnight. If you search for a trading platform online, the MT4 will pop up. There is a lot of information about the platform and word of mouth as well. Before engaging a platform, do due diligence and look at its pros and cons, if any. Talk to people who have used it and gauge if it suits your needs.
