OptionStars, also known as OptionStars Global, is a fairly new binary options broker on the scene, having been online only since 2015. They currently have two websites, OptionStars and OptionStars Global, and while it is claimed that the former is for EU traders and the latter for non-EU traders, we found that both are usable from any regions.

The first question we look at when it comes to binary options brokers is whether or not they are regulated, particularly by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (“CySEC”), which is the main financial regulator when it comes to binary options brokers. So is OptionStars regulated? That question is hard to answer as the company’s website is not clear on this issue. For example on their ‘Regulations’ page, they claim to be owned by Novox Capital Ltd, which is indeed a regulated Cypress Investment Firm (“CIF”). However, we note that the ‘Regulations’ page is not directly linked from their main page and indeed was only found via a direct Google link.

The current website’s terms and conditions page focuses on a company known as Markets Development which is registered in Bulgaria and is referred to as ‘the Company’, implying that Markets Development is the owner of OptionStars. Another company called New Markets SA, incorporated in Samoa, is referred to as ‘the Subsidiary’ and handles the daily operations of OptionStars. Another thing we noticed is that one the Novox Capital website, it lists some of its other brokers which benefit from its CySEC license such as OptionBit, and Royal Pip (also listed on the CySEC page linked above), however, OptionStars is not listed on that page. While analyzing this situation, we approached the company and found out more about its legal status.

While having some success among traders and proving itself to be a reliable broker, OptionStars did have a few complaints. As we have noted in the past, due to the highly competitive nature of the binary options broking industry coupled with their extensive use of the affiliate marketing model, many such complaints are simply made by competing brokers.

Our conclusion? Can this broker be trusted or not? We analyze all pros and cons of trading with this broker in the following review. Read on to find out more.

OptionStars Account features

OptionStars offers three membership tiers: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. We briefly summarize the account features of each tier below.

• Bronze – $1,000 minimum deposit, comes with 1 free trading strategy, weekly market reviews, as well as an introductory video course.
• Silver – $5,000 minimum deposit, comes with 3 free trading strategies, daily and weekly market reviews, an introductory and advanced video course plus a senior account manager.
• Gold – $10,000 minimum deposit, comes with 5 free trading strategies, daily and weekly market reviews, an introductory and advanced video course, a dedicated account manager, same day withdrawals, as well as weekly one-on-one trading sessions.

OptionStars Trading Software

OptionStars currently uses the Tradologic trading platform, which is not that popular compared to some of the other platforms such as SpotOption, however, we note that Novox Capital and Tradologic have collaborated in the past. In the case of OptionStars, the types of binary options provided under the platform are rather limited, with only digital (traditional), range, turbo, touch, and one touch options offered. It does not offer some of the more advanced option types available on other platforms such as Ladder options, nor does it have the ‘Social Trading’ option (which allows a trader to automatically replicate another trader’s trades).

The platform does offer a highly extensive asset list to trade, however, with 41 different currency pairs, 19 different commodities, 22 different indices, 167 different equities, and even one futures index.

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OptionStars Support information

Support options offered by OptionStars is fairly standard with phone support (4 different countries), web form (that allows the user to categorize the nature of the request such as deposits/withdrawals, trading, general, technical issues etc.), email, and live chat (which we note was not available at the time of this writing and replaced with another email web form instead).

OptionStars Banking and Company Information

OptionStars allows deposits and withdrawals using quite many methods: via credit cards (Visa, Maestro, MasterCard, and Diners Club), online payment systems (Neteller, Skrill, Paysafe) and wire transfers. In the case of withdrawals, OptionStars charges $30 per withdrawal by way of credit card, and $30 +1% of withdrawal amount in the case of a direct bank transfer. OptionStars also notes that withdrawals can take up to 14 business days to process. However, the exact timing depends on the account type and the amount of money a trader wants to deposit or withdraw.

Unfortunately, the withdrawal processing period of up to 14 business days is considerably higher compared to the industry standard and overall this puts OptionStars ranking at ‘below average’ when it comes to the speed of financial operations compared to the rest of the industry. We would also like to highlight that OptionStars lists withdrawal times as ‘2 to 5 business days’ on their FAQ page and ‘up to 14 business days’ on their Terms and Conditions page; this can be potentially misleading for the new traders, so we would recommend contacting the customer support service to find out the details of your withdrawal and clarify the exact conditions when making your first withdrawal.

Related articles:

• Does OptionStars Provide Auto Trading?

References/Further Reading:

1. Competitive trade models and real-world features ( Ronald W. Jones, rSugata Marjit)
2. The Political Economy of Conflict and Appropriation (Michelle R. Garfinkel, Stergios Skaperdas)
3. COMPETITIVE PRIORITIES: INVESTIGATING THE NEED FOR TRADE-OFFS IN OPERATIONS STRATEGY ( KENNETH K. BOYER, MARIANNE W. LEWIS)
4. Firms’ competitive and national comparative advantages as joint determinants of trade composition (Kamal Abd-el-Rahman)
5. Trading blocs and the Americas: The natural, the unnatural, and the super-natural  (Jeffrey Frankel, Ernesto Steinb, Shang-jin Wei)
6. Misappropriation: A General Theory of Liability for Trading on Nonpublic Information (BRABARA BADER ALVADE)
7. The Stability of UK Risk Measures and The Problem of Thin Trading (E. DIMSON, P. R. MARSH)
8. Disclosure Quality and Management Trading Incentives (JONATHAN L. ROGERS)
9. How Does Internet Stock Trading in India Work?
     (
   Ghandana Goswami)
10. System and method of trading securities based on the income of a performer  (Daniel Eckert, Ross Eckert, Todd Perry,Christopher Claus)
11. Performer income trading system and method (Daniel Eckert, Ross Eckert, Todd Perry, Christopher Claus)
12. The Stability of Interregional Trading Patterns and Input-Output Analysis (Leon N. Moses)
13. Primal-dual methods for the computation of trading regions under proportional transaction costs (Roland HerzogEmail authorKarl KunischJörn Sass)
14. Equilibrium among Spatially Separated Markets: Solution by Electric Analogue (Stephen Enke)
15. How Do We Define Value Chains and Production Networks?* (Timothy J. Sturgeon)
16. Spaces of Globalization: Reasserting the Power of the Local (Kevin R. Cox)
17. Innovation and Urban Regions as National and International Nodes for the Transfer and Sharing of Knowledge (James Simmie)
18. Trade Liberalization Among Major World Trading Areas(John Whalley)
19. Increasing returns, monopolistic competition, and international trade  (Paul R. Krugman)
20. The Impact of Research and Development on United States Trade (Donald B. Keesing)