GC Option is a broker specializing in binary options. You can use both High/Low binary options and Boundary binary options here. A majority of the underlying assets are forex or cryptocurrency, but you can also speculate on the price of gold and silver. Stocks and stock indices are not available.

The minimum deposit is $10 and the smallest trade size is $1.

If your deposit is less than $100, you only get access to the GC Option WebTrader Classic trading platform. Deposit $100 or more to also get access to the GC Option WebTrader Pro trading platform and the well-known third-party trading platform MetaTrader 4 (MT4).

Deposits and withdrawals can be made in traditional currency or by using any of the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ether (Ethereum) and Tether.

A very high inactivity fee

Charging an inactivity fee when an account is deemed inactive is standard practise.

What makes GC Option stick out is not the fact that they charge an inactivity fee, but that it is $300 a month. For a small-scale trader, an account can be cleaned out rather quickly.

Make sure you understand the terms and conditions regarding inactivity before you start using GC Option, so you can prevent your account from becoming classified as inactive if you need to take a break from trading for a while.

Is GC Option licensed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC)?

No, GC Option is not licensed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC). ASIC does not license brokers who issue and distribute binary options to retail clients.

It is not illegal for Australian retail traders to buy binary options, but since May 2021, an ASIC product intervention has been in place against the issuing and distribution of binary options to retail clients. If you want to know more about the product intervention and the reasons behind it, read ASIC Report 736.

In September 2022, ASIC announced that the product intervention had been extended until 1 October 2031, following approval by the Honourable Stephen Jones MP, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services.

Ownership and regulation

GC Option is based in Saint Vincent and Grenadines, a small island nation in the Caribbean where the issuing and distribution of binary options to non-professional traders online has not been banned. Also, this jurisdictions does not require brokers to give non-professional traders negative account balance protection for leveraged trades.

GC Option is a member of the International Financial Commission (FinaCom). This is a private Hong Kong-based organisation and not an official regulator.

Political risk

GC Option is owned by a subsidiary belonging to the large Grand Capital group, a company group based in Russia. It is not possible to know for sure if, and if so how, GC Option would be impacted by increased international sanctions against Russia-based and Russia-linked enterprises. There is therefore an element of political risk involved. If the war in Ukraine continues, there is also a risk that significant amounts of traders may elect to empty and close their accounts with Russia-linked brokers; either due to personal political convictions or simply to avoid the risk, and that could become problematic for GC Option and Grand Capital group.

Can I have the Australian dollar as my account currency with GC Option?

No, you can not. GC Option offers a handful of different currencies for traders to select from to have as the account currency, but the Australian dollar is not one of them, which is a downside for Australian traders.

The available currencies are theUnited States dollar, the Euro, the Nigerian naira, the Indian rupee, the Indonesian rupiah, and the Malaysian ringgit.

The trading platforms

• GC Option have their own proprietary trading platform. It is known as the GC Option WebTrader and it comes in two different versions. Traders with the basic level account type (Silver Account) only get access to the basic version of the proprietary GC Option platform. A Gold Account or above is required to get access to the other version.
• With a GC Option account, you can also be granted access to the big and well-known third-party trading platform MetaTrader 4 (MT4). This access is, however, only granted to traders who have a Gold Account or above in the tiered account level system.

Is it difficult to reach Gold Account level?

A $100 deposit is enough to reach Gold Account level.

About the GC Option WebTrader platform

The proprietary GC Option WebTrader platform comes in two version:

• The WebTrader Classic is the basic version and it is accessible by all traders, regardless of account level.
• The WebTrader Pro is the more advanced version and it is only accessible by traders with a Gold Account or above.

Both versions of the platform come with charts provided by the famous TradingView.

Both versions of the platform will open directly in the web browser window. There is no software to download and install on the computer, so it does not matter if your computer is running on Windows or on some other operative system.

Trading on mobile devices

Regrettably, there are no mobile apps available for the GC Option WebTrader. You can open the platform directly in the browser window of your smartphone or tablet.

What are the advantages of using the WebTrader Pro instead of WebTrader Classic?

Compared to the Classic, the WebTrader Pro platform comes with more advanced tools for charting, market analysis and technical trading.

(As mentioned above, both Classic and Pro come with charts provided by the famous TradingView.)

The MetaTrader (MT4) trading platform

This is a famous third-party trading platform and you might already be familiar with it if you have some previous trading experience online, since it it offered by a wide range of online brokers and not just in the field of binary options trading.

The MT4 is especially famous among forex traders, but it used for various other types of speculation as well. It comes with a really big toolbox for technical analysis (although the MetaTrader 5 is even stronger in this regard).

With the MT4, you can do what fits you best: use it in the browser window or download and install the software on your computer.

MT4 mobile apps are available for both iOS and Android.

Automated trading with GC Option

If you have access to the MT4 platform, you can use it for automated trading from your GC Option account. A lot of features for automated trading are built into the platform and it is easy to get started. Signal-services and the famous Expert Advisors (EAs) features are all there.

Explore the GC Option WebTrader Classic trading platform with a free Demo Account

You can sign-up for a free Demo Account with GC Option and use it to explore the WebTrader Classic trading platform. Regrettably, you will not get access to the WebTrader Pro nor the MT4. We find it a bit odd that GC Option has decided to withhold the MT4 platform from the Demo Account. There are many other brokers were you can test out the MT4 using a free Demo Account if you want to.

Your free GC Option Demo Account comes filled with $10,000 in play-money so you can do play-money trades and see if you like the WebTrader Classic platform.

Binary options trading at GC Option

Binary option types

• Standard High/Low binary options
• Boundary binary options

Underlying assets for binary options at GC Option

GC Option focuses on forex and cryptocurrency, but you can also speculate on the commodities gold and silver.

The forex section is the largest one and includes over 25 forex pairs.

When it comes to cryptocurrencies, they are all traded against the USD. Examples of cryptocurrencies available for speculation are Binance, Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Monero (XMR), and Zcash (ZEC).

Payouts

• If you are looking for high payouts, the best choice is normally major forex pairs. Other forex pairs tend to come with somewhat lower payouts. For a major such as the EUR/USD, you can often find binary options at GC Option that pays over 85%.
• For binary options based on cryptocurrency, the highest payouts are around 60%.

Lifespans

The shortest lifespan is 1 minute and the longest is 48 hours.

You can impact the lifespan of an active binary option by using the feature Early Close, when available. If the binary option is in-the-money, you can use Early Close to take home a profit right away. Typically, you will be offered around 40% of the original payout. If the binary option is out-of-the-money, you can be offered to close it immediately in exchange for a 10% refund of your stake. This can be used to realize and reduce losses.

Accounts

GC Option employs a system of tiered accounts

Basic level: The Silver Account

Middle level: The Gold Account

Highest level: The VIP Account

A $10 deposit is enough to get you started with a Silver Account and the WebTrader Classic platform. If you want a Gold Account, you need to deposit a minimum of $100 and the VIP Account requires $300. With a Gold Account or VIP Account, you get access to not just the WebTrader Classic, but also to the WebTrader Pro trading platform and the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform.

From Gold-level and up, you will get trading signals, and automated trading is possible on the MT4 platform.

A VIP Account comes with a variety of perks, including “risk free” trades (conditions apply) and one day a month where your losses that day are paid back into your account as bonus money (conditions apply). You will be assigned a personal trade analyst and receive 10% cashback on losing trades (conditions apply).

Speciality accounts

GC Option does not offer speciality accounts such as Indian Demat Accounts or Muslim / Islam / Sharia / Halal Accounts.

Customer support

Phone support: +1 646 844 7187 (United States)

Live chat support: Yes, you´ll find it at the GC Option website. This means that you can reach the live chat support even if you are having problems logging into the platform. This is an advantage compared to brokers who only make the live chat support available on the trading platform.

Email support: support@grandcapital.net

Deposits & withdrawals

GC Option accepts several different types of transaction methods, including a selection of debit/credit cards, e-wallets, bank transfers and wire transfers. Several cryptocurrencies are also accepted.

The minimum deposit is $10.

Examples of accepted transaction methods for deposits and withdrawals at GC Option

• VISA
• MasterCard
• Maestro card
• FasaPay
• GrowPay
• PayTrust
• Perfect Money
• Bitcoin transfer
• Ethereum (Ether) transfer
• Tether transfer
• Wire transfer (It can take 3-5 days before a wire transfer deposit is processed.)

Deposit fees and withdrawal fees

• This broker does not charge a fee for processing cryptocurrency deposits.
• With traditional currency deposits, the deposit fee will vary depending on the method – and some methods are free.
• This broker charges a withdrawal fee for many (but not all) of the withdrawal methods. Typically, the fee is in the 1% to 4.5% range.

KYC checks

In order to comply with anti-money laundering routines, this broker will require you to pass through a know-your-customer check before you can start making withdrawals from your trading account.

You will be asked to verify your identity, and sometimes also country of residence. You can for instance need to send in (online) a photo copy of your photo ID, e.g. your passport or national ID card.

Questions & answers about GC Option

Are Contracts for Difference (CFDs) available at GC Option?

No, GC Option does not offer CFD trading. This broker specializes in binary options only.

Can I use two-factor authentication to keep my account more secure?

Yes, either with a QR code or by using a compatible external app, e.g. Google Authenticator.

Will I have negative account balance protection with this broker?

No, this broker does not give negative account balance protection.

Will GC Option give me access to MetaTrader 5 (MT5)?

No, the MT5 is not available through this broker.

Does GC Option offer VPS hosting?

No, this broker does not offer Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting.