Bitcoin prices have lost their wild volatility swings, encouraging more Forex and Binary brokers to think seriously about Bitcoin trading.

Binary options broker SetOption has announced that it is launching Bitcoin trading for clients. Not much more information was given, other than that is will be BTCUSD trading. SetOption runs SpotOption’s binary options trading platform. SpotOption is the industry’s leading provider of binary platforms.

Many Forex and Binary brokers have been reluctant to add Bitcoin trading, despite the intense press the virtual currency has received over the last few months, due mainly to the hyper volatility of Bitcoin prices. As recently as April Bitcoin prices would rise 50% and then drop 70% in a day’s trading with regularity. That type of volatility certainly attracts traders, but is just too difficult to handle for brokers from a risk management perspective. That, and there is nowhere to hedge positions or get third party liquidity when necessary.

But the past two months, since early May, have seen a much more ‘normal’ and manageable price pattern, with Bitcoin prices trading in a much tighter $100-$115 range (see chart below). If things stay this way, we expect to see more brokerages join SetOption and offer Bitcoin binary trading — which is easier to manage than ‘straight’ Bitcoin trading, as gains and losses to both the brokerage and to the client are limited in binary trading. The only broker we are aware of offering ‘straight’ BTCUSD pair trading, as we reported back in late April, is Plus500. There, leverage on Bitcoin trading is limited to 5x, much less than for conventional Forex pairs.

For the complete SetOption press release click here.

Bitcoin prices, past 3 months, in US$. Source: Bitstamp.

For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.