How To Trade Binary Options:

One investment platform that has become very popular in the online trading community – especially with beginners – is trading binary options. The benefits are so great that beginners and pros alike are trading binary options and learning how to trade this financial instrument.

Learning the ins and outs of binary option trading is relatively simple. Here, we will talk about how to trade binary options and learn about navigating these powerful instruments.


The Basics of Trading: Where and How

Does the Dalai Lama Trade Binary Options?

Becoming a binary option trader first means knowing where you can trade them and how they work.
The best way to trade in binary options is to go through an online brokerage. An online brokerage writes contracts for various binary options, which are offered on the value of financial assets such as currency pairs, commodities and stocks. These contracts come with a purchase price, an expiry (the time at which the contract expires), and the conditions for profit (usually a strike price or barrier price).
To participate, you simply need to find a broker that deals in the contracts that you prefer – most online brokers deal in multiple types so you can trade both stock binary options and forex binary options with the same options broker, for example.
Once you register and deposit funds, you choose between two general types: above/below options and touch or barrier options. Some binary options brokers also offer range or boundary binary options as well.
Above/below options basically allow you to take a position on whether an asset’s value will be above or below the current value when you buy it, by the expiry. A touch or barrier option requires that an asset price reach or surpass a certain price or value at least once before the contract expires. Range or boundary binary options mandate that the asset’s value be in between two specific values or prices at expiry.


Being “In-The-Money”

Make sure you come out ahead of the other traders.

How do you know you are in-the-money? The conditions of the contract will give you the targets you need to hit, and these differ by the type of option.
Let’s take XYZ Corporation, which has shares at $10.00. An above/below option says that XYZ will rise by the end of the trading day. If you purchase a call option, you are taking the position that by the end of the trading day, XYZ will be higher than $10.00. If it is at $10.01, you are in-the-money.
With barriers or touch options, the contract may say that XYZ has to be at $12.00 or higher at least once by the end of the trading day. If you buy a call option, and XYZ is at $12.00 or higher at least once before trading closes, then you are in-the-money. If the highest value it reaches is $11.99 before the contract expires, though, you lose.
With range or boundary binary options, the contract may stipulate that the value of XYZ stock has to be in between $11.50 and $12.00 by the close of trading for the day. If XYZ is trading at $11.90, you are in-the-money. If it’s trading at $11.54, you lose your investment.


Payouts
Payouts differ depending on the type of option you choose. Above/below options and range binary options pay out typically 70-85% of the original investment. Barrier options are riskier, so they pay out as much as 300% or more of the original investment.
The payout is your profit. Of course, if you do not meet the requirements, you will lose 80-100% of your original investment.


Conclusion
Learning all about binary options means understanding the key concepts, and knowing where to go to trade them. As with any financial instrument, there is risk involved – but the upside potential, as well as ease of use, makes them attractive options for beginners and pros alike.