Trading apps have evolved substantially since their early iterations in the 70s. With OANDA, we can connect your account with the advanced TradingView platform. Through this partnership, our users benefit from a complete trading experience with supercharged charting tools and the ability to join one of the largest financial communities.
Before the Trading App Revolution
Before online charting software, the trading of financial instruments happened physically. From the 1500s, traders and investors would meet at specific locations to negotiate prices. Eventually, it made sense to have dedicated buildings known as exchanges.
With stocks and commodities as the go-to markets back then, the 'Bourse at Antwerp' (in Belgium) was born in 1531. Historians regard this as the first stock or commodities exchange. Trading was a drawn-out process during this period.
Before the advent of the telephone in the mid-1800s, the telegraph was the primary method of communication. This invention still had its place from the late 1800s until 1970. But without computers to perform charting, brokers and firms would have to draw price graphs by hand.
Furthermore, prices and other market actions were delivered daily by words on paper or verbal messages. It was the job of a dedicated 'runner' to relay this information to your representative at a particular exchange before you traded.
1870 was a pivotal year for trading, thanks to the ticker tape. This paper strip ran through a telegraph printing machine or 'stock ticker' that transmitted stock price information over telegraphs. Instead of traders getting a daily summary of events, they could get updated information more frequently.
Also, this telegraph system could spread the data over wider distances. The tape contained abbreviated company names as alphabetic symbols with price and volume information. Trading platforms like the TradingView app still use tickers (or ticker symbols) as shorteners to identify markets. Similarly, you can find ticker-style details on the screens of modern trading floors.
The Computer Age of the 70s–90s
The telephone was another significant enabler before the current trading apps. The NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) became the first to use this invention. In addition to reading the data on the ticker, telephones (and then telex machines) made it faster than telegraphs to transmit information to other firms and investors.
Still, it was in the 70s that computers came into play. Before this, the giant news agency Reuters had already experimented with conveying financial data over oceans with computers in the 60s.
In the early days of trading, computers were 'dumb terminals,' electromechanical hardware that allowed you to input static data. This nascent computing system slowly morphed, especially with the internet age that snowballed in the early 90s.
Globex, released by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1992, is recognized as the first electronic trading platform. The number of new platforms grew through the years with faster execution, automated charting abilities, and better overall technology. Social trading and networking was another addition to this software, a trend that began in the mid to late 2010s.
Fast forward to 2011, when the TradingView app came onto the market and became one of the most popular investing platforms. TradingView is integrated with only the best derivatives brokers, which include OANDA.
Why Use the TradingView App
TradingView is a supercharged trading platform and social network for web, desktop, and mobile users. It's among the most advanced options available and boasts highly aesthetic charting. Here are the software's core features:
- 12 chart types
- Up to 8 charts per tab
- +100 built-in popular indicators (+100 000 custom indicators)
- +50 drawing tools
- +100 fundamental fields and ratios on specific markets
- Custom time-frames (down to seconds and range bars; available only on premium packages)
- Volume profile indicators (only available on a paid plan)
- Multi time-frame analysis
- Stock, forex, and crypto screeners
- Bar replay function (only available on the paid plans)
- Indicator template saving
- Autosaving functions
- Alerts on strategies, indicators, and price
- Watchlists
- Symbol comparing
- Extensive historical data
- Live streaming platform
- Server-side alerts
Equally impressive is the TradingView app's vibrant social network. Here, traders share and discuss their trading ideas across hundreds of markets and groups dedicated to specific trading indicators. The platform has over 50 million monthly users and is ranked the most popular investing site, according to data from SimilarWeb.
Conclusion - try the TradingView app with OANDA
The evolution of trading apps, from telegraphs and ticker tapes to telephones and static computers, is fascinating. Like any technology, further disruption is expected in the future.
For three consecutive years, the TradingView community voted OANDA the 'most popular broker.' You can access OANDA’s financial markets like forex, indices, and crypto. Integration for OANDA clients with TradingView is free (only regular trading fees and commissions apply). Traders access the basic package of the TradingView app but can upgrade to one of their premium plans.
Artificial intelligence and blockchain technology are the next major changes expected in trading apps. Whatever the trend is, OANDA will stay ahead of the curve.
