What is an ECN broker in Forex - ECN vs exchange

What is an ECN broker in Forex - ECN vs exchange
What is ECN Forex Trading?
ECN, which stands for Electronic Communication Network, really is the way of the future for the Foreign Exchange Markets. ECN can best be described as a bridge linking smaller market participants with its liquidity providers through a FOREX ECN Broker.

ECN serves as a bridge between smaller participants of the market and their liquidity providers. Also known as alternative trading systems (ATS), ECN is essentially a computerized network enabling trading of currencies and stocks outside traditional exchanges.

It is pertinent to note that all transactions were done manually prior to the 1970s, with a restricted amount of e-trading existing in the 80s. At that time, almost all electronic trading was done through an advanced communication system developed by Reuters, called Reuters Dealing.

The modern electronic trading systems first surfaced in the early 90s when they began to match buyers and sellers to soon become the currency price benchmark. It isn’t that these Electronic Communications Networks didn’t exist earlier; in fact they have existed since the late 1960s but weren’t used for currency trading until late 90s.