Scalper here, been running a tight breakout strategy on XAUUSD and EURUSD. My current broker has a 1.2-1.5 pip spread on EU which is eating my edge alive — I'm basically funding the spread at this point. Need a true ECN with sub-pip raw spreads and commission I can live with. IC Markets keeps coming up in discussions but not sure if the hype is real. Anyone scalping there with real size?

IC Markets is one of the few that actually delivers on the ECN promise, the hype is mostly earned. On their Raw Spread account you'll see EURUSD around 0.0-0.2 pips + 3.50 per side commission per lot — for a scalper that's night and day vs what you're paying now. XAUUSD spreads are tight too but depends on session. One thing — sign up via a rebate service, otherwise you're just leaving money behind. I use Globe Gain https://globegain.com/brokers/ic-markets/ to get rebates on IC Markets trades, it's about 3.50 per lot back which basically cancels half the commission on the Raw account. For a scalper doing 30+ lots a month that stacks up fast. Globe Gain doesn't change anything about your trading conditions, execution stays the same, you just get paid back per lot. Just make sure when you open the IC account you do it through the Globe Gain partner link, can't retroactively link an existing account.