Few things are being discussed as much as the potential of cryptocurrency at the moment.
If you are a legacy trader who wants to start trading Bitcoin, you have plenty of options to do so. One of them is to trade crypto on a forex platform.
You should know what you're going into, though. Read more about trading forex with Bitcoin here.
Trading platforms are responding to popular demand
Crypto trading has quickly become a multi-billion-dollar industry attracting traders all over the world.
Some forex and stock traders don’t want to miss out on that and are expanding their portfolio to include Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as well.
A lot of them are not what the crypto world calls “hodlers” though.
These traders tend to invest in crypto only to speculate on its rising fiat value in short term.
Legacy traders choose crypto CFDs and crypto fans trade tokenized stocks
The product of choice for the trader who doesn’t believe in crypto will be either a fintech app like Revolut, if they are beginners, or a platform that offers contracts for difference (CFDs) if they are veteran traders. And that’s even though there are plenty of exchanges to choose from when buying and selling real Bitcoin or alt coins.
This means that you can now speculate on Bitcoin on forex platforms that offer CFDs. If you want an introduction to this type of trading, you can read much more and find the best platforms on https://www.fxforex.com/.
Interestingly, the exact mirror opposite is happening in cryptocurrency circles. Crypto enthusiasts will dab into legacy markets by trading tokenized stocks on crypto trading platforms like FTX, but they are not likely to buy and hold the actual stock.
They don’t trust legacy markets, but will speculate on them for the quick profit and glory. That is just the way in which most legacy traders treat crypto.
The bottom line is, there are plenty of similarities between the two styles of trading which is why they're attracting the same type of traders. Individual trading platforms - be it forex or crypto - are responding to the demands of their user base.
Why Bitcoin out of all cryptos
Bitcoin is still the most valuable cryptocurrency on the market.
It's consistently the cryptocurrency with the highest price point as well as the cryptocurrency that is consistently traded that most.
Fluctuating prices are at the essence of cryptocurrency, and Bitcoin is no exception, though. There is a lot of debate about whether or not Bitcoin should be considered a currency.
Despite all the talk, Bitcoin is rapidly growing in popularity and a few countries recognize Bitcoin as a legal tender.
But there are also differences that one should be aware of when starting trading Bitcoin, no matter how short the horizon of your trade is.
Crypto markets are still much smaller than forex
The biggest of the differences between Bitcoin and forex is the markets' liquidity.
The forex market has been around for a long time and its liquidity is estimated at $6 trillion. This is almost incomparable to the Bitcoin market which is "only" a multi-billion-dollar market.
The size of a market has a major influence on the volatility of that market. That factor in combination with the cryptocurrency market being unregulated makes trading Bitcoin a riskier type of trading, which you should always keep in mind.
The volatility of the markets
Even though the forex market is volatile, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin show a different kind of fluctuation.
Cryptocurrencies are unregulated and the price action is highly affected by online sentiment and other factors that are hard to predict.
Where the forex market is affected mostly by economic and political conditions, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are mostly affected by their own crypto ecosystem.
Legal implications of crypto CFDs
Last but not least, there are several legal implications of combining the two markets, especially in the US where trading CFDs is not allowed and crypto trading regulations are still in the works.
If you are to begin trading Bitcoin, forex, or Bitcoin on a forex platform, you must make sure that you are not breaking the law and that the platforms that you use are legitimate.