When you trade cryptocurrencies including the ones offered by easyMarkets; Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple what you are trading is a form of digital currency. They are intended and designed to function just like any other currency – giving the owner the ability to exchange their cryptocurrency for products and services (or trade it). The main benefit that cryptocurrency owners, users and creators claim is that it is insulated from government intervention via Q.E. or the printing of ‘new’ money, that can catch currency-holders by surprise. Trade cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ripple, Litecoin and Ethereum that are blockchain based minus Ethereum, which is type of ledger that tracks transactions.

In simple terms, yes. easyMarkets allows you to trade cryptocurrencies as pairs against the US dollar, three ways – easyTrade, Day Trade and as a Pending Order so in essence it is CFD cryptocurrency trading. In the most simplified of terms, all traders seek to acquire the asset at a very low price and sell it at a higher price for a profit. Of course, this does not calculate for volatility, market conditions, margin requirements etc. Visit this link to find out more about how to trade bitcoin.

Knowing the fundamentals of CFD Cryptocurrency trading will help you better understand the risks and the cost associated with trading CFDs on cryptocurrency. easyMarkets features an extensive learn centre that can help familiarize yourself with how to trade cryptocurrencies , or any of the other instruments we offer. Here are few of the fundamental terms that apply across CFD trading:

• Base and Quote Currency – trading Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin all instruments are displayed with three letter abbreviations with a backslash and another three letter currency next to it i.e. BTC/USD. The BTC is the base currency and is always 1 unit of the currency (i.e. 1 Bitcoin) where as the USD is a the quote currency and is the amount needed to buy (or sell) 1 unit of the base currency.
• Buy – when trading most instruments are in pairs, when you ‘buy’ you are buying one side of the currency pair while selling the other. In the case of BTC/USD it is as if you are buying bitcoin and simultaneously selling the US Dollar. Traders generally buy when the currency pair’s rate is low. Although the term is ‘buy’ you are not actually obligated to own the asset or currency pair, which allows you to take advantage of both upwards and downwards trends.
• Sell – Like ‘Buy’ when you sell a CFD Cryptocurrency cryptocurrency pair you are ‘selling’ the base currency and ‘buying’ the quote currency. Again, the terms ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ are illustrative, you are actually exchanging.
• Bid and Ask Price – In very simple terms, CFD transaction are bilateral, i.e. involving two parties. The seller ‘asks’ for a specific price a cryptocurrency instrument and the ‘bid’ is the price the buyer is willing to ‘bid’ or purchase the instrument (or underlying instrument in the case of cryptocurrency CFDs).
• Spread –spread is the difference between the lowest bid and highest ask price of an instrument. Spread is also what you pay when trading CFD cryptocurrency instrument – because as mentioned above when trading cryptocurrency pair or any other currency pair you are buying and selling at the same time. When you trade with a fixed spread broker like easyMarkets this cost never changes during trading hours, giving you a tactical advantage because your costs are apparent upfront and transparent. With floating or variable spread brokers spreads can change in response to volatility, increasing trading cost significantly. What is worse is that this can result in an otherwise profitable trading session ending up in the “red” or unprofitable.
• Lot – a lot is 100,000 units of the base currency. Of course, smaller denomination of lots is available as well 100, 1,000, 10,000 to accommodate any size of account and margin availability.
• Want to learn more about the terms covered above? Click here to visit our Learn Centre articles about each subject.

No, you only need to register for an easyMarkets account and to submit your KYC (Know Your Client, i.e. identity verification) information. Unlike a cryptocurrency wallet, there’s no risk of losing or becoming locked out of your account. You also do not need to sign up with a cryptocurrency exchange to trade cryptocurrency with easyMarkets.

Absolutely easyMarkets offers a free demo of its platform so you can see all the advantages it offers you.

Our traders have access to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple against the US dollar. Of course we are constantly expanding the instruments we offer, so if you have a favorite let us know!