CRYPTO
Cryptocurrency trading means taking a financial position on the price direction of individual cryptocurrencies against the dollar (in crypto/dollar pairs) or against another crypto, via crypto to crypto pairs. CFDs (contracts for difference) are a particularly popular way to trade cryptocurrencies as they allow for greater flexibility, the use of leverage and the ability to take short as well as long positions.
The Growing Popularity of Cryptocurrency Trading
Over the past decade, since the internet debut of Bitcoin, cryptocurrency trading has become increasingly popular. Cryptocurrencies are digital coins which are created using blockchain or peer-to-peer technology that uses cryptography – for security. They differ from fiat currencies issued by governments from around the world because they are not tangible: instead, they are made up of bits and bytes of data. Moreover, cryptocurrencies do not have a central body or authority such as a central bank that issues them or regulates their circulation in the economy. As cryptocurrencies are not issued by any government body, they are not considered legal tender.
Even though cryptocurrencies are not recognised as legal tender in the global economy, they have the potential of changing the financial landscape and this makes them hard to ignore. At the same time, the blockchain technology, which forms the foundation of cryptocurrency creation, has opened up new investment opportunities for traders to capitalise on.
Types of Cryptocurrencies
While there are currently hundreds of cryptocurrencies available, traders’ interest appears to be focused on approximately half a dozen cryptocurrencies. Included in the list of most popular cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, which is regarded as the original cryptocurrency. Due to a “hard fork” in the original Bitcoin blockchain, Bitcoin branched out two new additional virtual coins: Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Cash ABC. Other popular cryptocurrencies that are frequently traded on cryptocurrency exchanges and online CFD trading platforms, include Ethereum, and Litecoin.
Popular cryptocurrencies can be broken down into several main ‘types’. There are those intended to offer an alternative to fiat currencies. These include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin Cash ABC and Litecoin. Ethereum, on the other hand, is only intended to be ‘spent’ to use the Ethereum smart contracts platform, which can be used to build decentralised applications (Dapps). Ethereum is, therefore, considered more of a ‘utility token’ than a currency. Finally, there is the Crypto 10 index, which can be compared to a stock market or currency index but is made up of the 10 largest and most liquid cryptocurrency assets.
Bitcoin (BTC)
In 2008, Bitcoin or BTC was the first cryptocurrency that was introduced to the world. This cryptocurrency was the first to adopt blockchain technology. Today, Bitcoin has become one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in the industry with its value surpassing even that of gold.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Bitcoin Cash is the result of a hard fork that occurred on the original Bitcoin blockchain in August 2017. The change was an attempt to allow for larger blocks on the original blockchain, therefore allowing for faster processing of transactions.
Bitcoin Cash ABC (BAB)
The result of another ‘hard fork’, this time in the Bitcoin Cash blockchain on November 15, 2018. The hard fork was the result of an upgrade to the Bitcoin Cash blockchain software that Bitcoin Cash Adjustable Blocksize Cap (which is where the ‘ABC’ comes from) wanted to introduce. At this time, Bitcoin Cash Adjustable Blocksize Cap was the largest software client for the blockchain. The aim of the upgrade was to introduce the possibility for non-cash transactions like smart contracts and oracle prediction services. Those behind the fork also wanted to replace canonical transaction ordering with topological transaction ordering.
However, not all the members, or nodes, on the Bitcoin Cash network agreed to the upgrade, so when the updates were introduced, another hard fork took place, resulting in Bitcoin Cash ABC.
Crypto 10 Index
The Crypto 10 Index is an index designed to offer a tradable benchmark for the cryptocurrency asset class. It is comprised of the 10 largest, most liquid cryptocurrencies and tokens, with prices an average of those on multiple major exchanges. The index was standardized at 1000 points on 23 December 2016 and as of 9 January 2018 has been recalculated against the market movements of its 10 constituents on an ongoing basis.
Ethereum (ETH)
Designed to be a fast way to process transactions, Ethereum is a blockchain network that was developed based on the original Bitcoin blockchain technology. The cryptocurrency was first proposed by Vitalik Buterin in November 2013.
Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin was introduced to the cryptocurrency world in October 2011 as an attempt to facilitate cross border payments. It was designed to offer faster verification of transactions compared to Bitcoin.