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Investing in cryptocurrency is something that many enthusiastic traders are looking to do these days. The crypto market as a whole has produced great returns compared with other financial industries, such as the stock market, real estate market, and others. However, it’s still a volatile asset class that should be approached with caution, and returns are obviously not guaranteed. But with that said, there is a way to invest in cryptocurrency without relying on positive market gains to spin a profit. This activity is known as crypto trading, and there are many platforms that support such investment actions in 2022.
Best Trading Platforms
Trading cryptocurrency can indeed be very lucrative, but the risks involved are also significant. With that said, certain trading strategies are riskier than others, especially if you are trading through products such as CFDs or derivatives.
But while different investors will inevitably have different preferences when it comes to trading, certain fundamentals still need to be assessed when finding the top trading platforms. These fundamentals include safety, site reputation, range of products, usability, available coins, and a few other key factors.
Our recommended trading platforms:
- eToro - best overall trading platform
- Pepperstone - best trading platform for enthusiasts
67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
eToro is our number one recommendation, and this is the case for many reasons. While eToro does have its own digital wallet, as well as an exchange, it also has its very own customizable trading platform. This is one of the easiest of all trading products to use too, at least compared with some of eToro’s major rivals. Adding to the ease of use element, eToro is a site that boasts zero fees for crypto trading, and there are plenty of coins for you to choose from. This includes established coins like Ethereum and Bitcoin as well as emerging coins such as Cardano and Solana.
All of this can be accessed through a mobile app too, which can be installed on most tablets and smartphone devices. This is appealing for the modern-day investor, of course, and adding to this, eToro is one of the few sites that facilitates social trading. Since eToro has professional investors using their services, you can actually check out and copy the trades of such seasoned investors, therefore boosting your own chances of healthy returns. There are no fees involved for such activity either, which makes social trading all the more appealing.
Cryptoasset investing is unregulated in most EU countries and the UK. No consumer protection. Your capital is at risk. CFD crypto trading is unavailable for clients residing in the UK and US. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Pepperstone launched in 2010, and this platform is regulated in multiple countries all over the globe. At the time of writing, this platform lets users invest in more than five key areas, including cryptos, stocks, Forex, commodities, ETFs, and various indices. This clearly provides diversity for most traders, and Pepperstone also has a heavy focus on CFDs. Of course, CFD trading carries greater risks, but if you know what you are doing the rewards can be handsome. As for some of the user-friendly aspects of Pepperstone, they are plentiful.
The platform charges no fees for withdrawals or deposits, no fees for inactivity, you may trade in multiple currencies, and there are many educational tools to improve your trading skills. The latter is available without any charges whatsoever - always a positive thing.
>>> Sign up to Pepperstone here <<<
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
What Is a Trading Platform?
In short, a crypto trading platform is an online site that lets you buy and sell cryptos in an almost instantaneous way. Trading platforms can operate in numerous ways, but the most common is to simply match buy and sell orders between individuals, often executing the transaction at the current market price. While some trading platforms will charge fees for facilitating these transactions, some of the best in the business don’t. A prime example of such a platform is eToro. In fact, you can sign up with eToro within minutes should you wish.
With this said, there are other, more specific factors relating to trading platforms too. These sites let you complete transactions in both fiat currency and through crypto pairs, their fees (if there are any) are typically much lower than other investment platforms, and they all have certain trading tools readily available. Examples of these would be trading charts, access to market history, and a running order book (usually shown on the main trading page). All of these tools are there to help you make the most informed decisions possible when trading.
67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
How Do Trading Platforms Work?
You can think of trading platforms as a middle man, helping investors to make crypto trades on either side of the equation - buying or selling. Trading platforms often use the current market price for all crypto coins, although users don’t necessarily have to trade at the current market price. Should traders set up any stop orders, engage in CFD or derivatives trading, or take part in leverage trading, the current market price has less importance. But regardless of which product or service you use, trading platforms are fundamentally there to let investors buy and sell cryptos, usually instantly, in a very simple manner.
How to Sign Up to a Trading Platform
Unless a site lets you trade cryptos without setting up an account, you will be required to register to gain access to their products and services. With that said, even if you can trade without registering, we’d recommend that you do open a new account to avoid any restrictions further down the line. Most trading platforms have a similar registration process these days, which is why we can give you a fairly accurate rundown of the sign-up process right here.
- Open an account with your preferred trading platform
- Verify your account by uploading proof of ID, usually a passport or driving licence is required, and proof of address, either a recent utility bill or bank statement is needed
- Fund your account - this will commonly be using fiat currency, with payment options including bank transfers, PayPal and credit/ debit cards
- Make your first trade!
>>> Open an account with eToro here <<<
67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
How to Choose the Best Trading Platform
It would be easy to simply list some trading platforms and proclaim them to be the best in the business. But once you’ve read through some of the key areas below, we are sure that you will feel much more confident regarding what to look for in a top trading site.
Design and Ease of Use
While it is important to pick a trading platform that has good quality products and services, the actual user experience is equally as important. After all, you could sign up with the most extensive trading platform available, but if you have a hard time using the site, you won’t feel like it’s worth it. That’s why we like to source platforms that have simple navigation systems, user-friendly designs, and self-explanatory tools to keep everything as simple as possible. If all of this is available through both a desktop and mobile platform - even better!
Trading Options
The great thing about crypto trading is that it can be done in so many different ways. Even if you initially sign up with a site with the intention of standard trading, you just never know whether you will get a taste for other trading products. With that said, if you never have access to alternative products, to begin with, you certainly won’t discover different ways of trading. Therefore, picking sites that have a variety of trading options is always going to be beneficial.
Fees and Commissions
We’ve all been the victim of using sites that seem to have an extortionate and somewhat unfair system of fees charged to customers. With trading platforms, customers can incur fees when making deposits, processing trades, requesting withdrawals, and sometimes - fees can be charged for nothing at all, known as inactivity fees. Needless to say, getting charged such fees can leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
Reputation
The days of finding trading platforms with some fairly obvious red flags are long gone. But this can be both a blessing and a curse. Since most platforms now have no real indicators to suggest that you should steer well clear, doing your research has become even more critical before joining any site. When we say ‘doing your research’, what we really mean is that you must check out a platform's reputation prior to jumping in with both feet. One of the best ways to do this is to look at current and previous customer reviews, and also to look at trustworthy comparison sites - although these can be a bit of a diamond dozen.
Minimum Investment Required
Unless you have unlimited resources for trading crypto, you will want to assess the minimum investment threshold. Of course, this needs to then align with your available budget before you can be certain that a platform meets your requirements. As an example, trading platforms such as HYCM have higher investment minimums, at $100 to get the ball rolling. Other platforms let you take a swing at the crypto markets for as little as $10-$20, although the more you invest, the more you can actively trade cryptos, of course.
Educational Resources
Educational resources are usually handed out free of charge at the top trading platforms. These can come in two main forms too - access to recent crypto news and actual resources explaining how different trading products work. For example, some sites have educational videos on leverage or CFD trading, as these can be more complex than other activities. And some sites will also have resources that you can view or read to learn about individual crypto coins/projects. This is often linked in with recent crypto news, and you can even get rewarded for checking out such resources - as seen with sites such as Coinbase.
>>> Visit eToro here to get started <<<
67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Final Thoughts
Trading platforms can feel quite complex if you are brand new to them. But if you take the plunge and spend a little time learning about the tools, products, and systems they have in place, as you’ve done by reading this piece, we are confident they will become one of your favourite investment platforms of all. At this point, the benefits of choosing trading platforms should be clear, as should the actual products and services that they have available. And of course, if you want to get started with the very best, you can register with eToro immediately.
Once you begin your crypto trading journey, we are sure that you’ll have a pretty enjoyable time. But before we wrap this up, we’d like to leave you with a couple of reminders. Firstly, crypto trading is highly volatile, meaning the market can take drastic swings in either direction. This can have a huge impact on your holdings. Secondly, different trading products carry different levels of risk, and you should never trade using a product you don’t fully understand. Finally, don’t be afraid to do your homework and use the educational resources at your chosen site.
The more trading knowledge you gather, the better your investment decisions will be, and the more likely it is that you will turn a profit in the long run.
67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
FAQs
Are trading platforms regulated?
Yes - trading platforms are regulated in their individual countries of operation. This is always identified on the homepage of a site, and this shows that it is a platform that you can trust.
Which is the best trading platform?
Weighing up the pros and cons of some of the top trading platforms around, we stand by our decision that eToro is the best available. There are just too many positives to ignore with these guys, and don’t forget - you can register with eToro to start trading right now.
67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Is it safe to use trading platforms?
Yes. Trading platforms are incredibly safe to use these days. User data is kept on secure servers, encryption technology is used to protect transitions, deposits/withdrawals are processed through protected pages - we could go on, but you get the idea!
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