Broker to Trading

These brokers offer Bitcoin CFD trading and provide trading platforms to trade Bitcoin CFDs. The comparison table lists the platforms offered by the broker on which Bitcoin CFDs can be traded. Different platforms have different characteristics thus the trader may wish to choose a broker based on which platform is available. But what is Bitcoin ?

What is Bitcoin ?

Bitcoin is a network utilised to send payments across the Internet. The cryptocurrency used to send payments is called Bitcoin. Bitcoin is traded on exchanges and has the symbol BTC.

What is a Bitcoin CFD ?

A CFD is a Contract for Difference. This is a contract between the trader and the CFD provider to exchange the difference in value of the CFD from the start to the end of the trade. The value of the CFD is closely based on the value of an underlying financial market (e.g Bitcoin). Thus it allows the trader to trade a market (i.e. to speculate on its value movement) without having to own it and to go long or short. Bitcoin as a physical asset is stored, typically in a wallet. A Bitcoin CFD enables the trader to trade without needing a wallet or other means to store Bitcoin. Bitcoin leverage trading is also possible. Bitcoin like all cryptocurrencies is extremely volatile and increasing leverage increases risk.

What is the blockchain ?

When Bitcoin is sent from wallet to wallet to make a payment, this process is recorded on a distributed electronic ledger called the blockchain.

What is mining ?

When a payment is made it needs to be processed and added to the ledger. Miners compete to add new blocks of processed data to the blockchain. When they successfully do so, they receive a reward in the form of Bitcoin and any transaction fees. This is how Bitcoin is created.

What are some possible advantages of Bitcoin ?

Bitcoin uses cryptography to secure its ledger. This ledger is also public. A secure public ledger aims to solve an issue with centralised ledgers, that it can be changed. Cryptography helps ensure that the ledger cannot be changed.

What are some possible disadvantages of Bitcoin ?

One disadvantage is that a centralised payment processing system, which Bitcoin is not, can be very efficient and can scale up to handle increased transaction processing by improving the system.

Bitcoin is distributed and to an extent operates in effect as autonomous units, and such a system potentially has issues when scaling. A number of different cryptocurrrencies have been created to try and solve this, and Bitcoin itself has been working on solutions.

Bitcoin vs other cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin is a network operating on the Internet used to send payments in a cryptocurrency, with its transactions recorded on a distributed electronic ledger and using cryptography to secure this ledger. In this respect it is like other cryptocurrencies. However there are differences with other cryptocurrencies.

Typically cryptocurrencies use a type of distributed electronic ledger called the blockchain. However it is possible to have a different kind of electronic ledger.

To process payments Bitcoin uses miners. However some other cryptocurrencies process payments in different ways, though using miners is common practice, as it allows for distributed transaction processing.

Bitcoin sets a limit on the total number of cryptocurrencies which can be created by mining and this is common practice, though some other cryptocurrencies do not.

Some of the cryptocurrencies which have directly branched or forked from Bitcoin's blockchain have made changes to the rules governing the operation of the blockchain to try and speed up transaction processing.