Crypto spread betting brokers

Go long and short on thousands of markets from indices, FX, equities, options, cryptos and more trade small cap stocks (including AIM) down to a market capitalisation of £1,000,000

Crypto spread betting brokers

Trade cryptos with spreadex. Established 1999. UK FCA regulated.

Trade bitcoin from a 40 point spread.

Access bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ripple and ether.

Advanced charts - pro trend lines, trade via charts.

Risk warning: spread bets and cfds are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67% of retail investors lose money when trading spread bets and cfds with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and cfds work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Go long and short on thousands of markets from indices, FX, equities, options, cryptos and more

Trade with features such as automated chart patterns and price alerts via our desktop, tablet and mobile platforms

We pride ourselves on our support to you. We’ve won the investment trends award for ‘best customer service’ 5 times

Trade small cap stocks (including AIM) down to a market capitalisation of £1,000,000

You can use your credit limit to gain greater leverage. Subject to status, professional clients only

Spreadex was established in 1999. We operate from the UK and are authorised and regulated by the FCA

"A great company with great staff. Would not hesitate to recommend them"
client since 2001

" I’ve tried other spread betting sites but spreadex is the most superior by far "
stephen R.

"T he fact that I still trade with spreadex says it all "
P walker

AN ADVANCED TRADING PLATFORM

Trade on spreadex's fully-customisable, fast and reliable proprietary platform available on the web, ipad, iphone and android.

Some of the features include:

Trade spread bets, cfds, options, etfs and more from one account from one account

A fully customisable screen including dark and light themes

Advanced charting tools - automated chart patterns & trade via charts

Advanced orders including force opens

Price alerts by text, push or email

'BEST SPREAD BETTING PROVIDER'
CITY OF LONDON WEALTH MANAGEMENT AWARDS 2016, 2018, 2020 AND GMG AWARDS 2019

'BEST MOBILE TRADING PLATFORM/TRADING ALERTS SYSTEM'
ADVFN AWARDS 2020

'BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE'
INVESTMENT TRENDS REPORT 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017

ONE OF THE TOP 1000 FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES
FINANCIAL TIMES EUROPE 1000 LIST

What is bitcoin spread betting? Cryptocurrency spread betting explained

Bitcoin spread betting

Possibly one of the easiest ways to have spread betting explained, is to use the analogy of the growth in cryptocurrency trading that we have seen in the last few years. Like the spot FX market, spread betting is extremely simple, and takes seconds, and like all the great ideas or concepts, it is it’s underlying simplicity which is the great attraction for many, who are drawn to the market as a result. The same has occurred in the spot cryptocurrency markets over the last few years, where traders can open an account in seconds, select a leveraged account of 1:100 or more, and be trading 100,000 USD plus in the world’s currency markets with only a tiny deposit in their trading account, and offering the option to trade both long and short with equal ease.

Free to use

Spread betting is almost identical, just as easy to start, and equally easy to lose money very quickly due to the wonderful mechanism of leverage. With a margin account, which I will explain shortly, any spread bet you place can deliver large profits from a small deposit, but equally the possibility to deliver large losses as well, and it is this that is so dangerous. The spread bet is often called an open ended bet, in that your profits are unlimited, as are your losses, unless of course you manage your trades very carefully, either using risk management orders to stop further losses, or by using various spread betting strategies which again I will cover in detail.

So, how do you place a spread trade and what do the spread betting company actually quote in order for you to open a bet? The answer as I have said before is very simple, and whether you are spread trading sports, or financial spread betting, then the quote will always be the same, and is essentially two figures, one of which is to buy the bet, and the other is to sell the bet. The higher price is generally referred to as the ‘offer price’, and the lower price is generally called the ‘bid price’. To buy a bet, or go long, you would open the bet at the higher price of the two quoted ( the offer) , and to go short, you would sell the bet at the lower price ( the bid). The difference between the two figures is called the spread, and this is where spread betting gets its name.

The spread between these two figures is the profit that the spread betting company makes when you open and close your bet, as whichever way you trade, you close your spread trade, by placing an equal and opposite order to your opening trade, which closes out the trade. So if you bought the spread bet at the upper price quoted, then when you close you would sell the bet at the lower price, and visa versa.

Now it is important to realise that the spread quoted varies from market to market and also varies according to market conditions, and as you will see whilst all spread betting companies quote minimum spreads in their contracts, these are the minimum and will vary accordingly. When the financial markets become volatile as fundamental news is announced, then the spreads will widen accordingly to reflect the increased volatility in the underlying instrument or market. Every spread betting company will present this information in their market data sheets along with a range of additional information regarding the underlying risks and margin requirements.

As you would expect in such a competitive market, all the spread betting companies will quote various minimum bet sizes for each market, which once again will vary. For anyone new to both spread betting and financial spread betting, I always recommend learning to spread bet using the minimum bet possible, which at present is around £1 per point, but with one company currently offering a minimum of 50p. Whilst this still seems a small amount, remember that even at such a small sum, then a 100 pip movement would equate to £100 profit or £100 loss – not a small sum and I always advise new traders to equate their bet size to a trade in the cash market, which will help to keep this in context. As an example assume you want to buy a share with a spread betting company as you feel the share is due to rise, and is currently quoted at 200 – 202. You would buy at £1 per point ( or in this case 1p) so in effect you are buying 100 shares.

This leads us on to another point which is simply this – imagine we now buy at £10 per point instead, ( or per penny movement) then this equates to a shareholding in real terms of 1000 shares ( or £2,000 in value). In other words for a small deposit in our cash account, and a relatively small bet, we have effectively ‘bought’ or now control shares to the valid of £2,000. This whole concept is called leverage, and in effect what you are doing is funding your spread betting account with borrowed money from your spread betting broker. I cover this point again and again and make no apologies. It underpins every spread betting account and you cannot spread trade without it!

How to trade cryptocurrencies

The cryptocurrency market has exploded in popularity in recent years, which has created a range of opportunities for traders to speculate on market prices. But before you open a position, it is important to know how to trade cryptocurrencies – so, we’ve compiled a list of everything you need to know to get started.

Cryptocurrency trading is only available to professional traders.
Find out more about our professional account

Our helpdesk is available 24 hours a day, from 8am saturday to 10pm friday. Call 0800 195 3100 or email newaccounts.Uk@ig.Com .

Cryptocurrency trading steps

Even for professional traders, the cryptocurrency market can be daunting due to the vast amount of jargon and processes involved. We’ve broken it down into six simple steps to help you better understand the cryptocurrency market and how to trade it:

Decide how you’d like to trade cryptocurrencies

There are two routes to dealing on cryptocurrencies: speculating on their prices using spread bets or cfds, or buying the digital currencies directly from an exchange. Trading crypto derivatives like spread bets and cfds is only available to professional traders, but anyone is able to open an exchange account and buy crypto directly.

Trading cryptocurrencies using spread bets

Cryptocurrency spread betting is a method of speculating on the price of a cryptocurrency, without taking ownership of the digital currency itself. When you open a spread betting position, you are making a bet on the direction that you believe the cryptocurrency’s price is headed. If the market moves in the direction you have predicted, you will profit, but if it moves against you, you will make a loss.

Spread betting is a popular choice among professional cryptocurrency traders because you don’t pay tax on your profits. 1

Trading cryptocurrencies using cfds

A CFD is a contract in which you agree to exchange the difference in the price of a cryptocurrency from when you first open your position to when you close it. Like spread betting, you are speculating on the price of the market, rather than taking ownership of the cryptocurrency. If you open a long position and the cryptocurrency does increase in value, you’ll make a profit, but if it falls in price, you’ll make a loss – the opposite is true for a short position.

When professional traders speculate on cryptocurrency with cfds, they will be liable to capital gains tax – but any losses can be offset against profits for tax purposes. 1

Buying cryptocurrencies via an exchange

Alternatively, you might decide to buy a cryptocurrency, which means that you take ownership of a portion of the digital currency outright, with the intention of holding it in a digital wallet and profiting if it increases in value.

You won’t need a professional account to do this, but you will need a digital wallet and an account with a crypto exchange. There can be a lot of steps to this process, and you might have to join a waiting list for an account.

Learn how the cryptocurrency market works

The cryptocurrency market operates in a different way from other financial markets, which makes it vital to learn how it works, and understand the jargon used to describe it, before you start trading.

The cryptocurrency market is a decentralised digital currency network, which means that it operates through a system of peer-to-peer transaction checks, rather than a central server. When cryptocurrencies are bought and sold, the transactions are added to the blockchain – a shared digital ledger which records data – through a process called ‘mining’.

Cryptocurrencies are also famously volatile, which makes it important to know what is likely to move the market – this could be anything from icos and blockchain forks, to breaking news and government regulation.

Build a trading plan

Having a trading plan is crucial to success for any trader but even more so for cryptocurrency traders because the market can see high amounts of volatility. Even if you’re a professional trader, this volatility can still catch you out.

Volatility is a double-edged sword: it makes the market extremely attractive, but difficult to trade. This is why your trading plan should include risk management tools, as well as an outline of your goals, which cryptocurrency you want to trade, and a methodology for entering and exiting trades – known as a trading strategy.

Your plan should also include the way you will analyse the cryptocurrency market, using both technical and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis focuses on the price movement of a cryptocurrency and its historical patterns, while fundamental analysis looks at the external factors and macroeconomic data that impact the digital asset. Whichever method you choose, it is important to remain up to date with any news that could impact the market, as cryptocurrencies are especially sensitive to market sentiment.

Choose your cryptocurrency trading platform

Our trading platforms can provide you with a smarter and faster way to trade cryptocurrencies – with personalised alerts, interactive charts and built-in risk management tools. You can trade via the IG trading platform using:

Your web browser

One of our mobile apps

Advanced third-party platforms such as MT4

Cryptocurrency trading examples

To help you understand how to trade cryptocurrencies, we’ve complied two examples of cryptocurrency trades and their possible outcomes.

Cryptocurrency spread bet example: buying bitcoin

Let’s say that you’re a professional trader and you’re interested in trading bitcoin, so you decide to open a long spread bet position against the US dollar (bitcoin/USD).

For this example, the current market price is 6365. As you believe that the value of bitcoin is going to increase in value, you decide to buy £20 per point at the buy price of 6370, which is slightly higher than the market price due to the spread. For every $1/1pt. Change in the market value of bitcoin, you will profit (or lose) £20.

Your total exposure is £127,400.

If your prediction is correct

If you were right, and the price of bitcoin rises against the US dollar, your trade would make a profit. Let’s say that the market rises to a new price of 6500, which means that the market has moved 130 points in your favour. At this point you decide to close your position and realise your profit, selling at the sell price of 6475, which is slightly lower than the market price due to the spread.

The calculation of your profit is as follows: (£20 x 105) = £2100.

If your prediction is incorrect

However, if the market moves against you and the value of bitcoin falls against the US dollar, your position would make a loss. Let’s say that the market falls to 6300, so you decide to close your position to prevent further losses – selling at a price of 6275.

As the market has moved 95 points against you, the calculation for the loss on your trade is: (£20 x 95) = £1900.

CFD trading example: selling ether

Instead of a spread bet, you might decide to open a CFD trade – if you’re a professional trader. In this example, you believe that the price of ether – the token of the ethereum network – is going to fall in value, and decide to go short by selling ether against the US dollar (ether/USD).

The current market price is 201, but you would sell at 200.3 – slightly below the market price, due to the spread. You decide to sell 5 contracts (each equivalent to 1 ETH) to open a position at this price.

If your prediction is correct

If you were right, and the value of ether fell against the US dollar, your trade would profit. Let’s say that the new market price is 150, you could close your position and take your profit by buying 5 contacts to close your position at the buy price of 150.7, which is slightly higher than the market price due to the spread.

Because the market has moved 49.6 points in your favour, the profit on your trade would be calculated as follows: 5 x 49.6 = $248.

If your prediction is incorrect

However, if the value of ether rose against the US dollar, your position would be closed at a loss. Let’s say that you decide to exit the trade after the market rose by 15 points to 215 – so buy back 5 contracts at the buy price of 215.7. This would mean the loss to your position was 5 x 15.4 = $77.

Under FCA rules, only professional traders can trade cryptocurrency with derivatives like spread bets and cfds. Learn more about professional trading and check your eligibility on our professional account page.

The cryptocurrency market operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which means that there is no best time to trade as price changes can happen at any time. And as cryptos are traded all over the world, the varying time zones means that the market will always be active somewhere.

Although around the clock trading creates more opportunities to trade, it also makes it important to have risk management tools in place, so that you have peace of mind while you are not around to monitor the market.

With IG, cryptocurrencies are available to trade any time from 8am on saturday to 10pm on friday (UK time).

Like all markets, the cryptocurrency market is driven by the forces of supply and demand. A variety of factors can impact the supply and demand of cryptocurrencies, including:

News

Market fear

Technological progress

Politics and government regulation

Health of fiat currencies

Our pricing algorithm looks across multiple exchanges and derives a fair mid-price, adding a number of points either side – known as the spread – to produce the price we publish on our platform.

Due to the spread, your position needs to move a certain distance before you’re in profit, and this represents our fee for the trade. You would also need to pay a fee if you want to keep your position open overnight.

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1 tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. Tax law may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK.

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Contact us

Spread bets and cfds are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and cfds with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and cfds work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Professional clients can lose more than they deposit. All trading involves risk.

The value of shares, etfs and etcs bought through a share dealing account, a stocks and shares ISA or a SIPP can fall as well as rise, which could mean getting back less than you originally put in. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

CFD, share dealing and stocks and shares ISA accounts provided by IG markets ltd, spread betting provided by IG index ltd. IG is a trading name of IG markets ltd (a company registered in england and wales under number 04008957) and IG index ltd (a company registered in england and wales under number 01190902). Registered address at cannon bridge house, 25 dowgate hill, london EC4R 2YA. Both IG markets ltd (register number 195355) and IG index ltd (register number 114059) are authorised and regulated by the financial conduct authority.

The information on this site is not directed at residents of the united states, belgium or any particular country outside the UK and is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation.

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What is spread betting?

Spread betting allows you to place bets on whether a market will rise or fall. You can place these bets on many financial markets, including global stock markets and indices, FOREX, commodities, interest rates, futures, options and bonds. Spread betting is a derivative product, which means you do not actually purchase the asset itself, instead you place your wager on the movement of the asset’s price.

If your prediction about whether the asset will go up or down is correct then your profit will be your initial stake multiplied by each point that the market moved in your favour. However, if you are incorrect, you lose the initial stake multiplied by each point the market moved against you.

In other words, the bigger the market move, the bigger your profit – or your loss.

You don’t have to pay capital gains tax or income tax on your profits (although tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and tax laws are subject to change). You also don’t have to pay stamp duty as you do with traditional share purchases. The spread betting company won’t charge you a commission or a fee (they make their profits on bets that you lose).

Spread bets are a leveraged product, which means you can make a relatively small outlay to gain a large position, and if you win this maximises your profits. But if you lose it also maximises your losses.

Spread betting is a very risky kind of trading. As with all kinds of gambling, you should never bet more than you can afford to lose.

Crypto spread betting brokers

Trade cryptos with spreadex. Established 1999. UK FCA regulated.

Trade bitcoin from a 40 point spread.

Access bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ripple and ether.

Advanced charts - pro trend lines, trade via charts.