What are Cryptocurrencies?

A cryptocurrency is simply a form of digital currency that exists purely as computer code. It is ‘crypto’ because it utilises a secure encryption technology to ensure secure, transparent, and verifiable transactions that are conducted virtually. Cryptocurrencies are backed by a public ledger system known as the blockchain, which ensures that decentralised, peer-to-peer transactions are conducted without the need of a third party, such as a bank or government.

When Bitcoin was launched in late 2008 as the first cryptocurrency, it was intended to be the future of money. Several cryptocurrencies have since sprung up, and while most of them have attractive monetary qualities, investors have particularly been concerned with their characteristics as a digital store of value. This is why many investors nowadays seek avenues of trading cryptocurrencies.

What is Cryptocurrency Trading?

Cryptocurrencies carry inherent value, and this has made them legitimate financial assets that can be bought and sold for profit. Based on this, cryptocurrency trading is the buying and selling of various coins or tokens with the aim of generating a profit. Investors can trade various cryptocurrencies via a crypto exchange or a CFD Brokerage firm, such as PortfolioFX.

When you trade via an exchange, you will need to create an exchange account as well as open a crypto wallet where you will be storing your coins. With an exchange, you own actual coins in digital form and must store them securely. You will generate a profit when the value of the underlying coin you are holding increases and you sell the coins at a higher price than that which you had initially bought for. If you sell at a price lower than the buying price, you incur losses. In contrast, with a CFD brokerage firm, you do not own the underlying coin or token – you simply speculate on its price changes. If you place a buy order, you generate profits if you exit the trade position at a higher price. You incur losses when trading crypto CFDs if your price prediction is wrong.

CFDs offer a lucrative way of trading the volatile cryptocurrency market, and investors can also benefit from leveraged trading. At PortfolioFX, we offer you the chance to trade a selection of leading cryptocurrencies. This means you can speculate on whether you believe the price will rise or fall. When you trade with us, you can take advantage of some of the industry’s leading crypto conditions, including low spreads.

What Cryptocurrency Miners do

Cryptocurrencies are handled like cash but are mined like Gold. The work of a crypto-miner is simply to ‘mine’ or ‘mint’ new cryptocurrencies. They do this by confirming transactions on the blockchain or the public ledger. This means that mining is simply the process of verifying crypto transactions.

People around the world transfer cryptocurrencies from wallet to wallet, with miners using computer-processing power to confirm and add the transactions on the public ledger. Once a transaction has been completed and recorded on the blockchain, it cannot be reversed. For this work, miners receive new coins as their compensation- and this is how new cryptocurrencies are generated.

Similar to physical gold, most cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, have a supply limit. In the case of Bitcoin, the last coin will be mined in 2140. By capping supply, demand will be the primary determinant of the price. Bitcoin was the first-ever cryptocurrency in the world, and it continues to be the most popular and influential cryptocurrency as of January 2021.

Nevertheless, numerous blockchain projects have created many cryptocurrencies that have grown both in terms of adoption and circulation. Some of the notable cryptocurrencies that have emerged over the years include Ethereum, Ripple, Dash, Litcoin, NEO, Steller Lumens and a number of derived currencies, including Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin.

Blockchain – The Technology Behind Cryptocurrencies

Unlike traditional transactions, cryptocurrency transactions do not require a third party, such as banks or other financial institutions, to be facilitated. Every transaction is recorded on a public digital ledger known as the blockchain.

What is a Blockchain

Blockchain is an open digital distributed ledger that publicly holds records in a manner that is secure, transparent, and decentralised. It is essentially a public database that is not controlled by one single entity. A blockchain is made up of several ‘blocks’, which are lists of transaction records that are linked to each other and they are encrypted. Each block contains:

1. The details of the sender, receiver and amount of e-coins.
2. A hash, which serves as a unique fingerprint.
3. A hash of the previous block in the chain.

When a new block is created, it is sent to all the users in the network. Each user then verifies the block and it is added to the blockchain. Every one of the numerous cryptocurrencies existing today has its own blockchain, and the complex maths that is at the heart of the blockchain is computer generated. In order to run a transaction on the blockchain you need an e-wallet (or a cryptocurrency wallet).

What is Tangle

Blockchain emerged as a revolutionary technology whose application went beyond cryptocurrencies. But as its adoption spread, its inherent limitations were exposed. It was a verification system that could not do without miners (and their fees), and it became heavier and slower as more ‘blocks’ and ‘chains’ were added. There was, therefore, the need for another verification technology that would solve these problems. Enter Tangle!
Like blockchain, Tangle is a data verification system. But while blockchain is a public ledger system that utilises ‘blocks’, Tangle applies the directed acyclic graph (DAG) protocol. When you make a transaction on the Tangle platform, you have to verify the past two transactions, hence the graph is ‘directed’. It is ‘acyclic’ because past transactions cannot be used to verify present or future transactions.
Because users themselves verify transactions, there’s no need for miners or the miners’ fee. Users get to enjoy fee-free transactions as well as faster transaction speeds, and they can make as many tiny transactions as required. Another issue solved by Tangle is scalability. Unlike blockchain that gets heavier and bulkier when a new block is added, Tangle gets more computing power as new devices or users join the platform. This is why Tangle is the best protocol for the Internet of Things, a reference to a universe of interconnected devices that communicate with each other independently so as to carry out their unique functions. IOTA (Internet of Things Application) was the first cryptocurrency to implement Tangle, and this has led to the coin being dubbed the ‘cryptocurrency of the future’.

What is a Cryptocurrency Wallet?

A wallet is a piece of software or hardware that gives you the ability to store and exchange your cryptocurrencies. Think of a crypto wallet as a ‘crypto bank account’ that helps you to keep your coins or tokens. In most cases, crypto wallets are coin specific: A Bitcoin wallet will only send and receive Bitcoins; an Ethereum wallet will only send and receive Ether coins.
Each cryptocurrency wallet is encrypted and unique to you. When you send funds, you broadcast an encrypted message to the recipient. Only the recipient’s cryptocurrency wallet can decrypt that message and thus receive the funds. Crypto wallets can either be hardware or software.

• Software wallets operate online and include mobile applications and wallets provided by crypto exchanges.


• Hardware wallets are also known as cold storage and are offline. Hardware crypto wallets are considered to be more secure than their software alternatives because they cannot be hacked and are immune to viruses or malware. Furthermore, hardware wallets can also host multiple cryptocurrencies.

Why Trade Crypto CFDs With PortfolioFX?

• Uncompromised Safety – Enjoy maximum safety and security by trading with a reliable and trustworthy broker regulated in various jurisdictions around the globe.


• Wealth of Trading Resources – PortfolioFX has numerous handy resources that can help investors get the most out of their trading activities. For instance, you will get access to Trading Central, AvaSocial and Guardian Angel add-ons to maximise your trading potential. We also provide access to a free Paper trading account you can practice on before investing real money and a trading positions calculator for you to evaluate your possible trade outcomes.


• Cutting-edge Trading Platforms – At PortfolioFX, we understand the importance of having access to an intuitive trading platform and we provide our clients with access to top-notch platforms including the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms, PortfolioFX app, browser-based WebTrader, and a selection of Automated Trading Software.


• Numerous Cryptocurrencies – Choose from a wide selection of crypto coins and tokens to trade directly through our platforms. No wallet is required.


• No Hidden Fees – We offer zero commissions and no bank fees on transactions!


• Crypto Never Sleeps –Crypto markets never sleep, and neither does PortfolioFX. We offer round-the-clock service and support in multiple languages.


• Generous Leverage – Get leverage of up to 2:1 (for EU residents) and 25:1 (for non-EU residents), and increase your trade value and exposure to the markets. Remember that leverage can also increase your risk.


• Limit Your Risk – Control your risks using stop loss and take profit orders available at PortfolioFX. Other innovative orders such as buy/sell stop orders as well as buy/sell limit orders are also available to help you Manage your risks when trading your preferred cryptocurrencies.


• Choice of Crypto Pairs – Trade crypto/crypto pairs as well as crypto/fiat pairs (USD, EUR, JPY, and more) and diversify your trading portfolio.

Why are Cryptos Ideal for Trading?

Cryptocurrencies have emerged as a lucrative opportunity for an investment portfolio. Their prices are less influenced by underlying economic performances or political stability, and more by demand and supply. The year 2017 was when the power of cryptocurrencies was felt by the mainstream investing public when the price of Bitcoin surpassed that of one ounce of gold.

This invited institutional money into the crypto world, whereas various governments started considering various forms of digital money. Blockchain adoption also accelerated, and the financial markets saw the introduction of cryptocurrency derivaties. During the 2020 global lockdown due to COVID-19, the general public saw first-hand the limitations of existing fiat as governments literally printed money to spur economic growth as tough lockdown and curfew measures were instituted.

As stores of digital value, cryptocurrencies have continued to outperform all other financial assets, and interest in them can only increase. Cryptocurrencies are here to stay, and they represent a new form of high-volatility investment that is available for trading 24/7, even over the weekend.

Leveraged Cryptocurrency Trading

On Wall Street, most crashes have been triggered and overextended by leverage. But this can also be seen in cryptocurrencies, where in recent months, investors have witnessed massive tumbles in practically all coins and tokens, except, of course, Stablecoins. After hitting a high of just around $65,000, Bitcoin tumbled to around $30,000 and has been unable to break above $40,000 as of July 2021.

Ethereum has also fallen from around $4,400 to around $1,700. This has been the recurring theme in many other crypto coins and tokens, with some losing as much as 80% of their value within a couple of weeks of hitting their all-time highs.

There are many reasons for this plunge, but it is no coincidence that it happened when many exchanges enabled easy leveraged cryptocurrency trading. Like in other assets, trading cryptos with leverage allows investors to amplify their profits, but it also significantly magnifies their losses. But the impact of leverage in cryptocurrencies is even bigger because they are inherently more volatile than other asset classes. While professional traders can handle risks and rewards of leverage, the same cannot be said of retail traders.

During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, many retail traders (understandably) joined the crypto community as they sought other income-generating means. While institutional players were the major catalyst of the late 2020 and early 2021 crypto bull run, retail traders also reaped big as their leveraged bets overextended the rally.

But leveraged crypto trading also accelerated and deepened the subsequent plunge. This is a trend that professional traders have observed and become wary of. Leveraged cryptocurrency trading is now capable of influencing price direction, kick-starting trends, or overextending price cycles. This means that with leverage, crypto coins and tokens can only be even more volatile. For professional traders, this is an opportunity as much as it is an additional risk.

Understanding Key Factors Influencing Cryptocurrency Prices

Here are some of the key factors that impact crypto price:

• Supply and Demand
  As with every financial asset in any market, the prices of cryptocurrencies are heavily influenced by the forces of supply and demand. For instance, Bitcoin has a supply cap of 21 million, and this can sometimes increase demand as reflected in its high prices. Compare this to a coin such as Ripple that started with a supply of 100 billion, and whose price continues to suffer in the market. Supply can also be influenced by how mining or generation of the underlying cryptocurrency takes place. If new coins are easily generated, supply is boosted, and demand is limited. The reverse is also true.
• Regulation
  Regulation covers political and legal issues surrounding cryptocurrencies in various jurisdictions. In most cases, positive regulation on cryptocurrencies or the underlying blockchain technology usually provides tailwinds for crypto prices, whereas negative regulation or even outright bans trigger lower prices for cryptocurrencies.
• Utility
  Every cryptocurrency has a use case. For instance, Bitcoin aims to be peer-to-peer digital money, whereas Ripple seeks to enhance cheap, borderless cash transfers. If a cryptocurrency manages to achieve widespread adoption for its use case, its value will increase, and vice versa.
• Exchange Listing
  This particularly applies to altcoins. Getting listed on any of the major crypto exchanges is a massive vote of confidence for any underlying cryptocurrency project. A listing is a positive fundamental that can inspire higher prices, but delisting as well can trigger significant price losses.
• News and Media
  Media coverage of any underlying cryptocurrency greatly impacts its pricing. Positive media coverage can attract investors to a crypto project and consequently inspire higher prices of the underlying coin, whereas negative media coverage can easily inspire fear among investors and trigger lower prices.