Investing Brokers 
Whilst the best crypto broker for you can depend on your own individual needs as an investor or trader, we believe these brokers have a wide range of products and services to meet the needs of different trading and investing styles.
IG Markets crypto division offers trading in popular crypto related contracts including Bitcoin and Ethereum. You can speculate on crypto prices without taking ownership of the underlying cryptocurrency with CFDs, or contract for difference. If you want to get broad exposure in a single trade, there is the IG Crypto 10 index which represents the performance of the largest 10 tokens, selected and weighted by market capitalisation. IG have excellent liquidity which means you can get some of the best prices available and superior execution speeds for your crypto trades. They also don’t charge any commission and have some of the lowest spreads in the industry.
- 24-hour crypto trading
- Go long and short on cryptos
- Crypto 10 index
- No minimum balance required
- Intuitive trading platforms
- Improved liquidity
- Guaranteed stops
- Regulated FTSE 250 company
IG Review Editor choice
You can take advantage of crypto market volatility by trading cryptos with Pepperstone without the need for a digital wallet or trading on a cryptocurrency exchange. When trading cryptos with Pepperstone, you’re not purchasing any portion of the physical cryptocurrency itself. Rather, you’re trading on its price movements. These financial instruments are derivative products known as CFDs, whereby you don’t own the underlying asset and you’re trading on their price. Pepperstone have razor sharp pricing, from multiple Tier 1 liquidity providers, with ultra-competitive spreads as low as 50 points on Bitcoin with no commissions. Pepperstone offer weekend crypto trading with award-winning customer support team who are available 24h/day, 5 days per week, and 18h/day on weekends.
- Trade cryptos long and short with no physical holding risks
- Wide offering of over 10 cryptos, including top altcoins
- Weekend trading available
- Tier 1 liquidity providers
- Bitcoin news and analysis
- No need to have a digital wallet to trade cryptos
- Free demo account
- 24/5 support
Pepperstone Review Best value
AvaTrade offer you the chance to trade a great selection of leading cryptocurrencies. This means that you can speculate on whether you believe the price will rise or fall. When you trade with AvaTrade, you can take advantage of some of the industry’s leading crypto conditions, including some of the lowest spreads that we have seen from any crypto broker. They do not charge any commission fees and have user-friendly platforms including an award-winning trading app. If safety is your main concern, you will be pleased to know that AvaTrade is regulated across 6 continents by 7 regulators.
- Uncompromised safety
- Many cryptos to choose from
- No hidden fees
- 24/7 crypto trading
- Limit your risk
- Trade cryptos against fiat currencies
- Award-winning trading platforms
AvaTrade Review Low fees
IC Markets offers some of the tightest spreads in the industry with superior execution and to-the-pip pricing from tier-1 banks. The IC Markets cryptocurrency CFD product allows traders to go long or short without actually holding the cryptocurrency. This means traders can obtain exposure to cryptocurrencies without the worry of security risks associated with storing it, and counterparty risk from the exchange. IC Markets offers a good selection of cryptocurrency CFDs, available to trade against the US dollar, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- Trade the crypto market 24/5
- Trade long or short
- Multi-regulated broker
- Raw spreads from 0.0 pips
- No commissions
- Instant account opening
- Funding with no fees
- Live support
IC Markets Review Best prices
You could try trading crypto CFDs with a top-rated broker who provide more than 4000+ financial instruments to trade in the equity, commodity and currency markets. With Admirals, you can trade the most popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and many more. Traders can enjoy the low fees and tight spreads on all assets.
- Digital account opening within minutes
- 4,000+ instruments to trade
- Excellent choice of trading platforms
- Trade from the web, mobile app or MT4/5
- Real-Time order execution
- Free daily news and trading signals
- Multi-Currency accounts
- Personal account manager
- Award-winning online broker
- Support in 26 languages
Admirals Review
In a nutshell, a cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency that can be used to purchase goods, services or as an investment vehicle. Cryptocurrencies have become increasingly popular as they are becoming more and more widely accepted as an alternative form of currency by individuals and companies across the globe. They are also popular financial instruments for investors and traders looking to profit from their volatile price fluctuations.
The majority of cryptocurrencies are transferred on decentralized networks that implement blockchain technology. The blockchain is a system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system. A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems on the blockchain.
Cryptocurrency is developed by complex cryptography which makes it practically impossible to counterfeit and very secure. One of the most defining features of cryptocurrencies is that they are not issued by any central authority, which means that they are not subject to government interference or manipulation. This makes them an attractive proposition for individuals who wish to remain anonymous. However, that doesn’t mean that they are only used for illegal activities as there are many uses for cryptos including the following:
Cryptocurrency Uses
Cryptos are just like any other currency. You can buy goods and services with them, invest in them or trade with them. Where they differ from traditional currencies that we keep in our wallets is that there are no physical coins or notes. All of the money is completely virtual.
Investing in Cryptos
Whilst many professional investors would have originally scoffed at the thought of crypto investing, more and more are adding cryptos to their portfolio. Perhaps this is due to the massive gains that some cryptocurrencies have seen over the years and the fact that more reputable companies have investing in cryptocurrencies as a way to diversify their portfolio. Then there is the quick and easy access that various crypto brokers are providing to investors from all backgrounds. Nowadays, anyone with a computer or mobile device and internet connection, can trade cryptos.
Trading Cryptos
When we talk about trading cryptos, we mean buying and selling them on a daily basis in order to try and make a profit based on the underlying price changes. If we buy a cryptocurrency and the price increases, we can make a profit by exiting the position at the higher price. On the other hand, if we sell a cryptocurrency and the price drops, we can make a profit by exiting the position at the lower price. There are many crypto brokers that offer crypto trading on easy to use trading platforms for desktop, web and mobile devices.
Buying and selling goods
When we talk about traditional currency, most people would use it for buying and selling goods. Whilst cryptocurrency is still in its infancy in this aspect, there is evidence that its popularity as a means of being exchanged for goods and services is growing. There is no doubt that technology is continuously evolving and improving, which in turn can cause an increase in demand for digital payment solutions that are built around cryptocurrency. This ever-increasing popularity of digital currency as an alternative to the more traditional fiat currency we have become so accustomed to could see it continue to become more widely accepted.
Types of Cryptocurrency
The first cryptocurrency to appear on the blockchain was Bitcoin (BTC), which still remains the front runner in the crypto world today when it comes to value and popularity. Other examples of the most popular cryptos include Ethereum (ETH). In fact, there are thousands of cryptocurrencies available today, all of which have been developed with different functions and specifications in mind.
There are cryptos that are clones or forks of Bitcoin (altcoins), whilst you will also find many others that are new cryptocurrencies in themselves and built from scratch. Today, there are over 1,000 of altcoins, and the list just keeps growing. Most crypto coins are launched following an ICO (Initial Coin Offering – a form of crowdfunding) in which the developers raise cash by offering a limited number of initial coins to finance technological development.
Interestingly, you may think that all cryptos developed serve a purpose. That is not actual the case – some cryptos have no intrinsic value and just survive based on hype. It is not unknown for the price of a cryptocurrency to sky rocket just based on social media exposure. On the contrary, there are those cryptos that have been created in order to solve a problem or provide a service. These cryptos tend to increase in value if they are widely utilised and add innovative features. Let’s take a look at some of the most prominent cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) is a decentralized digital currency, without a central bank or single administrator, that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries. Bitcoin is open-source which means that its design is public and nobody owns or controls Bitcoin, thus everyone can take part. Through many of its unique properties, Bitcoin allows various uses that could not be covered by any previous payment system including fast peer-to-peer transactions, worldwide payments, anonymity and low processing fees.
Ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) is a decentralized, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality. Ether is the native cryptocurrency of the platform. Ethereum was created to enable developers to build and publish smart contracts and distributed applications (dApps) that can be used without the risks of downtime, fraud, or interference from a third party. Amongst cryptocurrencies, Ether is second only to Bitcoin in market capitalization. Ethereum was created in 2013 by programmer Vitalik Buterin.
Litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) is an experimental digital currency that enables instant payments to anyone, anywhere in the world. Litecoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority: managing transactions and issuing money are carried out collectively by the network. It is a cryptocurrency that uses a faster payment confirmation schedule and a different cryptographic algorithm than Bitcoin. Litecoin Core is the name of open source software which enables the use of this currency.
Ripple
Ripple (XRP) is the native cryptocurrency for products developed by Ripple Labs. Its products are used for payment settlement, asset exchange, and remittance systems that work more like SWIFT, a service for international money and security transfers used by a network of banks and financial intermediaries. Ripple primarily offers fast and cheap transactions, allowing for low cost, high-speed currency exchanges, payment settlements, and remittances.
Cardano
Cardano (ADA) is a digital coin that can be used to store value or send and receive funds. The ADA cryptocurrency runs on the cardano blockchain, a first-of-its-kind decentralized network, based completely on scientific and mathematical principles and designed by experts in the fields of cryptography and engineering. The cardano blockchain can be used to build smart contracts, and in turn, create decentralized applications and protocols. Additionally, the ability to send and receive funds instantly through, for minimal fees, have many applications in the world of business and finance.
Cryptocurrency brokers provide speculative contracts on the price of digital currencies. You own the right to buy or sell the contracts as prices shift, not the digital currency. If you are looking to trade cryptocurrency then you can use a crypto broker to buy and sell cryptos as and when you please. Whether you are looking to trade for the short term of hodl (hold on) for the long term, there are plenty of crypto brokers to choose from. The best broker depends on your needs and if they support the crypto that you’re interested in. Once you have identified your ideal broker, you simply create an account, add funds and trade in your chosen crypto assets.
How to choose a crypto broker?
There are a few key things to look out for when shopping around for a crypto brokerage. We have pinpointed what we believe to be some of the most important factors to consider when choosing the best crypto broker for your needs. Hopefully this will help you to narrow down your search.
Regulation
First and foremost, we would look at the brokers regulation to make sure they hold a license from a respected regulatory authority. This will help to give us the peace of mind that we are using a well-established broker that can be trusted with our funds. If the broker is not regulated, there may not be any protection in place to protect investors.
Trading Platforms
You will need an trading platform to trade cryptos. This could be a desktop, web or mobile app. If you have a specific preference, you may want to check that the broker in question provides a suitable platform. We like our brokers to have user-friendly platforms that we can use to manage our account simultaneously across multiple devices. The platforms should include all of the popular charting tools and research that we need to analyse the markets.
If you are looking for an investment platform, please feel free to check out these free guides:
Broker Fees
If we are buying and selling cryptocurrencies with a broker, then we will need to pay them service fees. If you are trading frequently, these fees can add up. It is therefore important to shop around for a broker that has competitive fees. Be careful if a broker says that they charge zero commission fees as they are most likely going to be marking up the spread in order to cover costs. In some instances, this can mean paying more in the long run than you would if you used a zero spread broker that has a small commission fee. There can be trading fees, overnight fees, funding fees, inactivity fees and fees for any specialised platforms or tools.
Crypto Investments
With thousands of cryptocurrencies to choose from, you will want to check that the broker offers the cryptos that you are interested in trading. Some brokers specialise in crypto investing and are therefore likely to offer more than brokers who also offer forex, stocks, indices and commodities. It may be worth looking out for brokers that offer social trading if you are looking for crypto signals.
If you are interested in other financial instruments, we have the following guides:
Educational Resources
This is especially important for those who are new to crypto trading . If you have limited knowledge, you may want to see what educational materials the brokerage provides. Generally speaking, we prefer brokers who help traders with a variety of trading guides and tutorial videos. We believe it shows that they have client’s best interests in mind by encouraging informed decision making.
Account Funding
Are you trading from an existing crypto wallet? Do you have funds in a saving account you want to use? Perhaps you have had funds sitting in you e-wallet for while? Whatever your preferred payment method, you should check that it is provided by the broker in question. Whilst nearly all brokers will offer bank transfer and card payments, some also support e-wallet and crypto funding.
Trading Hours
One of the stand out features of the crypto market is that it operates 24/7. Despite this, some broker shut-up shop for the weekend which means you wouldn’t be able to trade cryptos. If you like to dabble during the weekend, you will want to check for brokers who offer 24/7 crypto trading.
Customer Support
It goes without saying, you will want to trade with a broker that offers reliable customer support. There is nothing more frustrating than getting a delayed or unsatisfactory response from customer service. For that reason, we would check how responsive and accurate the broker support team is before opening an account with them.
Whether you are looking to trade cryptos or invest in cryptos for the long term, it is important to identify the best crypto broker for your own individual needs. We are all different with our own personal financial goals. You may want to consider the cryptos available, pricing, platforms and broker security during your search. We have listed some of our favourites here, but the decision is ultimately your own.
