Cryptocurrency Trading Fundamentals
Course overview
Level
Beginner’s
Time
30 minutes
Quiz
Test your skills
Course summary
This introductory course explores the fundamentals of cryptocurrencies and the key methods for trading them, including spot trading, perpetual futures, and CFDs. It explains the differences between self-custody and custodial wallets, highlights how market cycles and altcoin fundamentals can influence trading decisions, and outlines the advantages of trading crypto with Axi.
1. What are cryptocurrencies?
Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies secured by cryptography and transferred on a blockchain, a distributed public ledger. This tamper-proof ledger records every transaction across a network of computers.
Beyond financial transactions, blockchains offer a versatile platform for recording diverse data such as agreements, ownership titles, and even medical records. Their peer-to-peer, immutable nature eliminates the need for trust among participants.
Bitcoin (BTC) makes up more than half of the total market cap of all crypto. Launched in 2009, it was the first cryptocurrency and intended to be used as digital money independent from the banking system. All other cryptocurrencies are known as ‘alt’ coins.
Ethereum (ETH) is the second-largest cryptocurrency, making up 40% of the alt market. It also allows for smart contracts and enables developers to build decentralised applications (dApps).
Other major altcoins include Ripple (XRP), BNB (BNB), Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA).
Ticker symbol
Just like stocks and currency pairs, cryptocurrencies are uniquely identified by ticker symbols. For example, if BTCUSD is trading at $65,000, it signifies that one bitcoin can be purchased for 65,000 US dollars.
Quiz
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