Bankless Times
HomeInvesting in CryptocurrencyCryptocurrency Spread Betting Brokers

Cryptocurrency Spread Betting Brokers

Amala Pillai
Amala Pillai
February 8th, 2024
Why trust us
Advertiser Disclosure

When researching how to invest in cryptocurrency, you’ll find several methods to get started with. One of the lesser-explored options is cryptocurrency spread betting, which is a little more complex than traditional cryptocurrency buying and trading.

If you’re thinking about trying spread betting on cryptocurrencies and altcoins as an investment strategy, you’re in the right place. In this guide, you’ll learn about what cryptocurrency spread betting is and how it works. You’ll also discover the best platforms (ETX Capital, FXPro Edge, Spreadex) to get you on your way.

Best Cryptocurrency Spread Betting Platforms in 2023

These days, plenty of online platforms make it easier for you to begin spread betting on crypto. But because of this, knowing which is the best crypto spread betting broker can become more difficult. To make the process easier, we have listed the best cryptocurrency spread betting platforms below.

Sort by
Pepperstone9.0Visitpepperstone.com

Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Plus500 CFD Broker9.8Visitplus500.com

82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Eightcap8.8Visiteightcap.com
Webull8.3Visitwebull.com
Coinbase8.4Visitcoinbase.com
Changelly7.4VisitChangelly.com
Trading 2128.4Visittrading212.com

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Please note that eToro doesn’t support spread betting at this time.

What is Cryptocurrency Spread Betting?

Cryptocurrency spread betting is speculating on how you think a cryptocurrency’s market value will change. Spread betting is speculating on market fluctuations. It involves betting on whether the price of the cryptocurrency will rise or fall from the bid provided by the cryptocurrency broker.

Besides cryptocurrencies, you can also try spread betting for other assets and commodities, such as oil and gas. Crypto spread betting is also possible as an alternative to traditional sports betting.

How Does Cryptocurrency Spread Betting Work?

When you place your “bet,” you’ll pick a range within which you think the currency will fluctuate. The closest you are to getting your prediction right, the more you’ll get in return.

An important thing to keep in mind is that with spread betting, you could lose more than you originally staked.

How to Get Started With Cryptocurrency Spread Betting?

To get started with crypto spread betting, all you need to do is:

Sign Up
Choose Crypto
Deposit Funds
Continue Betting

In some cases, you will need to deposit cryptocurrencies instead of fiat currencies such as USD and GBP.

Cryptocurrency Spread Betting Vs. CFD Trading

Spread betting has some striking similarities to contract-for-difference (CFD) trading. For starters, you don’t own the cryptocurrency you trade or bet on in both spread betting and CFD trading. Moreover, CFD platforms allow you to use leverage, which is also available in spread betting.

At the same time, cryptocurrencies spread betting does have some differences from CFD trading.

With CFD trading, you’ll first buy the asset you want to trade. You can set parameters to sell when the market hits a specific rate, but if you sell instantly, you’ll do so at the current price on your platform.

Another difference between spread betting and CFD trading is that they’re often subjected to different laws in some countries. For example, profits made on CFD trading in the UK would be eligible for capital gains tax; but since spread betting is considered gambling, it would not.

If you want to know more about CFD trading, we’ve prepared a guide on the best Bitcoin CFD platforms.

Cryptocurrency Spread Betting Vs. Cryptocurrency Options

Although options trading involves some level of market speculation, it differs from cryptocurrency spread betting in a tactical sense.

Options trading involves buying the right to sell an asset at a specific price within a designated period. However, with options trading, you do not need to sell at the strike price if the market is trading higher.

Of course, options trading still has risks. You can lose money if the market doesn’t go your way.

Cryptocurrency Spread Betting Vs. Crypto Trading

With trading, you tend to purchase an asset to sell at an increased price. If you trade stocks, you’ll usually do so within different exchanges’ opening hours – but cryptocurrencies spread betting is round-the-clock, so the rules are a little different in this respect.

In contrast to trading, you don’t necessarily need to rely on the asset rising in value to make a profit when spread betting.

Investors run the risk of a financial loss when investing in cryptocurrency

What Are the Best Cryptocurrency Spread Betting Brokers in 2023?

Okay, so you’ve now got a better idea about what spread betting is and how it’s different from other forms of cryptocurrency trading.

Below, you’ll find four of the best cryptocurrency spread betting brokers.

Spread Betting Broker

Minimum Deposit

Crypto Trading Fee

Minimum Spread

🥇ETX Capital

$100

30% per Annum adjusted daily

£0.01 / £6 - £100 depending on the token

🥈FXPro Edge

$100

FxPro charges $45 per million USD traded

Minimum spreads are 1.4 and 0 pips

🥉Spreadex

$0

Fees are included in the spread with an average of 0.6 pips during peak hours

Minimum stake sizes of 1 pip depending on the volatility of the market

ETX Capital

ETX Capital is one of the financial services industry’s most established brokers, having existed since 1965. It offers a feature where users can try cryptocurrency spread betting on its award-winning platform.

ETX capital supports Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple spread betting.

ETX Capital crypto spread betting overview

⌛Dealing Hours

Sun - Fri 23:00 - 21:55 (Except 22:00 - 23:00 Mon - Thu)

💰Min / Max Bet Size

£0.01 / £6 - 100 depending on the crypto asset

🔼Max Open Position

£20 - £1000 depending on the crypto asset

1️⃣1 Point Move

0.01 - 1 point depending on the crypto asset

📈Margin Requirement From

Tiered From 50%

💰Finance Adjustments

Applied At 22:00

💱Underlying Index

Bitcoin / Ethereum / Ripple spread betting (depending on the crypto asset)

Key features

  • Real-time pricing transparency

  • Social trading options

  • Options to set limits and stops

  • Offers most of the best coins to invest in

FXPro Edge

FXPro Edge is a spread betting platform developed by FXPro. You can download the app on Android and iOS, along with using it on your desktop device.

Key features

  • Several types of charts are available

  • Analytics features for your personal performance

  • Create watchlists

Spreadex

Spreadex is a popular spread betting platform that is also headquartered in the UK. The service has mobile apps for Android and iOS users, and you can also use the platform if you have an iPad.

Key features

  • In-app customization

  • Advanced order options

  • Price alerts

What Are the Advantages of Cryptocurrency Spread Betting?

Now that you have discovered the best cryptocurrency spread betting platforms, it’s a good time to look at the benefits and drawbacks of this kind of trading. First, let’s start with the positives:

You could increase your profits

Spread betting involves using leverage. If you’re well-versed in cryptocurrency trading, this can be a powerful tool to increase your profits beyond what you’d make when buying and selling coins.

The key here is to use it effectively, as it’s not short of risks, which we’ll discuss later.

Tax-free*

Tax implications for spread betting will vary from region to region.

You don’t need to pay capital gains tax on profits you make from spread betting in the UK. Moreover, the money you make is exempt from stamp duty. In contrast, other forms of cryptocurrency investing may be liable for taxes, so it’s best to check your jurisdiction’s regulations to ensure you’re following the right process.

With that being said, tax-free spread betting isn’t universal. If you live outside of the UK, check your local regulations to avoid breaking the law and landing yourself in hot water.

Potentially fewer fees involved

Cryptocurrency investing is not only risky, but it can also get expensive. Besides using your money to buy and sell coins or assets, you also need to pay commissions in several cases.

However, while you still need to pay some fees when spread betting, you can waive many of the additional expenses that other forms of investing could bring.

What Are the Disadvantages of Cryptocurrency Spread Betting?

While cryptocurrency has various advantages compared to other forms of investing, it also has disadvantages you must consider. Below, you’ll find some important details to keep in mind about the potential downsides of spread betting:

You Could Increase Your Losses Significantly

  • While leverage can do wonders for your profits when used properly, you could also drastically increase your losses if you don’t have experience using it. Before getting started, make sure you do enough research beforehand and test with small amounts before going bigger.

Requires Skill and Market Knowledge

  • All forms of cryptocurrency investing require at least a basic understanding of the market where you’re buying coins or assets. But with spread betting, you need to pay even closer attention.

  • Since crypto spread betting involves speculating on price rises and falls, you can’t just guess things and expect the profits to come your way.

Alternative Ways to Invest in Cryptocurrencies?

Spread betting requires a lot of skill and market knowledge, and it isn’t for everyone. Fortunately, it’s also not the only way to invest in cryptocurrencies.

If you’ve decided that spread betting isn’t for you – or you want to test other forms of trading too – consider the three alternatives below. These are in addition to the ones we mentioned earlier (e.g., CFD trading):

Buying Coins

While CFD brokers are the easiest place for beginner cryptocurrency traders to start investing, buying coins from exchanges is also popular. Compared to spread betting, you’ll own the coin outright.

Grayscale Funds

If you’re not interested in cryptocurrency spread betting, grayscale funds might be a better choice for you. Rather than investing directly in a currency, you buy shares in the fund – and this share increases or decreases depending on the money’s market value.

Cryptocurrency Stocks and ETFs

Another interesting alternative is investing in cryptocurrency stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

By buying shares of companies that have significant investments in cryptocurrencies or are focused on the future of cryptocurrencies, you can invest in the cryptocurrency market. For example, you can buy shares of Coinbase (COIN), mining companies, or chip manufacturers that indirectly support cryptocurrencies by producing mining chips.

This option is more straightforward compared to spread betting.

What to Consider When Spread Betting

There are two types of margins to consider in spread betting:

Deposit Margin

This is the initial investment required to open the position and is usually expressed as a portion of your total trade.

Maintenance Margin

If your open position starts making losses higher than the protected margin, additional funds may be required. You will receive a notification requesting that you increase the amount or risk having your trade closed.

The margin rate when spread betting will depend on which market you are trading.

Final Thoughts on Cryptocurrency Spread Betting

Spread betting is an exciting and unique way to approach investing in cryptocurrencies. It also offers users the chance to try trading various other assets and commodities. You need to dig a little deeper than with CFD brokers and crypto exchanges to pick the right platform, but we hope this guide has made it easier for you!

FAQs

Is spread betting legal?
Do cryptocurrency spread betting platforms have limits on how much I can trade?
Is spread betting classed as gambling?

Contributors

Amala Pillai
Senior Content Editor
Amala is custom content and news editor based in London. She is a former financial journalist based in Singapore with 7 years of experience covering a range of business and financial topics. Now she focuses on crypto and macro-economics. She has also covered feature profiles, tech, business politics and ESG— she was the Environment Editor for the Solutions Newspaper, 2016 and worked in an editorial capacity at both News corp (Dow Jones) and JBN. She also has experience as a content creator, strategist and brand editor for various financial institutions and banks.