Markets
Cryptocurrencies: what it is, what moves it and how to study it
What it is, what moves it, when it moves and how to practice it on demo before thinking about a live account.
What it is
The market in a sentence
CFDs on the price of cryptocurrencies against the dollar and other currencies, without a digital wallet.
Instruments HFM lists
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Ripple
- Litecoin
- BNB
- Cardano
Examples taken from HFM's specification tables on October 26, 2026. The instruments available depend on the account type.
See the Cryptocurrencies conditions on hfm.com →What to study
They trade almost all week. Useful for observing volatility, not for getting started.
Be clear on this
Extreme volatility. If you are learning, observe them; do not practice them until you have mastered risk.
What moves it
Three forces worth watching
Sentiment and liquidity
These markets are very sensitive to investor mood and to the money flowing in or out.
News and regulation
Regulator decisions, product approvals or platform failures can move the whole sector.
Adoption cycles
With fewer value references than a stock or a currency, prices change more abruptly.
Sessions
When it moves
They trade almost all week. Check on hfm.com when there are breaks or weekend closures for each cryptocurrency.
The exact hours of each instrument are published by HFM and can change.
Live chart
Watch it now
TradingView chart for educational purposes. Prices may differ from those on your HFM platform. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy or sell.
Practice
How to practice it on demo
Watch Bitcoin for a week as a volatility exercise: measure how much it moves in a day and compare it with EUR/USD. You do not need to trade it.
- 01
Open a demo account
It is free and uses no real money. Request it with the button on this page.
- 02
Mark levels on the daily chart
Support and resistance from the last few weeks. That way you arrive at each session with a map.
- 03
Calculate the size before trading
Use Arco's calculators to set how much you risk per trade; on demo it counts too.
- 04
Write everything down for a week
What you saw, what you did and what happened. The journal is what gets studied, not the balance.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about Cryptocurrencies
Do I buy bitcoin when I trade it?
No. With a CFD you trade the price change; you do not receive the cryptocurrency or need a wallet.
Why do they move so much?
It is a younger market, with fewer value references and a strong reaction to news. That is why it is recommended to watch it before practicing it.
Pick this market and watch it for a week on demo.
It is the first exercise of module 3: mark levels every day and write down what happened.