The picture in three lines
- Crypto trades nonstop on many separate venues; currencies trade 24 hours on weekdays between dealers; shares trade on exchanges during fixed sessions.
- Who holds the asset differs: a broker's nominee account for shares, a contract for CFDs, and either a platform or your own wallet for crypto.
- Leverage caps, settlement speed and investor protection all vary by market, so the same trade idea carries different risks.
Financial markets explained in one sentence: they are meeting places where buyers and sellers agree on a price, and the rules of each meeting place shape what you can do there. Crypto, foreign exchange and stock markets move on the same headlines, but they are built very differently. This page lays the three side by side so the differences are visible at a glance.
Financial markets explained: three structures
| Crypto | Forex | Stocks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it trades | Hundreds of independent platforms and on-chain pools | A dealer network of banks and liquidity providers, no single exchange | Regulated exchanges such as NYSE, Nasdaq, LSE, TSE and HKEX |
| Hours | 24 hours, 7 days | Sunday 17:00 to Friday 17:00, New York time | Fixed weekday sessions, closed on public holidays |
| Who sets the price | Each venue's own order book | Quotes streamed by dealers | The exchange order book, linked by market rules |
| Typical retail access | Crypto platform or self-custody wallet | Forex or CFD provider | Stockbroker or investing app |
| Settlement | On-chain, minutes | Usually two business days for spot interbank deals; CFDs do not deliver currency | US shares: one business day after the trade (T+1) |
Because crypto is split across many venues, one coin can show slightly different prices at the same moment. Traders who buy where it is cheap and sell where it is dear pull those prices together, but the gap never fully disappears in fast markets.
Hours and the weekend gap
Crypto keeps trading when every other market is shut. That creates an effect worth understanding: when news breaks on a Saturday, crypto reacts immediately, while currencies and shares react only when they reopen. The result can be a gap, where the first price after the weekend is far from the last price before it.
An illustrative example: EUR/USD closes on Friday at 1.0850 and the first Sunday quote is 1.0810. That is a 40-pip gap. On a one-lot position, at $10 per pip, the jump is worth $400, and a stop-loss placed inside the gap cannot fill at its level. The live market board shows which sessions are open right now, and the EUR/USD chart guide explains how gaps look on a chart.
Who holds the asset when you buy
This is the question beginners most often skip. Buying a share through a regulated broker usually means the share is held for you in a nominee account, legally separate from the broker's own money. Buying a CFD means you hold a contract with the provider, not the underlying asset. Buying a coin on a crypto platform means the platform holds it and you hold a claim; moving it to your own wallet makes you the custodian.
Platform custody
Convenient and recoverable if you forget a password, but you depend on the platform's solvency and honesty.
Self-custody
Nobody else can freeze or lose your coins, but a lost recovery phrase or a mistaken transfer is usually permanent.
Leverage caps compared
Leverage means controlling a position larger than your deposit. Regulators in the UK and EU cap it for retail CFD clients by asset class. The caps below are the regulatory maximums; a provider can offer less.
Maximum retail leverage for CFDs, UK and EU
In the UK, crypto derivatives cannot be sold to retail consumers at all. US retail forex is capped at 50:1 on major pairs.
The shape of this chart tells you what regulators think of each market's risk: the more volatile the asset, the less borrowed money a retail client may use. Try the numbers yourself in the margin calculator.
What moves each market
- Currencies respond to interest-rate expectations, inflation data and the general appetite for risk.
- Shares respond to company earnings and to the same rate expectations, because rates change what future profits are worth today.
- Crypto responds to liquidity and risk appetite, and to its own events: network upgrades, token unlocks, platform failures and regulatory decisions.
The overlap is larger than it looks. A strong US dollar and rising rates have often coincided with weaker crypto prices, which is why crypto traders watch the forex calendar too.
Protection if something breaks
Regulated stockbrokers and forex providers in major jurisdictions must keep client money separate and report to a regulator, and many countries add a compensation scheme with a limit. Crypto rules are newer: the EU's MiCA regulation now licenses crypto-asset service providers, but protection still varies widely by country and by platform. Before using any provider, run through our ten checks.
Where to go next
- How forex trading works, from pairs to pips.
- The stock market for beginners, including index weighting.
- How crypto works, from keys to blocks.
Short answers
Why is the crypto market open at weekends when others are not?
Crypto networks run on computers that never stop, and most crypto platforms operate continuously. Stock exchanges and the dealer network behind forex keep business hours and close for weekends and holidays.
Is one market safer than the others?
Each has different risks. Regulated stock and forex markets offer more investor protection, but prices can still fall hard, and leverage can magnify losses in any market.
Why do different crypto platforms show different prices?
Each platform has its own buyers and sellers. Arbitrage keeps prices close, but small differences remain, especially when markets move quickly.
Sources
- European Securities and Markets Authority, CFD product intervention measures
- UK Financial Conduct Authority, PS20/10 ban on crypto-derivatives for retail consumers
- US Securities and Exchange Commission, T+1 settlement cycle
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA)