CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 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.
How to not get Scammed When Trading ETC
Trading ETC generally takes place over the Internet, so anyone interested in making transactions in this popular digital token should first make themselves aware of the various scams to look out for.
Make sure to steer clear of companies that charge an initial fee to exchange ETC for fiat currency like U.S. dollars. Also remain sceptical of investment management offers suggesting investors can multiply the value of their invested assets within an unrealistic time frame.
Remember, if something seems too good to be true, then it most likely is.
Another prevalent email and social media scam to look out for involves phishing. This is where someone impersonates a well-known brand to obtain access to a person’s cryptocurrency wallet. Avoid getting involved in financial arrangements using emails or direct messages, and steer clear of fake cryptocurrency exchanges, cloud ETC mining scams and fraudulent investment programs.
An unfortunate example of what can go wrong when trading in ETC occurred to traders who held bitcoins at Mt Gox. Mt Gox. was hacked in 2014 resulting in a loss of 850 thousand bitcoins. To make matters worse, since the crypto exchange’s clients were unprotected, they have largely not yet been compensated for this loss.
As a rule of thumb, it generally seems best to select a well-regulated, capitalised and established broker to trade ETC through. Dublin, Ireland based AvaTrade was founded in 2006 and offers an excellent example of a forex, cryptocurrency, CFD and spread betting broker that is regulated in several jurisdictions, including the European Union (EU), Australia and Japan. It is also owned by a well-capitalised parent company, which can make a big difference in case of insolvency.
Another example of a well-regulated online broker is eToro, which also operates subject to European regulations under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). This broker specialises in providing social and copy trading services that include cryptocurrencies like ETC.
In short, regulated brokers generally provide traders with greater security and a more reliable transaction service for ETC and other popular cryptocurrencies.
Trading ETC Through AvaTrade
Of the various brokers that allow cryptocurrency trading, AvaTrade offers a very popular and easy to use trading platform called MetaTrader 4, or MT4. This free platform was developed by MetaQuotes and can be used by traders of all levels of experience. Different versions can be downloaded for Windows or Mac desktops, as well as for Android or iOS tablets and smartphones.
The MT4 platform has a variety of advanced technical analysis features, in addition to a news feed and a customisable interface. It also facilitates automated trading and boasts a very broad and enthusiastic user base that has developed many expert advisors (EAs) and custom indicators.
AvaTrade offers an execution service in thousands of tradeable assets. It is a simple procedure to sign up with the online broker as a trader and fund a live account. Demo accounts are also available.
As with any currency transaction, significant risks are associated with trading ETC, which is often far more volatile than fiat currencies manged by central banks. ETC’s value can also go up or down depending on several key factors as described in the section below.
Key Influences on ETC
Ethereum classic trades actively and has numerous factors that influence its value in fiat currency terms. Cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum tend to behave in a somewhat democratic manner since if a large trader buys a lot of the cryptocurrency, then its relative value will generally rise since the available supply has fallen.
Several key factors can have a notable impact on the value of Ethereum, including:
- When governments step in to regulate or prohibit the trading and/or use of digital currencies it can cause the value of these currencies to decline.
- If people need to store their wealth in socio-economic environments where they seem to have lost faith in their governments, such during the banking crisis in Cyprus 2013.
- More big payment companies starting to accept ETC in exchange for goods and services.
- Technological changes that alter the function and/or security level of ETC’s blockchain.
- Overall movements in the cryptocurrency market as its popularity rises and falls.
ETC Quick facts:
Source: CoinMarketCap
- Date Ethereum Classic started: July 30, 2015.
- Daily volume of ETC exchanged (July 2, 2019): $898,389,337
- High closing price in U.S. dollars: $45.51 on January 13, 2018.
- High closing price in bitcoins: 0.00886437 BTC on June 18, 2017.
- Market Capitalisation (July 2, 2019): $840,916,585.
- Estimated Circulating Supply: 111,645,640 coins.
- Maximum Supply: 210,000,000 coins.
- Top social trading broker to include ETC as a trading instrument: eToro.
Chart of ETC in U.S. dollars and bitcoins (BTC) during ETC’s entire trading period from July 2015 up until July 2, 2019 including daily volume and market capitalisation numbers. Source: CoinMarketCap
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