Bitcoin (BTCUSD)
Ethereum (ETH) 
Cardano (ADA)

Cryptocurrencies are again in the limelight, after Bitcoin’s (BTCUSD) spectacular rise to $60,000. For many years prior to 2020, analysts had expressed concern around the lack of institutional investment in cryptos. Such concerns were addressed by the massive inflows from hedge funds, corporates, and leading investors during the pandemic-induced recession. They helped propel bitcoin to multiple all-time highs and a market cap of more than $1.07 trillion. The widespread acceptance of bitcoin has been good news for the entire crypto space. 

Better exposure also results in a more mature marketplace, with high liquidity and non-concentrated holdings. Mature markets make for less volatile environments, with fewer ad hoc and unpredictable price swings and lag in information flow. The year has seen high volume trading of crypto CFDs, as these instruments allow traders to speculate on price movements without the hassle of buying and storing cryptos. 

Bitcoin is the cryptocurrency market pioneer and has delivered the most meteoric growth. Founded in the wake of the 2008 crisis, it spent much of its infancy in relative obscurity. Since then, however, it has grown into an asset held on the books of Wall Street giants such as Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Tesla. The crypto is now bought as a hedge against inflation, currency devaluation, and global uncertainty. Institutional investors have come to view this crypto as a valuable option for portfolio diversification especially amid economic turmoil.

Due to the sheer volume of technical traders and speculators on the network, cryptocurrencies often follow widely accepted technical patterns. In other words, the market moves the way popular indicators say it would because many traders are using the same indicators. This makes BTC’s price movement favourable for CFD trading. 

Its periods of low volatility are often followed by uptrends favouring long CFD trades when breakouts happen. Bitcoin’s chart also suggests strong momentum. Retail CFD traders may consider taking positions in the direction of the trend, which suggests a long position in an upswing and a short position during a downturn. Furthermore, bitcoin’s popularity has encouraged an extraordinary body of technical and fundamental research, allowing Bitcoin CFD traders to make a more informed decision. 

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $205 billion. Traditionally, ETH has been highly correlated with BTC. Still, they have different fundamental factors that influence the degree of swings even when they move together. 

Ethereum has a much more flexible network that allows "smart contracts". These smart contracts form the core of blockchain innovations, such as Decentralised Finance and Non-Fungible Tokens. The network's wide range of applications provides exposure to these booming industries. 

ETH does share a few technical similarities to BTC, with similar periods of low volatility followed by breakouts, and it spends weeks adhering to support and resistance levels, allowing CFD traders conventional entry points.

A relatively new entrant in the crypto space, Cardano was co-founded by a founder of Ethereum. This altcoin is considered the third generation of blockchain technology. It currently has a market cap of $37 billion. Cardano’s programming solves much of Ethereum’s scalability issues, potentially lending it more upside in the long run. 

This cryptocurrency has enjoyed a rise in popularity with the boom in smart contract applications. CFD traders can use its current strong correlation with Ethereum, while trading an altcoin that has much lower volatility.