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There are no guarantees in life. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing; the outcome is rarely certain. Sure, sometimes the odds of something happening are basically 100%, but that’s not true in a lot of instances.

For example, even if you used a robot and lasers to line up the perfect shot in golf, the ball isn’t guaranteed to go in the hole. A sudden gust of wind, interference from the crowd, or a rogue blade of grass could also knock the ball off course and ruin what would have been the perfect shot.

Trading is Uncertain but Not Unsafe

This idea that almost nothing in life is guaranteed can be seen every day in the trading sector. Even when a trader consumes all the latest information, assesses a market’s variables, and makes what they believe to be an accurate move, the market won’t always react as expected. This is true when you’re trading stocks, commodities, forex, and any other financial instrument. It’s an occupational hazard and one that anyone making trades has to accept.

However, just because the act of trading is uncertain, that doesn’t mean certain variables aren’t guaranteed. For example, you know exactly when the markets open and close. If you’re trading stocks, each market has its own trading times. So, if you’re trading stocks on the London Stock Exchange, the market is open from 8am to 12pm and 12:02pm to 4:30pm (GMT). Trade stocks on NASDAQ and the opening hours are 9.30am to 4pm (ET).

Another certainty is that online trading platforms are safe. Now, even though safe can be a relative term, we’re taking it to mean that your money will be protected when you use a regulated broker. This might seem like an obvious statement to make, but it’s not. Some sectors of the trading world aren’t fully regulated. That doesn’t mean they’re unsafe, but it means you don’t have the same guarantees you’ll get with platforms overseen by financial regulators. This is most obvious when you compare trading CFDs and trading crypto.

Regulations Aren’t Always Equal

The former is regulated in countries around the world. The latter is a relatively new concept and, at the time of writing, the buying and selling of tokens such as Bitcoin weren’t fully regulated. Again, this doesn’t mean it’s not safe or that you shouldn’t do it. However, if you read this article that discusses everything you need to know about trading CFDs, you’ll see that this industry is heavily regulated. That means you can trade at an online platform such as INFINOX and there will be certain provisions designed to keep you safe.

For example, to operate in the UK, online trading platforms have to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). As per the FCA’s guidelines, the amount of leverage a trader can use for CFDs is limited to between 30:1 and 2:1. Similarly, traders are required to have at least 50% of the margin needed to keep a position open. Finally, if a company is registered to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, deposits are protected up to the value of £85,000.

These regulations and others are designed to make online trading as safe as possible. It doesn’t mean you’ll make money, but it means you don’t have to worry about losing your funds to a rogue operator. This isn’t always the case in crypto trading. Major exchanges such as Coinbase do comply with strict guidelines set out by financial regulators. However, some don’t because it’s not a requirement.

This isn’t to say crypto trading isn’t safe, it can be. But when it’s compared to CFD trading, for example, it’s not subject to the same controls. Therefore, if you’re thinking about trading, this is something to consider.