What is Spot Trading in Crypto?

• Martin Quin Pollard
• 11 Nov, 2022

Spot trading is one of the most basic ways to trade or invest in crypto. Many new investors and traders start their crypto journey by interacting with the spot market.

This article will describe in-depth about what spot trading is, how to trade spot markets, and its risks and benefits. While cryptocurrency coins resemble traditional money, cryptocurrency tokens resemble assets.

A crypto token can be a share in a DAO, a digital commodity, a network token, or even a physical item.

Let's go back to the topic now!
 

What Is Spot Trading in Crypto?

The idea behind spot trading is quite straightforward: traders acquire crypto assets and then wait for the value of those assets to increase. When a trader like Sue buys a stake in Bitcoin, for instance, she does so with the expectation that she will be able to sell it at a later point for a profit.

When you engage in spot trading, you use your own funds to purchase the asset. This means that you are only allowed to purchase as much as is within your financial limits and nothing more. Because of this, compared to other trading marketplaces, it is regarded as being a relatively safe option. The worst thing that might happen is that you would lose all of the money that you had invested. Other trading strategies, such as trading on margin, can result in significantly higher costs for you. Even in the event that the token is rendered worthless, you will never be required to sell it on this market.
 

How Do You Profit From Spot Trading?

Spot traders typically acquire assets such as cryptocurrencies or equities at a discount and then hold on to them until their value rises before selling them. This type of investment enables you to keep your tokens for a number of years because of the characteristics of spot trading.

A lot of traders invest in their preferred cryptocurrencies on spot markets in order to dollar-cost-average into them, and then they wait for the next bull market to realize their winnings. Patients pay off for traders in the cryptocurrency market, since the value of the vast majority of coins eventually goes up.

It is essential to keep in mind that the earnings will not become actual until you have converted your cryptocurrency holdings into fiat currency or the stablecoin of your choice.

When investing in stocks on traditional markets, you can also make money in the form of dividends, which are payments made by firms to their shareholders that represent a fraction of their profits.

Is Spot Trading the Same as Buying?

Although the terms "spot trading" and "purchasing" are frequently used interchangeably, buying does not totally cover the costs associated with spot trading. To begin, a transaction in sales is necessary before a trade can be considered finished and before profits or losses can be determined. In addition, one thing that distinguishes "spot trading" from "purchasing" is that the latter only enables you to use the funds that you already have access to, while the former does not. To participate in trading on this market, you are unable to borrow money from a brokerage firm or an exchange.
 

What Are the Benefits & Risks of Spot Trading?

Let’s begin with the risks of spot trading first.
 

Risks of Spot Trading

There are many different kinds of dangers that traders need to be aware of, and it all depends on the market they are trading on. To begin, there is a risk that the liquidity in spot markets would evaporate over time. The majority of an altcoin's liquidity is typically lost by smaller cryptocurrencies, particularly during bad markets. Because of this, it may be difficult for traders to find a venue where they can exchange their tokens for fiat currency at a price that is comparable to the market. If there is not enough liquidity, you will have to decide whether to keep holding on to your investments or sell at a price that is lower than the current market value.


When you make the decision to trade commodities on the spot market, you expose yourself to additional risk. For instance, if you make a spot buy of crude oil, you will be required to have it physically delivered to you. Yes, actual crude oil in its physical form will be shipped to your location. Last but not least, the absence of margin in spot trading means that your potential for making a profit is constrained.

Now that we have discussed the risks of spot trading, it has some benefits as well. For instance:

Benefits of Spot Trading

In the same breath, the absence of margin in spot trading serves to shield you from the possibility of incurring losses that are more than you are comfortable with. One of the most secure ways to invest is through spot trading, which enables you to keep most of what you've invested without a great deal of anxiety.
 

The spot market's prices are relatively easy to understand because they are solely determined by the amount of supply and demand in the market at any given time. When trading other types of products, such as derivatives, futures, or options, the price can be influenced by a wide variety of other factors, including the passage of time.


Because spot trading enables you to hold assets outright, you do not need to be concerned about interest payments or maintaining margins. This frees you up from having to manage your risk. It makes it possible for you to invest in Bitcoin in 2022, then put it out of your mind for the next several years, and then return to it in 2028 to find that you have made significant profits (not financial advice).