Key readings
- Forex is a dealer network open 24 hours on weekdays; stocks trade on exchanges in fixed sessions; crypto trades nonstop on many separate venues.
- Custody differs most: a stock broker holds shares in a regulated structure, while a crypto platform may simply owe you coins.
- Retail leverage is tightly capped for currencies and shares in major jurisdictions, and lowest of all for crypto.
Financial markets explained in one sentence: they are places where a buyer and a seller agree a price. Everything else, from opening hours to who holds your assets, depends on which market you are in. This page lays the three most common retail markets next to each other so the differences are easy to scan.
Financial markets explained by structure
Currencies trade over the counter. Banks, dealers and brokers quote prices to each other and to clients, with no single central order book. The price you see is your provider's quote, usually close to the wider market but not identical to it.
Shares trade on regulated exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq or the London Stock Exchange. Orders from many brokers meet in the exchange's order book, and rules in major markets push orders towards the best available price.
Crypto-assets trade on hundreds of independent platforms, each with its own order book, plus decentralised exchanges that run on smart contracts. That is why bitcoin can carry a slightly different price on two platforms at the same second. Traders who buy on one venue and sell on another narrow the gaps but rarely close them completely.
When each market is open
| Market | Hours | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Forex | Sunday 17:00 to Friday 17:00, New York time | Closed at weekends; weekend news shows up as a gap on Monday |
| US shares | 09:30 to 16:00, New York, weekdays | Prices mostly still overnight; earnings news often lands outside the session |
| London shares | 08:00 to 16:30, London, weekdays | Overlaps with New York for part of the afternoon |
| Crypto | Continuous, every day | No gaps, but thin weekend trading can mean sharper moves |
The market clock on our homepage shows which of these is open right now, based on your device's time.
Who holds what you buy
This is the difference beginners most often miss. When you buy a share through a regulated broker, the share is normally held in a nominee account for your benefit and kept apart from the broker's own money. If the broker fails, those assets are meant to be returned to clients, and some countries add a compensation scheme on top.
With a forex or CFD provider, you do not own any currency at all. You hold a contract with the provider, and your cash is protected by client-money rules that vary by country.
On a crypto platform, your balance is often just a figure in the platform's database: a promise to hand over coins on request. Some jurisdictions now license crypto firms and require segregation, but protection is uneven and compensation schemes rarely apply. The alternative is to move coins to a wallet you control, which removes the platform risk but puts the whole security burden on you. The crypto guide covers that trade-off.
Leverage: where the rules are strictest
- Major currency pairs30:1
- Other FX, gold, major indices20:1
- Other commodities, minor indices10:1
- Individual shares5:1
- Crypto-assets2:1
Caps set by ESMA and the FCA for retail clients. The FCA does not allow crypto derivatives to be sold to UK retail consumers at all.
Leverage lets you control a larger position than your deposit. At 30:1, $1,000 of margin supports a $30,000 position, so a 1% move equals $300, or 30% of the margin. Regulators cap retail leverage because the maths turns ordinary price moves into large account swings. Crypto sits at 2:1 because a 10% daily move is not unusual for many tokens. Try the numbers in the margin calculator.
Settlement and regulation
A US share trade settles one business day after it is made. A spot currency trade conventionally settles in two, though retail forex positions are usually rolled forward each day rather than settled. A crypto transfer settles when the network confirms it, which may take seconds or tens of minutes depending on the chain and the fee paid.
Stock and forex brokers in major markets must be authorised and supervised. Crypto regulation is younger: registration or licensing now exists in many places, but some platforms serving retail clients sit outside any strong regime. Our checklist on how to choose a broker applies to both.
Costs compared
- Forex: the spread, sometimes a commission, and overnight financing on leveraged positions.
- Shares: commission or a platform fee, currency conversion on foreign shares, and in some countries stamp duty or transaction taxes.
- Crypto: maker or taker fees, the spread on "instant buy" screens, card charges and network fees for moving coins.
Each is broken down with worked numbers in trading fees explained.
Who sets the price on your screen
In shares, the price is the last trade on an exchange, and your broker shows you the best bid and offer available across the venues it connects to. In forex, the price is your provider's own quote, derived from what banks and liquidity providers are offering it. Two forex brokers can show slightly different prices at the same moment, and during fast news the gap can widen. In crypto, each platform's price is simply the last trade on its own order book, which is why charts from different platforms rarely match exactly. Knowing where a price comes from helps explain slippage: the price you clicked is not always the price you get.
Where to go from here
If you are new to all three, read in this order: how crypto works, how forex trading works and the stock market for beginners. The FAQ collects short answers to the questions that come up most.
Reader questions
Which market is best for beginners?
None is automatically better. Shares bought without leverage through a regulated broker carry fewer structural risks than leveraged forex or crypto held on an unregulated platform, but every market can lose money.
Why do crypto prices differ between platforms?
Each platform runs its own order book with its own buyers and sellers. Arbitrage keeps prices close, but small gaps remain, especially during fast moves or on smaller venues.
Do forex and crypto trade at the same times?
No. Forex closes from Friday evening to Sunday evening New York time, while crypto trades every hour of every day.
Sources
- European Securities and Markets Authority, CFD product intervention measures
- UK Financial Conduct Authority, rules on CFDs and crypto-asset derivatives for retail consumers
- US Securities and Exchange Commission, T+1 settlement cycle