The essentials
Markets, brokers and platforms:
what’s the difference?
Separate four layers of information to understand what you are looking at.
Markets describe groups of assets
Forex, gold, crypto and commodities describe the assets you are interested in. A market name does not tell you whether you own the asset or trade a contract based on its price.
Products determine how you trade
Physical gold and gold CFDs are different products. Crypto spot trading also differs from futures or CFDs. Ownership, costs and risks must be assessed for each product.
Brokers and exchanges provide the service
Check which legal entity provides the service, its scope of activity and the account terms. A licence held by one entity does not automatically cover every service offered under the same brand.
Platforms are the software you use
MT5 and charting applications are the technology layer. Software does not replace information about the account provider or trading conditions.