Passive investing is a buzzword these days. Just as most cops (and bad guys) couldn’t keep up with Spiderman, most fund managers cannot keep up with the largest indices. Passive investing usually involves investing in an ETF or index fund that tracks……you guessed it, an index. While the returns for a particular year won’t look spectacular, they definitely compound over time into something significant. “If you can’t beat ‘em, then join ‘em” goes the old saying. Passive investing has gained traction because a lot of fund managers couldn’t beat the index. Investors now have an array of products focused on index investing.

There is plenty of attention on indices. However, crypto investors and traders like doing things a bit differently. Therefore, Cerus Markets offers users the opportunity to trade crypto against indices. A crypto index pair allows users to go long crypto while going short an index or vice versa. So, for example, buying BTC/SPX means that you are bullish on Bitcoin and bearish on the S&P 500. You essentially believe that Bitcoin will relatively outperform the S&P 500. Similarly, going short on BTC/SPX means that you believe the S&P 500 will be stronger than Bitcoin over a certain time horizon. 

A crypto index pair also allows users to easily convert from index to crypto. So, if you were invested in an index and now wanted to shift to crypto, you would have to sell the index, get into fiat money, and then use that money to buy crypto. A crypto index pair skips the fiat money part of the chain and saves you transaction costs.

Indices are widely tracked as they are often viewed as metrics representing the overall economic situation of a country and the state of its stock market. Information about indices gets published in all sorts of online and print media. If you are a market participant, then it is difficult to get away from any information about indices. Why not use that information in your trading? In this article, we will cover the top 3 best indices to trade against crypto. We have chosen the most commonly traded cryptos and well-known indices. If you wish to trade something else, then feel free to conduct your own analysis for any crypto-index pair of your choice.

LTC/FTS

LTC is the symbol for Litecoin while FTS denotes the FTSE 100 index. In the LTC/FTS pair, Litecoin is the base currency while the FTSE 100 index is the quote currency. Yes, we know that FTSE 100 is not a currency but an index, but in pairs trading, that is how the symbols get defined. The FTSE 100 is an index made up of the 100 largest (by market capitalization) companies on the London Stock Exchange. FTSE stands for Financial Times Stock Exchange.

In case you are wondering why we chose the FTSE 100 and not a popular index like the S&P 500 or the Nasdaq 100, then the answer is a correlation. There have been moments, especially since 2021, when Litecoin prices and the FTSE 100 have moved in opposite directions. So, if a trader was to go long on an LTC/FTS CFD (contract for difference), then money could have been made. Any period where the FTSE went down and Litecoin went up (due to the negative correlation) would have been excellent for a long position. Similarly, if the FTSE rose while Litecoin prices fell, a short trade would have made money.

The current price trends, as of January 2023, of Litecoin and FTSE 100 look strong. Litecoin is up about 80% since hitting a low in the middle of 2022. The FTSE 100 is close to its all-time high. It has broken out of the sideways channel where it spent most of 2022. The negative correlation between Litecoin and FTSE currently does not appear to exist. However, the correlation numbers for a pair are dynamic and can change constantly.

ETH/HSG

The next crypto-index pair that we would like to discuss is ETH/HSG. ETH stands for Ethereum while HSG stands for the Hang Seng index. Ethereum is popularly known for being the first altcoin (altcoin is a crypto coin other than Bitcoin). The Hang Seng index represents the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The Hang Seng is a free-float adjusted market capitalization-based index.

We selected the Hang Seng index not because of the unproven advice of just saying “China” when you aren’t sure about a question on the economy, but because of the apparent low correlation between Ethereum and the Hang Seng index. In recent times, especially since 2021, there hasn’t been a clear relationship between the price of Ethereum and the Hang Seng index.

Low correlation instruments will likely require a trader to rely on studying price action closely. The trader cannot fall back on following a positive or negative correlation to guess the likely price direction. The value of the analysis may be higher when trading a pair with instruments that aren’t highly correlated.

The current price trend, as of January 2023, of the Hang Seng index appears to be bullish. After falling 50% in 2021 and 2022, the trend has been up since October 2022. The price has broken out to a 6-month high. Ethereum, meanwhile, is closing in on its 6-month high, but it is yet to break out of that level.

BTC/NAS

Our final crypto-index pair is Bitcoin and Nasdaq. The official symbol of the Nasdaq 100 index is NDQ. However, on Cerus Markets, you can trade the Bitcoin-Nasdaq CFD by punching in BTC/NAS. Bitcoin is the base currency and the Nasdaq 100 index is the quote currency.

The correlation between Bitcoin and Nasdaq is generally high. They both tend to move in tandem. So, if you are a crypto trader and are looking to catch trends in Bitcoin, then it may be worthwhile to also follow what is happening to the tech sector in America. Changes in interest rates tend to affect growth stocks more than value stocks and Nasdaq is full of growth stocks. So, trading the BTC/NAS pair can be a good way to trade the tech economy of America through cryptocurrencies.

The current price trend of Bitcoin, as of late January 2023, has been a strong uptrend in the first few days of January 2023 followed by a period of consolidation. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 continues to trade in a range of 10,800 to 12,000.

If you would like to start trading cryptocurrency-index pairs through CFDs, then open a trading account now. Take advantage of the ongoing 100% welcome bonus offer for new sign-ups.

When we talk about the Golden Cross, we aren’t talking about an epic like the Lord of the Rings or The Game of Thrones in which people are fighting over some cross made of gold. We are from the trading community and we are interested in making money from price volatility. In that sense, the Golden Cross is a technical chart pattern that indicates a bull market. It is considered by traders to be a signal to go long. Before we go deeper into the Golden Cross, it is important to first understand the indicator that allows us to spot the Golden Cross. This indicator is called the moving average.

The Moving Average

A moving average is exactly what the name says, it is an average that moves with time. The moving average takes into account the price over a fixed period in the past and gives an average. The lookback period stays constant while the average “moves” as we go ahead in time. Sounds confusing? Let’s discuss using an example. 

Say you are trading Bitcoin. The price of Bitcoin moves all over the place. In fact, the price of most cryptocurrencies moves quite a bit as the asset class is considered to be very volatile. Let us assume that it is 1st January 2023. A 50-day moving average will look at Bitcoin prices over 50 days prior to 1st January 2023 and calculate an average of those prices. This average will be the moving average on 1st January 2023. Then, on 2nd January 2023, the average changes because now the calculation of the average goes back 50 days from 2nd January 2023 and not the 1st. So, the 50-day average on 2nd January will be slightly different from what was calculated on the 1st. This “moving” average is plotted over time and looks something like the image shown below.

                       

(50-day simple moving average  Source: cerusmarkets.com)

What Happens If We Change The Lookback Period?

The example above discusses the 50-day moving average. But, what if the 50-day lookback period was reduced to, say, 20 days? Or what if the lookback period was increased to 200 days? The 20-day moving average will calculate the price average over the previous 20 days while a 200-day moving average will calculate the price average over the previous 200 days.

                         

(20, 50, and 200-day moving averages   Source:cerusmarkets.com)

The image above shows the 20-day moving average in yellow, the 50-day moving average in blue, and the 200-day moving average in dark red. As you can tell, the shortest moving average (20-MA) appears to be the most sensitive while the longest moving average (200-MA) appears to be the least sensitive. In other words, the longer moving average tends to “filter out” the noise while the shorter moving average tends to highlight smaller price movements.

The most commonly used moving average lookback periods are 50 days and 200 days. Why is that the case? There is no clear-cut answer, but in the stock markets, there are 200 trading days in a year. So, the 200-day moving average calculates the average price over the past trading year. Similarly, a 50-day moving average covers 2 months. A 20-day moving average covers roughly 1 month of trading. The crypto markets are not shut on the weekends, so the lookback periods may not make sense. However, most of the trading community uses the 50 and 200-day averages. So, it makes sense to use them.

The Golden Cross

The Golden Cross pattern occurs when the 50-day moving average crosses and goes above the 200-day moving average. It is considered to be a bullish signal and traders may take long positions when a Golden Cross occurs. The believers of the Golden Cross would argue that such a crossover means that an uptrend is about to begin. The short-term moving average (50-day in this case) is the first one to react to an uptrend. Gradually, the longer-term (200-day) moving average also catches up.

It must be clarified that the Golden Cross alone (or any indicator) cannot guarantee profits. It is simply another tool in the toolkit of a trader. So, one should not view the Golden Cross in isolation. Rather, it has to be used in combination with other indicators and price action analysis. First, one must identify which stage of the Golden Cross is currently playing out.

The Golden Cross pattern plays out over three stages. In stage one, the price fall tends to gradually stop as selling pressure eases. A bottoming out happens in this stage before a reversal occurs. The second stage is when the reversal transitions into a breakout. The shorter moving average crosses over the longer average and the Golden Cross pattern appears. The third stage is when both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages act as support as the price makes higher highs and higher lows.

A trader using the Golden Cross will have to perform analysis to identify the moderating selling pressure, the bottoming out, and the reversal. After validating those trends, the Golden Cross acts as a confirmation and gives the trader conviction to go long.

                         

(Golden Cross in May 2020 for BTC  Source:cerusmarkets.com)

Sometime in May 2020, after the pandemic outbreak caused mayhem in all the markets around the world, there was a period of consolidation before a massive bull run. The Golden Cross occurred in BTC in May 2020 and the price almost tripled from that point.

More recently, in November 2022, Litecoin saw a Golden Cross after which the price rose significantly.

                         

(LTC Golden Cross in Nov 2022  Source:cerusmarkets.com)

Using The Golden Cross Pattern In Other Ways

The Golden Cross pattern can also be used in ways other than simply going long. Those who are on the short side can use the pattern to square off their positions as the price may be about to move against them.

Traders can also use different moving averages than the ones we have discussed. For example, since the cryptocurrency markets operate on all days of the week, one can use a 300-day moving average instead of a 200-day moving average. Similarly, a 30-day moving average can be used in place of a 20-day moving average. However, we recommend that you backtest and paper-trade new lookback periods before deploying it live. Traders can also use a 20-day and a 50-day moving average for the short-term and long-term averages. There is no requirement to use a 200-day moving average.

The Golden Cross pattern can be used on daily, monthly, weekly, and even hourly charts. You can trade it at any timeframe.

The Golden Cross pattern signals a bull run much after the uptrend has initiated. Traders who are eager to go long earlier may enter with a small position when the price crosses the 200-day moving average and then increase the position size when the Golden Cross validates their bullish bet.

We hope you found this article on Golden Cross useful. If you are ready to apply this knowledge in trading cryptocurrencies, then go ahead and open an account with Cerus Markets. It offers cryptocurrency CFDs and currently has a 100% welcome bonus offer for new users.

Crypto traders might be looking for something physical to trade. They started looking at commodities. 

Farmers are starting to trade digital assets because they heard that they can grow rich digitally.

Some commodity traders were looking to trade something that is even more volatile than soybeans – and they started looking at crypto.

Woah! Everyone appears to think that the grass is greener on the other side. The commodity trader thinks it is easier to mine Bitcoin and the crypto trader thinks it is easier to mine metals out of the earth. 

Meanwhile, we think it’s all about making your beans count, whether in the physical world or the digital world.

It’s always the poor beans that get caught in the crossfire! So, we have decided that we should discuss how we can combine commodities and crypto.

Yes, you can trade crypto vs commodities right here on Cerus Markets. And no, there is no mining involved. Instead, we will use CFDs to take positions in a commodity and a cryptocurrency simultaneously.

Does that sound interesting to you? Then read on.

Why Are Commodities Important?

We consume commodities every single day. Starting with the coffee that you drink when you wake up, the cereal or toast that you eat before heading out, the petrol that you use to drive your car, and the gold/silver that you show off in your bling at a party later in the evening, we use all sorts of commodities.

Some of the most popular commodities in the trading world are precious metals and oil. Gold is by far the most traded precious metal. It is closely followed by traders around the world.

Some of the largest consumers of gold are the people of India and China, two of the most populous countries on Earth. Central banks have also been on a gold-buying spree due to the latest developments in the currency markets.

After gold, silver is the second-most closely watched precious metal. It is a lower-priced precious metal when compared to gold. Silver is also viewed by some as a hedge against inflation.

Silver has quite a few uses in industrial applications as well. So, the demand for silver can sometimes be used to gauge the level of economic activity.

Oil is perhaps the most important commodity to follow. The global economy is powered by oil and its price impacts every country’s balance of trade, currency, and inflation.

Oil also impacts political choices as it is an important and regularly consumed resource. Even oil-exporting countries are impacted by the oil market because it can lead to power struggles, corruption, and significant revenue generation.

What Does It Mean To Trade Crypto vs Commodities?

Traders and investors are familiar with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and most of the major cryptocurrencies. Traders who like volatility tend to like cryptocurrencies because of the relatively high volatility that they offer.

Seasoned traders and investors are also familiar with most of the major commodities. Experienced traders tend to regularly trade commodities or at least keep track of their price action.

However, wouldn’t it be interesting if traders could trade one cryptocurrency vs a commodity or take a simultaneous position in one cryptocurrency and one commodity? That is exactly what a Cerus Markets crypto vs commodity CFD can do.

Trading one asset vs another is a lot like trading in the forex market. For example, when you trade the Swiss Franc, you would usually do so against another currency. So, if you trade CHF/JPY, you are trading the Swiss Franc vs the Japanese Yen. 

A CHF/JPY value of 100 implies that you need 100 Japanese Yen to purchase 1 Swiss Franc. The first currency, the CHF, is the base currency. The second currency, the JPY, is the quote currency.

In the case of a Cerus Markets CFD, ETH/XAU would mean trading Ethereum vs Gold. The value of ETH/XAU would indicate the troy ounces of gold needed to buy one Ethereum coin.

So, when someone says that they are trading crypto vs commodities, they would usually mean having crypto as the base asset and a commodity as the quote asset.

Interpreting Cryptos vs Commodities Trades

In crypto vs commodity CFD, if you are long ETH/XAU, then you either believe that Ethereum will rise faster than silver or silver will fall faster than Ethereum.

It could also mean that Ethereum rises but Silver stays flat or Ethereum stays flat but silver falls.

Similarly, if you are short ETH/XAU, then you either believe that Ethereum will fall faster than silver or silver will rise faster than Ethereum.

It could also mean that Ethereum falls while silver stays flat or silver rises while Ethereum stays flat.

The idea is that the ratio of ETH/XAU falls. In the case of a long trade, the ratio of ETH/XAU rises.

So trading one asset vs another is like trading a ratio. You are long one asset and simultaneously short another. Or you are long/short one asset while believing that the other asset will remain flat.

Possible Strategies To Trade Cryptos vs Commodities

At this point, you must be wondering if you now have a good basic understanding of commodities and what it means to trade them vs cryptos (or trade cryptos vs commodities).

Now, you must be asking yourself how to trade commodities vs crypto. How to trade this CFD that Cerus Markets is talking about?

You could start by looking at the price action of gold, silver, or oil. You would then look at the price action of Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin.

Then, after forming an opinion as to where these assets are headed, you could create a ratio and go long or short. This would be a discretionary trade.

System traders could try and use indicators. Moving averages work well to ride trends while moving average crossovers can be used to generate entry and exit signals.

One can also use stochastics, RSI, Bollinger Bands, Fibonacci, and multiple other indicators that Cerus Markets offers on its platform.

Trading crypto vs commodity CFD is just like trading any other asset. However, CFD is a leveraged product and you MUST follow proper risk management to protect your trading capital.

Final Words

We hope that you found this primer on trading crypto vs commodities useful. If you are feeling confident about trading such a CFD and want to get started, then go ahead and open a new account with Cerus Markets. Our 100% welcome bonus offer will seal the deal for you.

Good luck trading!

We are thrilled to announce an exciting update to our leverage options for non-crypto instruments. Effective immediately, Cerus Markets clients can enjoy leverage of up to 400:1 for Forex, Commodities, Indices, and Single Stocks trading.

This increase in leverage options will allow our traders to make the most of their investments, allowing for greater market exposure and the potential for higher returns. By offering increased leverage options for non-crypto instruments, we aim to provide our clients with even more opportunities to capitalize on market movements.

At Cerus Markets, we pride ourselves on our commitment to providing our clients with the best possible trading experience. This update is just one example of our dedication to ensuring that our clients have access to the best tools and trading conditions.

About Cerus Markets

Established in 2022, Cerus Markets is authorized and regulated by the Labuan Financial Service Authority, Malaysia. With a focus on innovation, Cerus offers a unique crypto derivative product that allows clients to trade over 200 instruments paired with cryptocurrencies. Alongside crypto derivatives, Cerus also provides trading opportunities in Forex, Commodities, Indices, Single Stocks and Crypto. 

We believe in empowering traders of all levels with easy and affordable access to the market. Our trading platform stands out from traditional brokers by not charging entry fees, various deposit methods and a wide range of digital assets starting from just $50 and leverage up to 400:1.

Moreover, traders can benefit from a 100% Deposit matching bonus, doubling the amount of their first deposit and further enhancing their trading experience. 

Click here to create your account and start trading today!

You may have heard the word Fibonacci in your school or college math class. Fibonacci was the name of a famous Italian mathematician who introduced the Western world with an interesting sequence of numbers called the Fibonacci sequence. The sequence is such that every number in the sequence is the sum of the previous two numbers. Additionally, the ratio between any two consecutive numbers in the sequence is the same. 

The Fibonacci sequence is commonly found in nature, in the way plants grow, in the way honey bee families evolve, and even in the way cloud spirals are formed in hurricanes. Speaking of the connection between the financial markets and nature, famous American hedge fund manager Victor Niederhoffer believed that events in nature have a bearing on market patterns. Similarly, many traders also believe that the Fibonacci sequence which seems to act as a balance in nature also has significance in the market. Traders have figured out a way to use the Fibonacci ratio as a guide toward spotting important price levels.

In this article, we will take a detailed look at what the Fibonacci trading indicator is and how you can use it to identify key points on the cryptocurrency price charts to execute high-probability trades.

What exactly is the Fibonacci sequence?

The following is what the Fibonacci sequence looks like: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610…..

This sequence continues further. We have just listed the initial part for demonstration. If you notice, the third number in the sequence (1) is the sum of the first two (0 and 1). The fourth number (2) is the sum of the second and third numbers (1 and 2). Sounds interesting right? As a trader, we want you to focus on another aspect of this sequence, which is the ratio. Dividing the first number by the second gives you 0 (0 divided by 1). Dividing the next two numbers in the sequence (1 and 1) gives you 1. Similarly, dividing 1 by 2 gives you 0.5.

Now, ignore the first three numbers in the sequence and start with the fourth (2). If we divide it by the next number (3), then the ratio is roughly 0.6. This holds true for the rest of the sequence. Dividing one number by the very next one in the sequence will roughly work out to 0.618.

But wait, the Fibonacci sequence gets even more interesting. Instead of consecutive numbers, if you divide any two numbers that are two places apart, you get 0.38. So, for example, dividing the fifth number in the sequence (3) by the seventh one (8) roughly results in a ratio of 0.38. Take it a step further and divide any two numbers that are three places apart. You will consistently get a ratio of roughly 0.236.

These ratios – 0, 1, 0.5, 0.618, 0.38, and 0.23 are Fibonacci ratios. We will use them in the Fibonacci indicator and therefore, it is important to keep them in mind.

Finding support and resistance using Fibonacci ratios

As a trader, you are constantly trying to find important price levels. You want to go long when the price reverses from support or go short when the price reverses after facing resistance. The Fibonacci ratios (0.5, 0.618, 0.38, etc) can help you find those levels with a reasonable level of accuracy.

For example, if the price has been in an uptrend and then topped out, it will likely pull back to 61.8% of the total uptrend before perhaps finding support. By total uptrend, we mean the distance from where the current uptrend began (at the previous bottom) to the point where the top of the current uptrend occurred. If the price breaks the 61.8% level, then it could find support at the 50% level. If that breaks too, then the next possible support could be 38%. The Fibonacci indicator will show all the various ratio levels. You can simply use the indicator to superimpose these levels on the price chart.

Source: cerusmarkets.com

After a downtrend, if the price finds a bottom after a strong down move, then it is likely to retrace back up. It may likely reverse to 61.8% of the total downtrend before finding resistance. By total downtrend, we mean the distance from where the current downtrend began (at the previous top) to the point where the bottom of the current downtrend occurred. If the price breaks through the 61.8% retracement level, then it could test the 50% level or the 38% level.

Source: cerusmarkets.com

Estimating Possible Extension Levels

If you flip (inverse) the Fibonacci ratios, then you get some important numbers. The inverse of 0.618 is 1.618, the inverse of 0.5 is 2, and so on. You can use these numbers to estimate how far the price is likely to travel for you to exit your trade. The principle of measuring distances is the same as with retracement levels.

For example, if the price is in an uptrend and you identified support to enter a trade (buy on dips), then you can estimate another pullback or reversal at  161.8% of the original uptrend. By original uptrend, we mean the point from where the uptrend began (previous bottom) to where it topped out before the pullback when you entered the trade. The same concept can be applied to a down move to find out how far the price is likely to fall before taking a breather or reversing altogether. In the case of a downtrend, you will look for 161.8% of the original downtrend. By original downtrend, we mean the point from where the downtrend first began (previous top) to the point where it bottomed out temporarily before continuing the downward journey.

To summarize, if Fibonacci retracement levels were used to identify entry points, then Fibonacci extension levels can be used to identify targets and exit points.

Cerus Markets offers the Fibonacci indicator as part of a complete suite of technical trading indicators. Its platform is designed to help users analyze price trends seamlessly using multiple indicators. If you would like to start trading cryptocurrencies and CFDs using such indicators, open a trading account now. Take advantage of the ongoing 100% welcome bonus offer for new sign-ups.

Are you a fan of Ethereum? Do you wonder what Ethereum hodlers search on Google Maps? Well of course they search for how to get to the moon. “To the moon!”…get it?

If you don’t, then maybe by the end of this article you will. Because we are going to talk about trading Ethereum vs Google. No, it’s not a battle between Ethereum and Google but a discussion on possible ways to trade the two assets.

And if you are still wondering what “To the moon!” means, then you should know that it is a popular phrase among the cryptocurrency community for expressing optimism about the price trend of a cryptocurrency.

Elon Musk made the slogan even more famous by using it multiple times in his tweets about Dogecoin. We won’t be using slogans in this article.

Instead, we will discuss what trading a crypto and stock pair really means, what drives the prospects of Ethereum and Google, and what could be possible strategies to trade these assets via a CFD.

CFD stands for “contract for difference”. It is a leveraged instrument that allows you to amplify your profits. But, if the market moves against you, your losses can also blow up. So, we will conclude the article with a brief discussion on risk management.

Sounds good? Then let’s go!

Trading Crypto vs Shares

Trading one asset vs another is an interesting concept. However, it is not a new one as every forex trade is one currency vs another. 

When you trade the US dollar, you trade it against some currency. It could be the Janapense Yen, the British Pound, or the Swiss Franc.

When someone tells you an exchange rate, it is the amount of one currency needed to buy one unit of another currency. A USDJPY exchange rate of 130 implies that 132 Japanese Yen are needed to buy one US dollar.

In a pair, the first asset is the base asset (USD) and the second asset is the quote asset (JPY).

Now apply the same concept to crypto vs shares. In the case of Ethereum vs Google, Cerus Markets offers a CFD called ETH/GOG. So, here the base asset is Ethereum and the quote asset is Google stock. The value of ETH/GOG effectively indicates the number of Google shares needed to buy one Ethereum coin.

If you go long ETH/GOG, you either believe that Ethereum will rise faster than Google or Google will fall faster than Ethereum. These two extremes also include possibilities like Google staying flat while Ethereum rises a little bit. 

Another possibility could be Google falling while Ethereum stays flat. The idea is that the ratio of Ethereum to Google would rise – which is why you are long.

The same thing applies to the short trade. If you are short ETH/GOG, then you believe that Ethereum will fall faster than Google or Google rises faster than Ethereum. All possibilities of sideways/flat movements as was the case with the long trade also apply in reverse for the short trade.

Getting To Know ETH and Google

If you are going to trade an instrument that has Google and Ethereum in it, then you probably want to know the fundamentals of both assets. You want to know what could drive the prospects of Ethereum and Google.

For Google, its earnings are the main driver of the stock price. Earnings are primarily driven through ad revenues. Ad revenues, in turn, depend on how much people use Google and for how long.

Google’s cloud computing services are also an important revenue generator. One of the key threats facing Google lately is artificial intelligence. You must have heard of ChatGPT. It is emerging as a key competitor to Google.

Other search engines and platforms are also competitors for Google.

Ethereum was created with a focus on dApps (decentralized apps). So, the demand for dApps directly impacts the demand for Ethereum’s network and its coin.

Any changes in Ethereum’s underlying technology which increases its speed and capacity is also an important trend. Currently, Ethereum is undergoing a major upgrade.

Ethereum, however, faces competition from Polkadot, Cardano, and Cosmos ATOM. The price of cryptocurrencies also varies significantly due to fund flows and sentiments.

Strategies for Trading ETH Against Google

If you are looking to trade ETH/GOG, then you will want to first check the price action of the two assets. Ethereum is currently in an uptrend and trading above its 200-day moving average. The moving average is also gradually sloping upwards.

(source: cerusmarkets.com    ETHUSD daily chart with 200EMA)

The chart for Google shows sideways movement in 2023. However, the price is close to a resistance level. It could either reverse and move back down or it could break out.

(source: cerusmarkets.com    GOOGLE daily chart)

There are a few strategies that one can deploy when trading Ethereum vs Google. Traders can use moving averages of various periods to look for crossovers.

Alternatively, starters could use the Bollinger band indicator to generate entry and exit signals. Discretionary traders can simply study the price action, use trendlines, and add other indicators to look for high-probability trades.

Risk Management

CFDs are leveraged instruments. Even if they weren’t, it is important to manage risk while trading. You don’t want to blow up your account and lose all your trading capital.

If you think that is not possible, then please understand that one wrong trade that is overleveraged can wipe out most (if not all) of your capital.

Define your losses, understand the risk-reward ratio of each trade, and size your positions accordingly. Use stop losses wherever you need to and make use of the alerts feature that Cerus Markets offers.

The goal is to preserve and protect your trading capital. If you can do that consistently, then your wins can help you grow your capital.

Final Words

You will now have a good understanding of how to trade ETH against Google. If you feel ready to begin trading crypto vs shares, then sign up with Cerus Markets. Our 100% welcome bonus offer is currently available to all new sign-ups.

We are thrilled to announce our exclusive promotion to commemorate the launch of our new trading platform! For a limited time, traders who make their first deposit will receive a 100% matching bonus, which will double the amount of their deposit in their trading account.

For instance, if you deposit $1000, we will credit your trading account with $2000, which you can use to trade over 200 instruments paired with cryptocurrencies using our innovative product – Non-Deliverable Crypto contracts (NDCs). The minimum deposit amount is 50$.

With our platform, you can now trade cryptocurrencies against some of the world’s biggest companies like TSLA, AAPL, GOOG, equity indexes such as DOW and DAX, and even commodities like Gold, Silver, and Crude Oil – all with zero fees.

About Cerus Markets

Established in 2022, Cerus Markets Limited is authorized and regulated by the Labuan Financial Service Authority, Malaysia. They are a multi-asset broker committed to providing their clients with the best possible trading experience. Their NDCs provide investors with up to 100:1 leverage and the ability to go long or short on any cryptocurrency.

This is an incredible opportunity for traders to maximize their trading potential with Cerus Markets’ 100% matching bonus promotion. Don’t miss out! Traders can deposit within the next 14 days to take advantage of this offer and double their initial deposit. Join Cerus Markets today and experience the excitement of trading cryptocurrencies paired with traditional instruments like never before.

Click here to create your account and start trading today!

The use of moving averages is very common in trading. Moving averages are popular among traders around the world because of their simplicity and ease of use. There are variations of moving averages like simple and exponential. A simple moving average calculates a plain vanilla average by adding all the prices from a certain lookback period and then dividing the sum by the number of periods. 

The exponential moving average is a very popular technical indicator as well. Its formula is more complicated than a simple average. It involves calculating a smoothing factor that is intended to give more weightage to the recent prices when calculating the average. So, as you may have guessed, a moving average is more biased towards recent prices than the ones farther back in the lookback period. The simple moving average gives equal importance (weight) to all prices in the lookback period. Some traders call the exponential moving average the “exponentially weighted” moving average as well.

The exponential moving average “hugs” the price more closely than the simple moving average. One of the criticisms that moving average indicators receive is that they give signals too late when a trend change or a breakout has already occurred with significant price movement. Traders want their signals earlier so that they can capture a greater portion of trade, especially when the trade goes in their favor. It is like trying to have your cake and eating it too.

Selecting The Lookback Period

The beauty of using moving average indicators is that you can customize them any way you want to. You can simply change the lookback period and use the exponential moving average in different ways to indicate different things. For example, you can try using the 200-day exponential moving average to find out what the long-term trend is.

(BTCUSD daily chart with 200-day EMA   source: cerusmarkets.com)

The chart above shows Bitcoin prices post the 2020 pandemic-led market crash along with the 200-day exponential moving average in red. You will notice that the price did not go below the 200-day exponential moving average. High liquidity levels led to a bull run in stocks and cryptos post the 2020 crash. So, the longer-term trend at that time appeared to be upward and the exponential moving average demonstrated it.

However, if you change the lookback period to 50 days, then it gets interesting.

(BTCUSD daily chart with 50-day EMA   source: cerusmarkets.com)

The 50-day EMA is shown in green. The first thing you may notice is that it follows the price more closely than the 200-day EMA. It is more sensitive to price movements than the 200-day EMA. Also, the price went below the 50-day EMA in late 2020. The shorter lookback period allowed traders to catch the correction of September 2020.

So, depending on what you want to trade, an appropriate lookback period can be selected. If you are looking for, say, short-term breakouts and breakdowns, then a shorter period EMA can work. Buy-and-hold investors and those who want to trade long-term may use a longer lookback period.

Some Strategies Using The Exponential Moving Average

The exponential moving average can show the trend of an asset’s price. One may want to look at not only where the price is but also what the slope of the moving average is. An upward-facing moving average usually indicates an uptrend while a downward-facing moving average indicates a downtrend. In the previous section above, both the 50-day EMA and the 200-day EMA are both facing up in 2021 and the price also rose significantly. One possible strategy at that time could have been to go long when the price came close to the 50-day EMA. A stop loss could have been any level below the 50-day EMA since the price was respecting the 50-day EMA throughout that uptrend.

Another strategy that traders can use is the crossover. It involves using two moving averages simultaneously. One EMA has a shorter lookback period while the other has a longer lookback period. When the shorter moving average crosses above the longer moving average, traders could go long. If the shorter moving average crosses below the longer moving average, traders could go short. The idea behind such crossovers is that the shorter period moving average is more sensitive and therefore will signal the trend change before the longer period moving average will. Crossovers become more significant when the close of both the shorter period and longer period exponential moving averages match the price trend. So, for example, if the trend signal is to go long and subsequently, if both the shorter and longer period exponential moving averages slope upwards, the belief that an uptrend is here to stay becomes stronger.

(LTCUSD 4-hour chart with 18 & 50-day EMAs  source: panda-fx.com)

The 4-hourly chart for LTCUSD shows a downtrend that occurred in December 2022. After a period of choppy sideways movement, the price fell significantly. The 18-day EMA (in blue) crossed below the 50-day EMA (in green). The 18-day EMA kept moving above and below the 50-day EMA during the choppy period. But, post the price fall and the final crossover, both the 18 and 50-day EMAs turned downward sloping confirming the downtrend.

Exponential moving averages can also be used like trendlines to find support and resistance levels. In the LTCUSD example above, notice how the price post the fall does a brief sideways trend. It almost touches the 18-day blue EMA before falling further. In a downtrend, the 18-day EMA acted as a resistance and might have been a good place to go short. A stop loss might have been placed somewhere above the 18-day EMA.

A Word On Risk Management

Trading CFDs is risky as they are leveraged instruments. So, it is always a good idea to have some risk management practices in place. If you are planning to catch trends using the moving average, then it is important to size your positions correctly, place stop losses, and define your risk before taking a trade.

Cerus Markets offers both simple and exponential moving average indicators on its market-leading trading platform. Users can trade CFDs in a host of cryptocurrencies and use moving averages to generate buy and sell signals. We encourage you to open an account as well and take advantage of our 100% welcome bonus offer. As we say at Cerus Markets, there is always a bull market somewhere. We hope you can participate in such trends as well.

Is Litecoin going to the moon? We don’t really know and neither can we explain why some people are wearing the “when moon” t-shirt with Litecoins in the two o’s of the moon. If you like trading in Litecoin, then you may be interested to know that there are Litecoin-related CFDs that you could trade. One such CFD is LTC/NAS. These two symbols represent Litecoin (LTC) and the Nasdaq composite index (NAS). 

Litecoin was introduced back in 2011, roughly two years after Bitcoin broke onto the scene. A former Google engineer created Litecoin with the intention of overcoming some of the shortcomings of Bitcoin. The supply of Litecoin is capped at 84 million and it processes transactions faster than Bitcoin. As of February 2023, Litecoin has a market capitalization of close to $6.8 billion. It is among the top cryptocurrency coins in the world in terms of the volume traded.

Let’s talk a bit about the Nasdaq index. It is clarified that when someone says the Nasdaq, it actually means the Nasdaq Composite Index. There are two popular indices when one refers to Nasdaq, the Nasdaq Composite and the Nasdaq 100. The Nasdaq 100 is narrower with fewer companies whereas the Nasdaq Composite has more than 3700 stocks. The Nasdaq is a market capitalization-weighted index with internet and tech companies dominating the index.

If tech stocks and Litecoin both sound interesting to you, then how about combining the two and trading them via one instrument? That is what the LTC/NAS CFD at Cerus Markets is all about. Read on to learn more.

What Does Trading Crypto vs an Index Really Mean?

In order to understand the concept of trading crypto vs index, let us understand a little bit of forex trading. When one trades the USD, it is usually USD versus another currency. So, the USD/EUR trade would involve the US dollar and the Euro. Going long USD/EUR would usually mean being bullish on the dollar, being bearish on the Euro, or both. When one refers to USD/EUR, the first asset (the USD) is the base currency and the second asset (the EUR) is the quote currency. It refers to the number of Euros needed to buy one US dollar.

Now let’s come back to LTC/NAS. Here, the base asset is Litecoin and the quote asset is the Nasdaq Index. It effectively conveys the number of Nasdaq Index needed to buy one Litecoin. This may sound weird but if you imagine that the Nasdaq Index was worth 10,000 USD and one Litecoin was worth $100, the LTC/NAS CFD would probably be trading around 0.01 (100/10,000).

Developing a Solid Understanding of Litecoin and Nasdaq

If you are planning to trade the LTC/NAS CFD, then you would want to be able to foresee where the price of Litecoin is going and the Nasdaq index is headed. For that, you may want to research what Litecoin is, how it is mined, and what kind of demand there is for the cryptocurrency. You may also want to look up recent news related to Litecoin as cryptocurrencies get significantly impacted in the short term by important news. Cerus Markets has integrated the news feature into its platform so that traders can keep up with the latest developments.

You would also want to do some serious analysis of the Nasdaq index. Whether that is done through chart analysis or fundamental analysis of the heavyweight stocks within the Nasdaq index is up to you. But, it is important to have some idea of what the current setup in the Nasdaq is and what the future outlook is. For analyzing charts, traders can make use of a range of technical indicators like RSI, moving averages, etc. that Cerus Markets offers on its platform.

Strategies for Trading LTC Against Nasdaq

As of early 2023, it appears that Litecoin is close to an area of value. It is near a former support level that could now act as resistance. Alternatively, Litecoin could break out. Bear in mind that this weekly chart is for Litecoin in USD.

(source: cerusmarkets.com  weekly chart of LTC/USD)

The Nasdaq index, meanwhile, was in a longer-term downtrend ever since inflation started to be an issue across the world. Tech stocks are growth stocks and they appear to have taken a beating as interest rates rose. Most recently, the Nasdaq briefly went above the 200 EMA before dipping back down.

(source: cerusmarkets.com daily chart of Nasdaq)

A trader looking to trade the LTC/NAS CFD could either use a simple moving average crossover strategy to identify a trend and take a position. Alternatively, he/she could look for support and resistance levels to form an opinion. Traders can also use other indicators like RSI together with moving averages to do their analysis.

Practice Risk Management When You Take Leverage

If you are going to trade CFDs, then you should note that these instruments come with leverage. The LTC/NAS CFD at Cerus Markets has a maximum leverage ratio of 100:1. It means that you can put up $1,000 to take a position worth $100,000. The profits can be outsized but so can the losses. In fact, one bad move against your position can wipe out your trading capital with that sort of leverage ratio.

Therefore, it is important to size your position correctly. This means that even if your stop loss is hit, the resulting loss should only result in a small loss of trading capital. It is important to define the maximum loss that you are willing to take for each trade. You would also want to use features like alerts and stop losses, especially if you don’t want big losses while you are away from the screen. Read up on risk management guidelines before you trade so that you know what you are getting into when you trade a crypto CFD. Cryptocurrency markets are volatile and you need to have a system in place to deal with that volatility.

We hope that you now have a decent idea of how to trade Litecoin against Nasdaq. We encourage you to open an account with Cerus Markets and take advantage of trading opportunities in a range of crypto vs index CFDs. The good news is that we are currently running a 100% welcome bonus offer for new users.

Trading comes with its associated risks. Some define risk as the chance that the market (or instrument you are trading) moves against your view. Some define risk as the chance of permanent loss of capital. Some define risk as the volatility or standard deviation of the daily returns. No matter how you define risk, one thing is certain – trading is not risk-free. If you are going to trade cryptos or any other instrument, then it is important for you to manage risk.

Types of Risks to Consider

There are two types of risks that a trader needs to understand. The first is stock or cryptocurrency risk which is specific to the instrument being traded. If you bought the stock of a company and that company faces a black swan event, then only the stock of that company gets affected. Black swan events could be a governance issue, a fraud, some overnight event that deeply impacts its business, etc. Think of the GameStop episode. Cryptocurrencies tend to face frequent price volatility from events of this sort because the cryptocurrency space is fast-evolving. Any news of forking, hacking, government bans, etc. impacts a cryptocurrency.

The second type of risk is the market risk or systemic risk. This kind of risk is system-wide and affects almost all securities or instruments traded on the market. These risks are driven by broader events like macroeconomic situations, wars, pandemics, etc. Think of the 2008 financial crisis when the entire market in the US fell more than 40% or the COVID crash of 2020. In such cases, it doesn’t matter what stocks or cryptos you hold. Everything gets affected. It is like a bunch of boats in the ocean. When the tide rises, all boats rise and when the tide goes away, all boats sink lower.

There are execution risks as well. For example, if you plan to buy or sell a cryptocurrency or stock at a specific price, you open your terminal and prepare yourself to hit the buy/sell button. However, if the instrument that you are about to trade is too volatile and if its price is moving too quickly and frequently, then there is a chance that your order doesn’t get filled at your intended price. Instead, it gets executed at a much higher/lower price, potentially resulting in a loss. This kind of slippage is very significant if you are trading large quantities.

What Happens When You Don’t Manage Risk?

If you don’t have basic risk-management rules in place, then there is a lot that can happen besides loss of capital. If you trade leveraged products like CFDs or derivatives, then your losses could go well beyond your deposited capital. After all, CFDs allow you to take positions that are much larger than the capital that you have put up. So, running a negative balance leads to something popularly known as a margin call. The broker may demand that you deposit additional funds to cure the negative balance. Margin calls can also result in brokers squaring off your positions automatically, regardless of whether you were in profit or loss at that time. Losing your trading capital through a loss is bad enough, facing a margin call makes it worse.

How Can You Manage These Risks?

You can use some of Cerus Markets’ features to manage your risk:

Stop Loss: You can use the stop loss to define the maximum amount that you are willing to lose. While placing a trade, there is an option to set a stop loss as well. Setting a stop loss means that your trade will be closed or squared off as soon as the price reaches your set stop loss. Stop losses usually work unless the price gaps are up or gaps are down. A gap is formed when there is a noticeable difference between the closing price and the opening price the next day.

Alerts: Cerus Markets allows users to set alerts as well. So, if you want to be reminded when the price crosses a certain level, then you can set an alert through your trading terminal. Alerts work well if you are worried that your stop loss will not hit its intended level due to high volatility. Alerts are also a good nudge for you to log in to your trading terminal and be in front of the screen at a critical moment.

Limit Orders: Limit orders allow Cerus Markets users to set a price at which to enter a trade and exit a trade. This eliminates the execution risk that was discussed above. Sometimes, when prices are moving way too quickly, it might not be manually possible to execute a trade at the desired price point. 

Sometimes, a market order gets executed at a level far away from your entered price point. This can happen due to high volatility or illiquidity. In order to buy, there has to be a seller. If there are very few sellers and you are looking to buy, you might not find a seller willing to sell at your intended price point. A limit order stays in the system and waits for a seller who punches in a trade at your price point.

Position Sizing: This is a more general risk management technique. You should size your position correctly. If you are only willing to lose, say, 2% of your trading capital, then you will enter a trading volume where the risk is only that much. If you trade double the volume, then your potential loss amount goes up to 4%. You will limit your quantity to match your loss limit.

Have A Mental Kill Switch: Have a predetermined loss amount in mind. If at any point, your mark-to-market loss hits that level, then you exit the trade completely regardless of whether things are about to turn around or not. It is like a kill switch that has to be executed without any excuses or reasons.

Final Thoughts

At Cerus Markets, we are dedicated to making traders informed and aware of the benefits and risks associated with trading. We want traders to trade with safety and risk management in place. If you are ready to start trading, we encourage you to sign up and open an account. We currently also have a 100% welcome bonus offer for new sign-ups. Redeem your bonus today and discover the next bull market!