Checklist summary
- Forex is a dealer network with no central building, stocks trade on regulated exchanges, and crypto trades on many independent platforms at once.
- Opening hours, who holds your assets and how much protection you get differ sharply between the three.
- Learn how one market works before touching a second; the glossary covers the vocabulary.
Financial markets explained simply: a market is anywhere buyers and sellers agree on a price. The three markets beginners hear about most, forex, stocks and crypto, all do that job, but they are built in completely different ways. Understanding the plumbing first makes every later decision, from choosing a platform to reading a chart, much less confusing.
Three markets in one table
| Forex (currencies) | Stocks (shares) | Crypto | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is traded | One currency against another, such as EUR/USD | Part-ownership of listed companies | Coins and tokens recorded on blockchains |
| Where | A global network of banks and dealers | Regulated exchanges such as the NYSE or LSE | Hundreds of separate platforms, plus peer-to-peer transfers |
| Hours | Sunday 17:00 to Friday 17:00 New York time | Set weekday sessions per exchange | 24 hours, every day |
| Typical access for beginners | A regulated broker, often with leverage | A licensed stockbroker | A crypto exchange or app, or a self-custody wallet |
| Main protection | Broker regulation, leverage caps | Broker and exchange regulation, client asset rules | Varies widely by country and platform |
How prices are formed
In every market the price you see is the latest point where a buyer and a seller met. There are always two prices on the screen: the bid, which is the best price someone will pay, and the ask, the cheapest price someone will sell at. The gap between them is the spread, and it is the first cost any trade pays.
Order books
Stock exchanges and most crypto exchanges run an order book: a live list of all waiting buy and sell orders at each price. When you place a market order, it is matched against the best waiting orders on the other side. If the book is thin, a large order eats through several price levels and you pay more on average. That extra cost is called slippage.
Dealer quotes
The currency market mostly works differently. Large banks quote buy and sell prices to each other and to brokers, and a retail broker passes a price on to you. There is no single official EUR/USD price, but because so many dealers compete, quotes from reputable sources stay very close together.
Who takes part
Forex is dominated by banks, companies paying for imports, investment funds and central banks. Individual traders are a small slice. In stocks, pension funds and fund managers own much of the market, alongside millions of individual shareholders. Crypto has a larger share of individual traders, plus specialised trading firms and, increasingly, funds. When a market is mostly professionals, a beginner is usually trading against better-informed people, which is worth remembering before assuming an easy edge exists.
Financial markets explained by hours and gaps
Because crypto never closes, news hits its price immediately, even at 3 a.m. on a Sunday. Stock markets react only when they open, so a share can finish Friday at one price and start Monday far away from it. That jump is called a gap. Forex sits between the two: it runs through the week but pauses at the weekend. Our homepage market board shows in real time which major markets are open where you are.
Who holds your assets
This is the difference beginners overlook most often.
- Stocks: a licensed broker normally holds your shares in a nominee account kept separate from its own money. If the broker fails, those assets are meant to be returned to you, and some countries add a compensation scheme.
- Forex and CFDs: you usually hold a contract with the broker rather than the currency itself. Client money rules require the cash to be kept separate, but you are relying on the firm and its regulator.
- Crypto: on an exchange you hold a balance in the platform's records, and the coins sit in wallets it controls. You can instead move coins to a wallet where only you hold the keys, which removes platform risk but makes you fully responsible for security. See how crypto works.
Rules and leverage
Stock and forex brokers in major economies must be authorised and follow conduct rules. In the UK and EU, retail clients trading contracts for difference face leverage caps: 30:1 on major currency pairs, 20:1 on gold and major indices, 5:1 on individual shares and 2:1 on crypto. The UK also bans the sale of crypto derivatives to retail customers. Crypto spot trading is regulated in more places than before, yet protection still depends heavily on where the platform is based and which entity you deal with. Our guide on choosing a broker or exchange walks through the checks.
Settlement: when a trade is final
Settlement is the moment ownership and money actually change hands. US shares now settle one business day after the trade (known as T+1). A crypto transfer settles when it is confirmed on the blockchain, often within minutes, and normally cannot be reversed. Forex spot deals conventionally settle two business days later for most pairs, although retail positions are usually rolled over daily instead of delivered.
Which market should a beginner learn first?
There is no single answer, but a sensible order is: learn how the stock market works, because the protections are strongest and the idea of owning part of a business is easy to grasp; then learn crypto basics, since so many newcomers meet it early; and study forex last, because it is almost always traded with leverage. Whichever you choose, start with small amounts, read the costs page, and never put in money you cannot afford to lose.
Beginner questions, answered
Is the forex market bigger than the stock market?
By daily trading volume, yes: far more money changes hands in currencies each day than in shares. But size does not make it easier or safer for a beginner, because most retail forex is traded with leverage.
Why can crypto trade at weekends when stocks cannot?
Crypto platforms are private businesses running continuously on computers, and blockchains never stop. Stock exchanges keep fixed sessions set by their rules, and forex dealing slows to a halt at the weekend when banks close.
Do I need a different account for each market?
Usually yes. A stockbroker, a forex broker and a crypto exchange are normally different firms with different licences, although some large providers offer several markets. KryosTrade itself offers no accounts of any kind.
Sources
- European Securities and Markets Authority, CFD product intervention measures
- UK Financial Conduct Authority, ban on crypto-derivatives for retail consumers
- US Securities and Exchange Commission, T+1 settlement cycle rule