Most of the brokers which offer cryptocurrencies on this site provide Cryptocurrency CFDs. In some cases with UK brokers, spread betting products are available. These are not the actual cryptocurrency, such as may be traded on an exchange and kept in a wallet. In both cases, these are derivative products, based on the price movement of the underlying cryptocurrency asset. Other markets are also traded this way at CFD and spread betting brokers. That is, the trader does not own the underlying asset.
This mean that the trader does not need to store the cryptocurrency, and therefore does not need a wallet. It also means that the trader can go long or short, using the trading platform. Thus, the tools on the platform, which as technical indicators and news feeds, if available can be used to examine the CFD.
Furthermore, it is possible to trade on leverage, that is where the trader controls a larger amount of the cryptocurrency, than would otherwise be possible on 1:1 leveraged basis. However, as with all leveraged trading, increasing leverage increases risk. In the case of cryptocurrencies, they can be very volatile, that is their price can move rapidly and sometimes oscillate back and forth.
As can be seen on this website, these brokers can be classified in this way: some offer Bitcoin only, some offer Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin and other cryptocurrencies. Some can provide a relatively wide range, the constituents of which can change.
A table of cryptocurrencies available at a range of brokers can be seen here, along with a short description of the cryptocurrencies mentioned. The numbers provided is still a fraction of the total number of cryptocurrencies available, a range which continues to grow.
Thus cryptocurrencies are an ecosystem which changes and grows. This ecosystem is typically characterised by being based on the blockchain, using cryptography and having a core function. This core function may be the provision of a cryptocurrency, or the cryptocurrency may be a value token within another functionality.
