From the book Investing and Trading: Secrets to Success
Distinguish buying a Spot asset from trading derivatives contracts.
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Watch on YouTube ↗Our YouTube channel is originally in Spanish. Some videos may not have an English audio track.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
The idea in one minute
In Spot you buy the asset; with a derivative, you trade a contract linked to its price. That difference changes how the position is maintained and what may force you to close it. Understanding it prevents confusion between an investment and a margin-dependent trade.
What to remember
- Spot without borrowing has no margin liquidation, but it can lose value.
- Derivatives may add leverage, collateral requirements, and other costs.
- Holding an asset for years does not guarantee its price will recover.
Put it into practice
Before pressing buy, identify whether you will receive the asset or a contract and what conditions could force closure.
Want to go deeper?
Find the full discussion and examples in the book Investing and Trading: Secrets to Success.
Browse all chapters
- INIntroduction
- TOCContents
- 01The evolution of trading
- 02Trading and investing
- 03Different markets
- 04Fast and slow leverage
- 05Spot vs. derivatives
- 06D.C.A. strategy
- 07Diversification
- 08Base and quote currencies
- 09How money works
- 10Financial market cycles, BTC halving, and strategy
- 11Reading Japanese candlesticks
- 12Support and resistance
- 13There is no exact science in this field
- 14What moves markets?
- 15How to identify trends
- 16Ranges
- 17Japanese candlestick patterns
- 18Moving averages
- 19The most popular technical indicators
- 20Filling the GAP
- 21Trading styles
- 22Binary options: the biggest garbage ever to exist in the markets
- 23Fundamental analysis and fundamentals
- 24Financial bubbles
- 25Before learning to win, learn to lose
- 26An asset’s average price
- 27Extreme events
- 28Price action: strategies
- 29Liquidity and market makers
- 30The DeFi world: benefits and risks
- 31Scams and risks to avoid
- 32Risk vs. volatility
- 33Arbitrage
- 34Grid trading in Spot and Futures
- 35The shortest path is the longest path
- 36The circle of success
- APAppendix
- ENDFarewell
Video from the original 2024 edition and a summary prepared for this website. References and conditions in the video may have changed.
Educational content. Trading in financial markets involves a risk of loss; past results do not guarantee future results.