As cryptocurrency trading grows up, trading platforms are changing along with it. What once looked like a move away from contracts-for-difference (CFDs) toward spot crypto trading is now better understood as something more balanced. Instead of one replacing the other, CFDs and spot crypto are increasingly offered side by side, giving traders more choice in how they access the market.
At the core of this distinction is ownership. With CFDs, traders speculate on price movements without actually owning the asset. This model is popular with short-term traders who want leverage and flexibility, but it comes with costs such as overnight fees and higher risk. Spot crypto trading, on the other hand, gives users direct ownership. That means they can hold tokens long term, stake them, move them to private wallets, or use them in on-chain activity. Naturally, this approach appeals more to investors with longer-term strategies.
As expectations rise, traders are demanding platforms that combine clarity, low costs, and flexibility. Today’s strongest platforms aim to provide access to a wide range of digital assets through a single, easy-to-use interface, allowing users to choose how they want to trade rather than forcing them into one model.
The industry hasn’t always handled this well. When some binary options technology providers shifted into crypto brokerage, many early users overlooked the fine print and ended up paying extremely high overnight fees. In time, these crypto products became as problematic for the market as binary options once were for forex brokers.
One of the first platforms to respond differently was eToro. In 2018, it converted outstanding leveraged crypto positions into unleveraged physical holdings. At the time, volatility was extreme, and eToro concluded that leverage posed too much risk. The platform focused on letting users buy and hold real crypto assets, aligning with a longer-term investment mindset.
As crypto entered the mainstream, eToro later reintroduced leverage. Traders could choose their exposure based on collateral and personal risk tolerance. The platform also enabled users to move crypto between counterparties, working with multiple exchanges and liquidity providers. While eToro improved transparency around fees, limitations remained. Users couldn’t easily combine crypto with traditional assets like indices or commodities in a single diversified portfolio.
This is where PrimeXBT positions itself differently. As a global multi-asset broker and crypto derivatives exchange, PrimeXBT offers more than 350 instruments across forex, crypto futures, and CFDs on indices, commodities, shares, and cryptocurrencies. Traders can go long or short, use advanced tools, and rely on TradingView-powered charting and technical analysis.
The platform removes common barriers by offering no minimum deposit, zero commission, and no deposit or withdrawal fees. Withdrawals are processed in under seven seconds on average. PrimeXBT also supports more than 100 payment methods, covering crypto, fiat, and local options.
Rather than focusing heavily on social trading features like copy trading, PrimeXBT emphasizes personalized trading solutions. Users can buy and sell crypto, store assets in secure built-in wallets, and move seamlessly across MT5, PXTrader, PXTrader 2.0, and its crypto exchange. PXTrader is scheduled to be phased out in the first quarter of next year, with CFDs and crypto futures consolidated under PXTrader 2.0.
With 24/7 customer support, competitive crypto futures fees—such as a 0.01% taker fee and maker fees starting at 0.045%—and access to multiple asset classes, PrimeXBT reflects how modern trading platforms are adapting. The future isn’t about choosing CFDs or spot crypto, but about giving traders the freedom to use both within one flexible ecosystem.
Also Read: Bitcoin Stalls Near $87K as ETF Outflows Ease, Hinting at a Turnaround
