If you’re brand new to trading Forex, you might find a steep learning curve ahead of you. Not only will you be learning the fundamentals of Forex trading, you’ll also be learning what feels like an entirely new language too, as Forex trading has a fairly comprehensive lexicon used by traders on the trading floor.

Initially beginners might struggle to follow quickfire conversations if they’re littered with Forex trading abbreviations, so we’ve compiled a helpful initial list. 

Below are the most common and necessary abbreviations for Forex traders to know and which they’ll likely come across in their reading or daily trading.

The terms Bulls and Bears first originated from the Stock Exchange and they’re now commonly used throughout most financial markets.

Although if you’ve never stumbled across them before, hearing the phrase “bullish vs bearish forex markets” might give you a moment of pause! 

For any trader however, knowing the differences between bullish and bearish markets can help immensely when it comes to executing successful trades.

We’ve defined them below and given some additional tips as to how to identify which a market is, plus recommended how traders should behave when faced with either a bullish or bearish market.

Cryptocurrencies are in essence, digital money. The difference between cryptocurrencies and other forms of digital money, like central bank digital currency, are that cryptocurrencies use blockchain technology to make them safe from counterfeit or double spend.

Due to their widely reported security, self-custody aspects, and ‘digital gold’ comparisons, the popularity of cryptocurrencies is skyrocketing. Cryptocurrencies surge to the mainstream is so great that it has left brand new investors weighing up which is the best cryptocurrency to invest in 2021.

In this blog we’ve narrowed down the 7 best cryptocurrencies to invest in for new investors, and we’ve included one to watch. If you’re looking to start a career in trading cryptocurrency markets meanwhile, take a look at our funded cryptocurrency trader programme.

In trading terminology, indices is a just plural form of the word index. So when asking, what are indices in trading, what we really mean is “what are indexes in trading?”

For new and experienced traders alike, the first index that is bound to come to mind is a type of stock market index (e.g. S&P 500 or FTSE 100).

Trading stock market indexes, or indices, has long been a popular option for traders because it is considered one of the best markets to trade on and is often spoken about on popular financial media (e.g. Bloomberg). Index markets often have clearer charts than other markets, and also possess high volatility meaning that their trend is often much easier to identify. 

So for traders looking to get started trading the index market, here’s everything you need to know about trading indices.

Advancements in digital technology have changed the landscape of a number of industries, and trading is no different.

In today’s trading environment, traders are likely to encounter quantitative trading at some point. Quantitative trading includes high frequency trading and algorithmic trading and involves learning coding languages and programming.

This has set new traders on a path to learn coding for trading, but has also sparked a debate about the best programming language for financial trading.

Commodity trading is one of the earliest types of trading to exist. Trading commodities can be dated as far back as 4500 BCE in Sumer – the city we now call Iraq – where a commodity market exchanged clay tokens for goats.

Commodity trading even helped establish successful historical empires who were found to have implemented trading systems to facilitate the trading and exchange of commodities. 

Significant technological advancements in trading and the financial markets have paved the way for a whole new type of trading: Algorithmic trading.

Around 80% of the daily moves made in both the United States Stock Exchange and Forex markets are made by machine-led algorithmic traders. At Alphachain Academy, we are one of the only trading firms offering a comprehensive Algorithmic trading programme. You can check out our course here 

In this guide to algorithmic trading, we’re going to explore the concepts of algorithmic trading as well as detail the potential steps new traders can take to forge their career in algorithmic trading.

There are a multitude of elements that make up a successful trader: Dedication, focus, intelligence, motivation and risk management, just to name a few.

However, whilst these and many more attributes make up a percentage of what makes for a good trader, there is another thing: Mindset, and the trading psychology.

To become a truly successful trader, a trader must possess the right trading mindset and that comes from having a true understanding of Trading Psychology.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at why trading psychology is so important for new, and even experienced traders.

Proprietary Trading is a sought-after trading role job for both beginners and professional traders alike. 

This is because there is no significant amount of capital needed to begin – as traders trade on behalf of a firm’s capital – and because the opportunity for advancement is much faster than other trading types due to the potential profits available.

If you’re a graduate fresh from University, or a beginner trader that can’t afford to part with the copious amounts of capital required to begin trading the financial markets, you may be wanting to start your trading career in Proprietary Trading.