The short answer
- Currencies change hands across a dealer network with no central venue, shares meet in regulated exchange order books, and each crypto platform is its own island.
- Custody differs most: shares sit in your name through a nominee, forex and CFDs are contracts with a provider, crypto can be held by a platform or by you.
- Leverage caps and investor protections are strongest for regulated forex and shares and weakest, or absent, for most crypto.
Financial markets explained in a single sentence would read something like this: they are places where buyers and sellers agree a price and something changes hands. The interesting part is everything hidden inside "places", "agree" and "changes hands". A currency, a share and a coin each travel a different route from seller to buyer, and that route decides your costs, your protections and how long you wait before the thing is really yours.
Who actually sets the price?
Short answer: in forex, dealers quoting each other; in shares, an exchange order book; in crypto, each platform's own order book.
The currency market is over the counter. There is no single exchange where EUR/USD trades. Large banks and electronic market makers stream prices to each other and to their clients, and those prices stay closely aligned because anyone who spotted a gap would trade it away within moments. Your broker takes feeds from some of those dealers, adds its own markup and displays the result.
Shares are different. A company's stock is listed on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, where buy and sell orders meet in a central order book under published rules. Other venues may trade the same shares, but regulation ties them together so that prices stay consistent.
Crypto sits in between and slightly apart. Each crypto platform runs its own order book, and the price of the same coin can differ a little from one to the next. Arbitrage traders narrow the gaps, but in a fast market they can briefly widen.
When can each market be traded?
| Market | Regular hours | What happens outside them |
|---|---|---|
| Forex | Sunday 17:00 to Friday 17:00, New York time | Weekend news is priced in when trading resumes, sometimes with a gap |
| US shares | 09:30 to 16:00, New York, weekdays | Limited extended-hours trading; most volume waits for the open |
| London shares | 08:00 to 16:30, London, weekdays | Prices are set by the opening auction the next morning |
| Crypto | Continuous, every day | There is no "outside"; thin weekend trading can mean sharper moves |
The live board on our home page shows which of these are open at the moment you look.
What do I actually own after the trade?
Short answer: a share gives legal ownership, a forex or CFD position is a contract, and crypto depends on whether you or the platform holds the keys.
| Shares via a broker | Retail forex / CFDs | Crypto on a platform | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you hold | Shares registered through a nominee in your favour | An agreement with the provider that pays the price difference | A balance in the platform's records, unless you withdraw to your own wallet |
| If the firm fails | Client assets are kept separate; some countries add a compensation scheme | Client money is segregated in regulated markets; compensation varies | Often no scheme; recovery depends on insolvency proceedings |
| Can you move it elsewhere? | Usually by transfer between brokers | No, you close the contract | Yes, to a self-custody wallet |
How much leverage is allowed?
In the UK and the EU, retail CFD clients are limited to 30:1 on major currency pairs, 20:1 on non-major pairs, gold and major indices, 10:1 on other commodities and minor indices, 5:1 on individual shares and 2:1 on crypto. Australia applies similar caps, and US retail forex is limited to 50:1 on majors. Margin close-out applies at a 50% margin level and retail clients in the UK and EU have negative balance protection.
Buying shares outright uses no leverage at all: a £1,000 purchase needs £1,000. Offshore crypto derivatives platforms have advertised leverage far above any of these caps, which is one reason the UK regulator has banned the sale of crypto derivatives to retail consumers since 2021. Our margin calculator shows what each cap means in collateral.
How long does settlement take?
US share trades now settle on T+1, one business day after the trade date: buy on a Monday and the transfer of shares and cash completes on Tuesday. Forex positions opened with a retail broker are rolled forward each day at 17:00 New York time rather than delivered, with a financing adjustment known as swap. A crypto transfer settles when it is confirmed on its blockchain, which can take seconds or tens of minutes, and it cannot be reversed by anyone once confirmed.
Why does the same news hit each market differently?
Take an unexpected rise in US inflation. In the currency market it tends to show up within seconds, because traders reprice the likely path of interest rates and the dollar moves against other currencies. In the stock market the effect is more mixed: higher expected rates can weigh on share valuations generally, while some sectors cope better than others, and if the figure is released before the New York open the reaction appears as a gap at 09:30. Crypto often trades as a risk asset at such moments, but its reaction can also be swamped by events inside the crypto world, such as a platform failure or a large token unlock.
The practical lesson is that correlations between markets are habits, not laws. They can hold for months and then break without warning, which is why a position hedged "because gold always rises when the dollar falls" can lose on both legs.
Financial markets explained: which one should I learn first?
There is no correct order, but it helps to learn the one you intend to use in the most depth. If leverage is involved, start with how forex trading works and the position size calculator. If you plan to invest for years, how the stock market works matters more. If you already hold coins, how crypto works fills in what the app does not tell you.
Follow-up questions
Is the forex market regulated if it has no central exchange?
The market itself has no single regulator, but the firms that deal with retail clients are licensed in most major countries. That is why checking a provider's authorisation matters so much.
Why do share prices jump at the open?
News that arrives while an exchange is closed builds up orders that are matched in the opening auction, so the first price of the day can be well away from the previous close.
Can a crypto transfer be cancelled?
Not once it is confirmed on the blockchain. A platform can sometimes stop a withdrawal before it is broadcast, but after that the only route is asking the recipient to send it back.
Sources
- UK Financial Conduct Authority, CFD and crypto-derivative rules for retail clients
- European Securities and Markets Authority, product intervention measures on CFDs
- US Securities and Exchange Commission, T+1 settlement cycle