What is a financial instrument?
Posted: Mon 31 Jan 2022, 07:40
To put it simply, a financial instrument is an asset that can be traded. Examples can be cash, precious metals (such as gold and silver), documents confirming ownership of something (for example, business or resources), the right to supply or receive cash, and much more. Financial instruments can be complex, but the basic idea is that, whatever they are and whatever they represent, they can be traded.
There are different ways to classify financial instruments. According to one classification, instruments can be cash or derivative. Derivatives are instruments derived from others (for example, from cryptocurrencies). Also, financial instruments can be based on debt or equity ownership.
But where do cryptocurrencies belong? They can be viewed in different ways and attributed to more than one category. According to the simplest classification, these are digital assets. However, cryptocurrencies can potentially form the basis of a completely new financial and economic system.
In this sense, cryptocurrencies form a completely new category of digital assets. In addition, as the ecosystem develops, many new categories may appear that were not previously possible. Early examples of this can already be observed in the decentralized finance sector.
What is the spot market?
In the spot market, financial instruments are traded for "immediate delivery". In this context, delivery means the exchange of a financial instrument for cash. It may seem that there is no need for such a difference, but in some markets delivery does not occur immediately. For example, in futures markets, assets are delivered later (when the futures contract expires).
Simply put, the spot market can be represented as a market where transactions take place "on the spot" (hence the name: spot – "place"). Since settlements on such transactions occur immediately, the current market price of the asset is often called the spot price.
What does this mean in the context of cryptocurrency markets? On cryptocurrency spot markets, you can exchange one coin for another. If you want to exchange one cryptocurrency for another, then just go to the corresponding spot market, and when your application is executed, the exchange takes place instantly. This is one of the easiest ways to trade cryptocurrencies.
There are different ways to classify financial instruments. According to one classification, instruments can be cash or derivative. Derivatives are instruments derived from others (for example, from cryptocurrencies). Also, financial instruments can be based on debt or equity ownership.
But where do cryptocurrencies belong? They can be viewed in different ways and attributed to more than one category. According to the simplest classification, these are digital assets. However, cryptocurrencies can potentially form the basis of a completely new financial and economic system.
In this sense, cryptocurrencies form a completely new category of digital assets. In addition, as the ecosystem develops, many new categories may appear that were not previously possible. Early examples of this can already be observed in the decentralized finance sector.
What is the spot market?
In the spot market, financial instruments are traded for "immediate delivery". In this context, delivery means the exchange of a financial instrument for cash. It may seem that there is no need for such a difference, but in some markets delivery does not occur immediately. For example, in futures markets, assets are delivered later (when the futures contract expires).
Simply put, the spot market can be represented as a market where transactions take place "on the spot" (hence the name: spot – "place"). Since settlements on such transactions occur immediately, the current market price of the asset is often called the spot price.
What does this mean in the context of cryptocurrency markets? On cryptocurrency spot markets, you can exchange one coin for another. If you want to exchange one cryptocurrency for another, then just go to the corresponding spot market, and when your application is executed, the exchange takes place instantly. This is one of the easiest ways to trade cryptocurrencies.