Introduction to CFD trading
Trading is all about making money from price changes in things like crypto, stocks, currencies and more. The idea is simple: buy low, sell high.
🌟 Amazing fact: If a trader had placed a $100 up trade on Bitcoin with 100x leverage on Jan. 1, 2024 and closed it a year later, the potential profit would have been over $5,390!
That’s the power of CFD trading.
Ready to dive in?
What is CFD trading?
CFD stands for “contract for difference.” You don’t actually own the instrument — you just make a contract with a broker (like Doto) about where you think the price will go.
Think the price will rise? You open a buy trade  | Think it’ll drop? You open a sell trade  |
If your prediction is correct, you pocket the difference in price. The best part? You can capitalize on both rising and falling markets!
A broker - Your gateway to the market
You can’t trade directly on the market without a broker. They handle all the technical stuff behind the scenes, like connecting you to global exchanges and making sure your trades run smoothly.
💫 At Doto, we do more than just execute trades — we provide insights and tips to help you make smarter decisions on 1,000+ financial instruments!
What can you trade?
On Doto, you can trade a wide range of instruments:
Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital currencies
Forex: Currency pairs like EUR/USD and GBP/JPY
Stocks: Shares of companies like NVIDIA, Tesla, Apple and more
Commodities: Gold, silver, oil and other natural resources
Indices: Major stock indices like the S&P 500 or Nasdaq
ETFs: Exchange-Traded Funds that track a group of assets, such as the S&P 500, tech companies, commodities, or entire markets
Trading terminal: Your control center
This is your trading terminal. Let's break it down:
Instrument name, price and 24-hour change
See the basics at a glance
Chart
The main tool for tracking price movements
Trade buttons
Wondering why there are two prices here? Press Next to find out!
Bid, ask and spread
Every instrument has two prices, kinda like a currency exchange at a bank. Here’s the deal.
Bid (sell price): The price buyers are willing to pay (you sell at this price)
Ask (buy price): The price sellers want (you buy at this price)
The difference between these two is called the spread — this is the fee for processing your trade. That’s how brokers make money.
Spreads are measured in pips, which brings us to the next topic.
What is a pip?
A pip is the smallest unit of change in a price.  |
For most currency pairs, a pip is the fourth number after the decimal. 📏 Example: If EURUSD moves from 1.1000 to 1.1001, that’s a change of 1 pip. | For other instruments, like gold, indices and some cryptocurrencies, a pip is the first number after the decimal. 📏 Example: If BTCUSD moves from 100,000.1 to 100,000.2, that’s a change of 1 pip. |
Now you know the basics of trading! So, let’s start practicing on a demo account.
Demo account: Your safe space
Why start with a demo account? Simple:
Zero risk. Trade with virtual money and no stress
Real market conditions. Watch live price action in real time
Hands-on practice. Get comfy with the platform and tools
Confidence boost. Test strategies, make mistakes and learn without losing a cent
Let’s open a demo trade
Simply follow these steps:
Boom — you just made a trade! |  |
📍 Spoiler: Doto also offers AI Market Insights to help you forecast market moves more accurately. More on that soon!
Quick quiz: Test your knowledge
Imagine you’re trading on USDJPY, and the price starts falling. What does that mean?
USD demand is rising, JPY is falling
USD demand is falling, JPY is rising
Both USD and JPY demand is falling
Both USD and JPY demand is rising
Summing up
Congrats! You finished the first lesson. Now you know:
What CFD trading is
What instruments you can trade
What bid, ask, spread and pips are
How to start trading with a demo account
Next up, we’ll explore why you don’t need a big budget to start trading — it’s all thanks to leverage.
Ready? Let’s go!
Correct answer is 2
🧠 When USDJPY falls, that means USD is losing value because traders are selling USD to buy JPY. This increases demand for JPY, making it stronger while USD weakens.