Both are leveraged products, meaning you only need to put up a small deposit – known as margin – to gain full exposure to the underlying market. Your profit or loss are still calculated according to the full size of your position, so leverage will magnify both profits and losses.
As the popularity of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin explode, the Biden administration is laying the groundwork for heavier regulation, and that could spark a big fight in Congress. Cryptocurrency is at a crossroads. As its popularity explodes and bitcoin hovers near a record high, the Biden administration is laying the groundwork for heavier regulation. That could set up a fight in Congress. As NPR's David Gura reports, a small group of lawmakers is worried the U.S. could miss out on an opportunity to be a leader in a financial revolution.

For many people, crypto is a type of alternative investment. Just as you can buy and trade stock in public companies, you can buy cryptocurrency with the hope that it will increase in value over time, allowing you to cash out for a profit at a later date. Some people invest in crypto less for the belief that it will become a popular currency and more as a bet on the blockchain technology behind it.
People can also borrow crypto assets on various platforms and earn interest for loaning out assets. This niche of the cryptocurrency space is what is known as decentralized finance, or DeFi. Based on the DLT, various platforms facilitate the lending and borrowing of crypto without requiring the user to submit to the control of a centralized entity. DeFi also includes other aspects as well such as decentralized exchanges, or DEXs.