The histrionics surrounding virtual currency continue today, as moves by technology providers and FX companies to bring virtual currency within the parameters of electronic trading on ubiquitous platforms, therefore widening its scope as a widely accepted asset class.

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Plus500, having in April been the first online trading company to offer Bitcoin trading, has today taken this approach in a slightly different direction by offering LiteCoin CFD trading across the entirety of its trading platforms.

Standing Out From The Crowd

Plus500 has enjoyed more than a degree of corporate strength recently, with its shares having been valued at the highest ever prices since the company transitioned from private to a publicly-traded firm, following a trading update which the company issued to its investors late last month.

With the company’s performance giving shareholders very little cause for concern, the decision to further embrace cryptocurrency and select LiteCoin as another virtual currency to offer its client base is an interesting one, especially given the gargantuan expectations which surround Bitcoin at the moment, with values having soared recently to over the $1,000 per Bitcoin mark, and the perceived stability of Bitcoin exchanges, such as MtGox, upon which today’s launch of a price feed to integrate Bitcoin into MetaTrader 4 has been based on.

Plus 500’s foray into the provision of Bitcoin trading marks the company as a pioneer, and with pioneering efforts come commercial lessons, one of which was November’s move by the firm to alter trading conditions on Bitcoin CFDs by removing leverage which was previously set at 4:1, and creating a daily mandatory close in which all positions must be closed at 10,00PM GMT, and new positions reopened on the morning of the following business day.

LiteCoin by contrast, has not been subject to the coverage and industry discussion which has elevated advocates of Bitcoin to almost celebrity status, with some regarded as maverick innovators who are shaping the financial landscape of the future.

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Additionally, attempts at generating marketplaces which purely support LiteCoin have not prevailed in the same fashion as those which support Bitcoin.

Atlantis, the LiteCoin anonymous marketplace, existed for just six months before calling in its cards and declaring itself defunct, whilst regions in which virtual currency is gaining traction, including China, Germany, Argentina, Canada, United States and Israel, are focusing their development efforts and payment channel availability on Bitcoin.

Speculate To Accumulate

In launching LiteCoin as a tradable instrument, Plus 500 has published instructions on how to place trades in Litecoin Daily CFDs on its corporate website, explaining the methods by which its clients can either buy or go short on LiteCoin Daily CFDs.

The reception which this meets will be interesting, as it could signal a new level of popularity for LiteCoin, as well as marking out Plus 500 as a firm which embraces virtual currency.

No doubt a matter for consideration will be as to which broker, given that there is now a price feed for MetaTrader 4 which was launched this morning, will follow in Plus500’s footsteps and seize the opportunity of adding Bitcoin to its armory as an FX instrument, on the more mainstream MetaTrader 4 platform.