Gold (XAU) Trading

Market guide  |  Last updated: 13 August 2026

Gold is the oldest traded asset on this platform by some margin, and it behaves almost nothing like cryptocurrency. If you have only traded crypto, gold is worth understanding on its own terms — its drivers are macroeconomic, and its rhythm follows the working week.

Why gold moves

Gold pays no interest and generates no earnings. That single fact explains most of its behaviour. Because holding gold means giving up the yield you could earn elsewhere, its price is closely tied to real interest rates — the return available on safe assets after inflation.

• Interest rates. When real rates rise, the opportunity cost of holding gold rises and the price tends to come under pressure. When rates fall, the reverse generally holds.
• The US dollar. Gold is priced in dollars, so dollar strength and gold price have historically tended to move in opposite directions.
• Inflation expectations. Gold is widely treated as a hedge against currency debasement, and expectations of higher inflation tend to support it.
• Risk and uncertainty. Gold is the classic safe-haven asset. Geopolitical conflict and financial stress often produce sharp inflows.
• Central bank buying. Central banks hold gold as reserves, and sustained official-sector buying has been a meaningful source of demand in recent years.

Gold's trading sessions

This is the biggest practical difference from crypto. Gold does not trade continuously — the market runs roughly from Sunday evening to Friday evening (UTC), with a daily break, and it closes over the weekend.

• London session. Historically the centre of physical gold trading, and still where a large share of volume sits.
• New York session. Where US economic data lands. Inflation prints, employment figures and central bank announcements are frequent sources of sharp movement.
• London/New York overlap. The deepest liquidity of the day, and often the largest moves.
• Asian session. Generally quieter, with narrower ranges.

Scheduled economic releases matter far more for gold than for crypto. A single inflation figure can move the price immediately and substantially.

Gold versus crypto

Gold's volatility is considerably lower than Bitcoin's or Ethereum's. Its daily ranges are narrower and its moves are generally more orderly. Some traders read lower volatility as lower risk — over a short fixed window, that reasoning does not hold. Your full stake is still at risk on every trade, and a smaller price move is entirely sufficient to settle a short-term trade against you.

What lower volatility does change is the character of the market: gold tends to respond to identifiable macroeconomic catalysts rather than to the leverage-driven cascades common in crypto.

Trading gold events on this platform

You take a position on whether the gold price will be higher or lower at the end of a short, fixed period. Stake and direction are yours; the payout rate is shown before you confirm; settlement uses live third-party market data. Note that because gold has scheduled market hours, availability differs from the crypto markets — check the app for current availability.

Before you trade

Decide your loss limit before you begin and stick to it. Do not raise stakes to recover losses. Nothing here is investment advice — it is general market information, and every trading decision is yours alone. If in doubt, seek advice from an independent, appropriately licensed professional. You must be 18 or over; see our Terms of Service.