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CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved.

How to buy and short Argo Blockchain shares

Blockchain technology is a hot topic in the world of finance – and Argo Blockchain (ARB) is one of the companies leading the way in this industry. Find out how you can trade and invest in ARB shares.

Technology Source: Bloomberg

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How to buy Argo Blockchain shares: investing and trading

You can buy Argo Blockchain shares outright (invest) or speculate on its rising and falling share price (trade). Read on for more details on the difference.

Investing in Argo Blockchain shares

Investing in ARB shares means you’re buying shares outright and taking direct ownership of them. You could receive dividends if Argo Blockchain grants them, and you’ll also be able to vote on company matters. You can invest in Argo Blockchain from £3 commission when buying shares through us.1

How to invest in Argo Blockchain shares:

  1. Create an account or log in
  2. Search for ‘Argo Blockchain’ on our share dealing platform
  3. Select ‘buy’ in the deal ticket
  4. Choose the number of shares you want to buy
  5. Open and monitor your investment position

Here’s a look at our competitive commission rates on UK shares:

IG Hargreaves Lansdown AJ Bell
Best commission rate on UK shares £3 £5.95 £9.95
Standard commission rate on UK shares £8 £11.95 £9.95
How to qualify for the best rate Open 3 or more positions on your share dealing account in the previous month 20 or more trades in prior month n/a

View our full list of costs and charges

When investing in ARB shares, you’ll have to commit the full value of the position upfront. The company’s share price can rise and fall, so you may get back less than your initial investment – you’ll only profit if you sell your ARB shares for more than the original buy price.

Trading Argo Blockchain stock

You can trade Argo Blockchain stock via leveraged derivatives, namely CFDs. You won’t take ownership of any shares and you can speculate on whether the share price will go up or down. You’ll ‘buy’ (go long) if you think it’ll increase or ‘sell’ (go short) if you think it’ll drop.

How to trade Argo Blockchain shares:

  1. Create an account or log in
  2. Search for ‘Argo Blockchain’ on our trading platform
  3. Select ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ in the deal ticket
  4. Set your position size and take steps to manage your risk
  5. Open and monitor your position

Trading on leverage naturally magnifies your risk, because your profits and losses are both calculated on the full value of your position – not the deposit used to open it. Always take appropriate steps to manage your risk before committing your capital.

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How to short Argo Blockchain shares

You might think that the Argo Blockchain share price isn’t going to rise in the near future, in which case you can go short. You’ll make a profit if the share price moves in your favour – ie it goes down – and you’ll make a loss if the share price goes up. Follow these steps:

  1. Create or log in to your trading account
  2. Search for ‘Argo Blockchain on our platform
  3. Select ‘sell’ in the deal ticket
  4. Choose your position size
  5. Open and monitor your position

How to sell or close your Argo Blockchain investment or trade

You might want to sell your Argo Blockchain investment, or close your trade, to lock in profits or limit losses.

Selling Argo Blockchain shares

  1. Log in to your trading account
  2. Go to the positions tab and select ‘Argo Blockchain’
  3. Select ‘sell’ in the deal ticket
  4. Choose your position size
  5. Close your position

Selling your Argo Blockchain investment

  1. Log in to your investment account
  2. Go to the positions tab and select ‘Argo Blockchain’
  3. Select ‘sell’ in the deal ticket
  4. Choose the number of shares you want to sell
  5. Close your position

A brief history of Argo Blockchain

Argo Blockchain (ARB) is new to the crypto mining business, as it was only established in early 2018. Already, it’s the only company of its kind to be publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). It listed on this exchange in August 2018, less than a year after launching.

Other notable dates and developments:

  • 2019 first quarter (Q1): implements a new strategy, mining for its own accounts
  • 2019 (Q2): invests in new mining technology – seven-nanometre mining rings
  • 2020 (Q1): finishes the installation of 17,000 of its mining rings
  • 2020 (Q2): upgrades operations to 18,000 of the cutting-edge rings

Argo Blockchain share price since its IPO Source: IG charts
Argo Blockchain share price since its IPO Source: IG charts

What’s the Argo Blockchain business model?

Argo Blockchain’s business model is based on the concept of cryptocurrency mining. It prides itself on being an energy-efficient crypto mining company, which translates into lower operating costs for the business. To understand what Argo Blockchain does, it’s important to grasp blockchain technology and crypto mining.

Blockchain is a record of data that is distributed across a network of computers, meaning there is no single point of failure. What makes it unique is that there’s no central authority in charge of the blockchain file or the data it contains. Instead, each computer keeps its own copy of the file, and any update requires the approval of a majority of machines in the network – making it nearly impossible to hack. What’s more, information in the blockchain is linked together by complex mathematics, meaning that even the smallest of changes will break the entire chain and be rejected by the network.

Cryptocurrency mining is the process of verifying crypto transactions adding new blocks to the chain. Mining computers select pending transactions from an exchange and check them to make sure the issuer has enough funds to complete the transaction. A second verification confirms that the sender authorises the transfer of funds using their private key.

The mining computers collect valid transactions in a new block and try to generate the cryptographic link with the previous block, finding a solution to a complex algorithm. When a computer manages to generate the link, it adds the block to its version of the blockchain file and transmits the update throughout the network.

Argo Blockchain share price: how to analyse Argo Blockchain shares

You can use a combination of technical and fundamental analysis to study the Argo Blockchain share price:

  • Technical analysis uses chart patterns, technical indicators and historical price action to help you predict future price movements
  • Fundamental analysis uses information like a company’s net revenue, profit and loss statements, as well as wider macroeconomic factors, to help you determine share price movements

Technical and fundamental analysis

Learn more about technical and fundamental analysis using IG Academy.

Footnotes
2Tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. Tax law may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK.

This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Australia Pty Ltd. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients.

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