How to buy and short Argo Blockchain shares

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:

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 spread bets and 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.

There are a few differences between spread betting and CFD trading, but both require a deposit – known as margin – to open a position. Further, both products could hold tax benefits for certain individuals in the UK.²

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.

Discover our shares offering

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.

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

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

Learn more about technical and fundamental analysis using IG Academy.

Footnotes
¹Commission rates differ for UK and US shares. Trade in your share dealing account three or more times in the previous month to qualify for our best commission rates. Please note published rates are valid up to £25,000 notional value. See our full list of share dealing charges and fees.
²Tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. Tax law may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK.