Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Web Trader MT5
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ESTX50
The ticker for the EURO STOXX 50 index. See EURO STOXX 50 for the full description. Traders and analysts use ESTX50 (sometimes SX5E, sometimes just STOXX50) interchangeably across futures, ETFs, and options markets. Example: A European equity trader watching index futures during the Frankfurt open might monitor the ESTX50 contract on Eurex, treating it as the most liquid pure-play vehicle for cross-eurozone large-cap exposure. The contract trades nearly 24 hours, with peak liquidity during European cash hours.
Ether
The cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, which serves as the “fuel” for all transactions on the network. On Ethereum, all transactions, be it sending ETH, deploying a smart contract, or interacting with a DeFi protocol, come with a fee in terms of ether, known as gas. Gas rewards validators for processing transactions and discourages spam by charging a fee for each computation.
Ether is not the same as Ethereum: Ethereum is the network and protocol, while Ether is the asset that brings economic life to the network. The difference is important in regulatory and analytical applications in which the two are often confused.
Ether’s value is driven by its network utility, scarcity by its programs, deflationary net supply when there’s lots of network activity, and the fact that it is the primary underlying collateral asset in DeFi protocols on the Ethereum network.
Example: A developer deploying a smart contract on Ethereum pays gas fees in ether. The cost fluctuates based on the congestion of the network, meaning that in periods of high demand for block space, gas prices may rise, making it difficult to deploy to the network when needed most, and driving up an economic barrier for low-priority transactions; high gas prices also attract more validators to participate, which helps ensure an adequate supply.
Ethereum (ETH)
An open-ended, decentralised, and source code-based blockchain that allows developers to run smart contract programs that automatically execute when certain conditions are met without the need for a trusted third party. Ethereum’s developers transformed the blockchain from a mere value transfer tool into programmable infrastructure for decentralized applications, which has become the backbone of the DeFi and NFT ecosystems.
It also switched from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake in a dramatic move known as “The Merge”, which has significantly decreased its energy usage and shifted the economics behind ETH issuance. Validators are replacing miners, who are staking ETH in order to propose and attest to blocks.
Ethereum is home to most of the DeFi liquidity, stablecoin supply and NFT infrastructure. It is a favorite for its liquidity, developer support and institutional recognition, however it has been confronted by faster, cheaper competition.
Example: One DeFi lending protocol on Ethereum might enable users to deposit collateral and automatically borrow into a stablecoin. The smart contract is the only part that is involved and enforces the terms of the loan, while also liquidating the collateral if it dips below the threshold and distributing the interest, and no human intermediary is ever involved in processing any individual transaction or approving any loan.
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
The original Ethereum blockchain, which has not been changed since the bulk of the Ethereum community performed a hard fork to undo the impact of a major smart contract exploit. When a large amount of ETH was drained by a player, the community decided to change the transaction history and bring the ETH back. A few disagreed, and they proceeded to maintain the original chain without changes, and they are now called Ethereum Classic.
ETC encapsulates the idea that code is law: The blockchain should not be changed if the smart contract behaves as written, even if it is exploited. This ideological position enables a loyal niche to remain in place but restricts adoption compared to ETH.
Ethereum Classic is a chain with a relatively low hash rate, and has faced repeated 51% attack due to its Proof of Work consensus.
Example: A developer with a mission to ensure blockchain immutability chooses to deploy on Ethereum Classic (Ethereum Classic) over Ethereum, in exchange for having less liquidity, fewer contracts and fewer users, but having a transaction history that will never be rewritten, even if it is a hacker’s success of any magnitude.
Ethiopian Birr (ETB)
The official currency of Ethiopia, issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia and subdivided into 100 santim. Ethiopia has a managed exchange-rate system, maintaining an official rate that for a long time has been out of line with the parallel market, which is the case in economies with chronic shortages of foreign currency and import restrictions.
Ethiopia is one of Africa’s most populous and fastest-growing economies. The export basket is dominated by agricultural products, such as coffee, sesame, and cut flowers, of which coffee is of special global importance, Ethiopia being the country of origin of arabica and one of the largest producers in the world. The birr is thus highly vulnerable to the international coffee price fluctuations.
Ease of access to US dollars has been a longstanding constraint for businesses, and the width of the gap between the official and informal exchange rates has been a measure of the underlying FX scarcity in an import-dependent economy.
Example: A company imports coffee from Ethiopia and exchanges the dollars received for the foreign currency of Ethiopia, which is birr, at the official exchange rate according to the foreign exchange regulations. The difference between the official and the informal sector rates reflects a structural cost, which is imposed on dollar earnings, affecting all exporters who use the regulated channels: it is a tax on dollar earnings.
EURIBOR
The Euro Interbank Offered Rate. A benchmark measuring what European banks would charge each other for unsecured term lending in euros. Calculated and published daily by the European Money Markets Institute (EMMI). Computed for several tenors, one week, one month, three months, six months, twelve months, though three-month and six-month rates are by far the most-referenced. EURIBOR survived the post-LIBOR transition that retired most other major IBORs. Methodology was reformed in 2019 and updated again in 2024 to base contributions on observable transactions wherever possible, using a hybrid waterfall that supplements transaction data with market data and expert judgement when transactions are sparse. There are no current plans to discontinue EURIBOR. Most contracts now include €STR-based fallback language anyway, just in case. Example: A typical Italian floating-rate mortgage references three-month EURIBOR plus a spread of, say, 150 basis points. As EURIBOR moves with ECB policy and money market conditions, the homeowner’s monthly payment adjusts at each three-month reset. EURIBOR rising from negative territory in 2021 to above 4% by 2023 produced sharp payment increases for millions of European households. The rate is theoretical for most people. Until it isn’t.
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