Recently, I’ve noticed many friends transitioning from the crypto world asking how to trade stocks. Honestly, the differences between these two markets are quite significant. Today, I want to share my personal experience to clarify how stock trading works and why many people are shifting from crypto to the stock market.

First, it’s important to understand that the underlying logic of stocks and crypto is completely different. Stocks are backed by the actual operations of listed companies, with revenue, profits, and assets supporting their value. The entire market is strictly regulated by the securities regulatory commission. What does this mean? It means you don’t have to worry about exchanges suddenly going bankrupt or your funds disappearing without explanation. The unregulated, funds-stored-directly-on-exchange model common in crypto simply doesn’t exist in the stock market. A-shares use a third-party custody system—your money is held in banks (like ICBC, China Merchants Bank), and brokerages can’t just access it at will. Even if a broker goes bankrupt, your funds can still be recovered.

The first step to trading stocks is choosing a reputable brokerage to open an account. I recommend starting with top-tier brokerages such as Huatai Securities, East Money Securities, CITIC Securities, or Guotai Junan Securities—these are large, have strict risk controls, and offer good app experiences. Before opening an account, be sure to discuss commission rates with the broker’s account manager. Currently, the rates are around 0.1% to 0.15%, which is much cheaper than crypto transaction fees. The account opening process is straightforward: ID card, bank card, and a video verification on your phone—done in about ten minutes. It’s much more regulated than opening a crypto account.

After opening your account, I strongly recommend spending 1 to 2 months practicing on a simulation trading platform. This step is crucial because stock trading has some rules that crypto doesn’t have. For example, the T+1 settlement system means you can’t sell a stock on the same day you buy it; the earliest you can sell is the next day. This is a huge mindset shift for those used to crypto’s T+0 and intraday trading. Also, there’s the pre-market auction from 9:15 to 9:25 before the market opens, and once the auction ends at 9:20, your orders can’t be canceled. These rules may seem complex at first, but after a few practice runs on the simulation platform, you’ll master them.

The core trading rules for stocks are actually quite simple. Trading hours are from 9:30 to 11:30 in the morning and 13:00 to 14:57 in the afternoon. The market is closed on weekends and holidays—completely different from crypto’s 24/7 trading. When placing orders, you can choose limit orders (set your own price, and the trade executes when the stock hits that price) or market orders (execute quickly at the current price). There are also conditional orders that can trigger automatically. As for fees, commissions are around 0.1% to 0.15%, and when selling, you pay a 0.1% stamp duty. Transfer fees are about 0.002%. Overall, the costs are much lower than in crypto.

The process of depositing and withdrawing funds is also simple. Depositing involves transferring money from your bank card to your brokerage account—anytime during trading hours from 9:00 to 16:00, and the funds are credited instantly. Withdrawing is the reverse process, but note that funds from stocks sold on the same day can only be transferred out the next day. This process is fully regulated by banks, making it much safer than the crypto method of directly transferring tokens to a wallet.

For beginners choosing stocks, I recommend starting with blue-chip stocks on the main board. Pick industry leaders, such as those in consumer sectors like food and beverages or home appliances, or in finance like banks and insurance companies. These companies have stable fundamentals and relatively small fluctuations. Avoid penny stocks, small-cap stocks, or speculative stocks—they carry high delisting risks and poor liquidity. When you first start trading in real markets, don’t allocate more than 20% of your total capital to any single position. Diversify your holdings and avoid the all-in approach common in crypto.

Finally, I want to emphasize that the most important mindset shift in stock trading is to abandon the frequent trading and chasing gains that are common in crypto. The T+1 restriction in A-shares is essentially a protective measure, encouraging you to hold positions longer and think more carefully. The transaction fees in frequent trading can eat into all your profits, so develop habits like setting stop-loss and take-profit points—consider selling when gains reach 5% to 8%, and cut losses at 3% to 5%. Although the market is more strictly regulated and rules are more complex, it offers a safer and more transparent environment. This is the biggest advantage of stocks over crypto and the reason why more and more people are making the switch.