What You Need to Know to Begin Trading Forex The forex (foreign exchange) market seems very opaque to the beginner trader, yet it offers many opportunities to make money. To begin trading forex, you must know how the forex market works as well as how successful forex traders achieve success in the markets. Among the unique features of the forex market is that it trades 24 hours a day. Unlike stocks, which are limited to national exchanges, currencies are traded on exchanges all around the world. This means that you can trade at all hours of the day. In addition, there are many currency pairs you can trade to make money, such as: USD/JPY – Buying this pair means going long the US Dollar, and going short the Japanese Yen. GBP/USD – Buying this pair means going long the British Pound and going short the US Dollar. CNY/USD – Buying this pair means going long the Chinese Yuan and going short the US Dollar. There are countless other currency pairs you can trade. In addition, the forex market has tremendous liquidity, which makes it suitable for large institutional investors looking to take gigantic positions.