When you log in to Young Platform you always use the same credentials (email and password), but you have two different ways of buying and selling crypto in front of you: Young Platform Base and Young Platform Pro. They look like similar products, but they work very differently, and understanding the difference helps you choose the one that suits you best.
The difference can be summarised like this:
- On Base, Young Platform is your counterparty: you buy or sell crypto directly from Young Platform, at a fixed price that is proposed to you before confirmation.
- On Pro, Young Platform acts as an intermediary: it executes your order on your behalf at external execution venues, at the price conditions that you indicate.
In neither mode does Young Platform operate an order book where client orders match each other: every transaction is individual.
The two modes in detail
Young Platform Base: Young Platform is your counterparty
On Base, the transaction is concluded directly between you and Young Platform, which acts on its own account as a contractual counterparty. Once you have accepted the price, subsequent market variations do not affect your transaction: the price you accepted remains that one, and the risk tied to those variations is borne by Young Platform.
In practice, when you choose to buy, for example, Bitcoin, Young Platform shows you a fixed price, valid for a few seconds (there is a countdown; if it expires, you ask for a new price). Before confirming you see a summary with the overall cost of the transaction, commissions included, and the indication that your counterparty is Young Platform. If you accept within the indicated time, you are buying Bitcoin from Young Platform: it is Young Platform that sells to you (or buys from you) the crypto, and from that moment the transaction is final.
The Base price is calculated by Young Platform starting from market prices and already contains a spread component, defined by its pricing policy. In this mode, Young Platform does not look for the best available price on other markets for you: you are free to compare the price proposed to you with that of other platforms.
Technical language calls this mode "bilateral exchange", because only two parties are involved: you and Young Platform. In legal terms, it is the service referred to in Article 77 of the MiCAR regulation (the European crypto-asset regulation).
Young Platform Pro: Young Platform executes your order on your behalf
On Pro, Young Platform is not your counterparty and does not sell crypto to you directly. It acts as an intermediary: it receives your order and executes it on your behalf at an external execution venue, which is the counterparty of the transaction. The conditions of the order, namely the quantity and the maximum purchase price or minimum sale price, are established by you; if no venue can execute the entire order immediately at those conditions, the order is not executed.
In practice, Young Platform chooses the most suitable external execution venue based on its Execution Policy (other platforms, selected according to this policy) and executes the order there on your behalf, trying to obtain the best overall result, meaning price plus costs. The price is determined by the execution venue, not Young Platform.
Some things to know about Pro:
- On Pro, orders are of the Fill or Kill (FOK) type: you indicate the price (maximum if you buy, minimum if you sell) and the quantity. The order is executed immediately and in full at that price or a better price; if that is not possible, it is cancelled in full and the blocked funds become available again. There are no partial executions.
- The prices you see before sending the order are indicative: with a very volatile market they can change rapidly, and a FOK order with a price too close to the current one may not find execution.
- The price you indicate is a specific instruction: respecting it may prevent Young Platform from fully applying its Execution Policy.
- Before confirming, you see the estimated order commissions in the summary; the final ones are indicated in the execution receipt.
- To use Pro you must pass an appropriateness assessment and expressly accept the Execution Policy, including consent to the execution of orders even outside an authorised trading platform. Without these steps, orders on Pro cannot be executed.
In technical language this mode is called "execution of orders on behalf of clients": it is the service referred to in Article 78 of the MiCAR regulation.
Base or Pro: which one is right for you?
Here are some practical differences that can help you find your way. They are not personalised advice: the choice depends on your needs.
Young Platform Base might suit you if...
- you are approaching crypto now and want a simple interface;
- you prefer the certainty of a fixed price over searching for the best price on the market;
- you do not want to deal with where your order is executed: you just need to know how much you pay and how much you receive;
- you want to know the overall cost of the transaction before pressing "Confirm".
Young Platform Pro might suit you if...
- you already have experience with crypto and how orders work;
- you want to indicate a maximum (or minimum) price yourself and not have the order executed if it is not respected;
- you care that Young Platform executes your order at external venues, looking for the best overall result;
- you accept that your order is cancelled in full if it does not find immediate execution at your price (Fill or Kill).
A special case: the OTC Desk
If you need to make a transaction of €20,000 and up (or the equivalent value in crypto), you can use the OTC Desk, an assisted channel. It works like this: via Customer Support you ask to schedule a call with an OTC Desk operator and we send you the calendar to choose the appointment.
On the day of the appointment you tell the operator the transaction you want to make. The operator communicates a fixed price valid for 30 seconds, calculated with the same pricing system as Base: they neither decide nor modify it at their discretion. You accept (or refuse) by voice or in chat and, if you accept, the transaction is concluded; you then receive confirmation via email. Communications with the OTC Desk take place on recorded channels.
The operator does not give you investment advice: the decision on what to buy or sell remains yours. Technically, the OTC Desk remains a bilateral exchange like Young Platform Base, with Young Platform as your counterparty, but with dedicated assistance.
To remember before trading
- On Base your counterparty is Young Platform. The price is fixed for the indicated time, and you see the overall cost before confirming.
- On Pro Young Platform acts as an intermediary towards external execution venues. You indicate the price (Fill or Kill): if the order cannot be executed immediately and in full at that price, it is cancelled.
- In both cases your crypto is held by Young Platform separately from its assets, as part of the crypto-asset custody service referred to in Article 75 of the MiCAR regulation: it cannot be seized by Young Platform's creditors, not even in the event of insolvency. Custody, however, does not protect you from market risk: the value of crypto can drop a lot, and even go to zero.
- Crypto-assets are not covered by investor compensation schemes or deposit guarantee schemes. The entire value of the investment could be lost.
- If you do not understand something, stop: read the official documentation, contact Customer Support and do not press "Confirm" without having understood what you are accepting.
Do you need help? Open a support ticket or write to [EMAIL].
This guide is for informational purposes only. It is not investment advice or a personalised recommendation. Crypto-assets are highly volatile and there is a risk of loss, even total, of the invested capital. Always do your research before proceeding. For the complete and binding contractual conditions, please refer to the Young Platform General Terms and Conditions published on youngplatform.com/legal. Young Platform S.p.A. is a CASP authorised by Consob and Banca d'Italia pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCAR).