Markets · ExplainerWhat is an order book, and how does it set the price you pay?Every trading screen is built on the same simple ledger of buyers and sellers. Learn to read it and you will understand why the price you see is rarely the price you get.8 min readSection
Markets
Prices on a crypto screen come from somewhere: a queue of orders, a web of derivatives, a handful of large products. This section takes the machinery apart one piece at a time.
10 pages in this section
Markets · ExplainerWhat is an order book, and how does it set the price you pay?Every trading screen is built on the same simple ledger of buyers and sellers. Learn to read it and you will understand why the price you see is rarely the price you get.8 min read
Markets · ExplainerHow do crypto markets work, and who decides the price?There is no single crypto exchange and no official closing price. Here is how many separate venues, two kinds of trading machinery and a patchwork of rules add up to the number on a price ticker.7 min read
Markets · ExplainerWhat is a spot bitcoin ETF, and what did the SEC approve in January 2024?A spot bitcoin exchange-traded product lets you buy shares through an ordinary brokerage account while a trust holds the bitcoin. Here is what that structure gives you, and what it does not.8 min readAll Markets pages
Markets · ExplainerWhat is the difference between a market order and a limit order?Every buy or sell button hides a choice between getting filled now and getting the price you want. Knowing which one you are making is the cheapest protection a new trader has.
Markets · ExplainerWhat is crypto market cap, and what does it leave out?Market cap is the first number most crypto lists show, and the one most often misread. It is a simple multiplication, and knowing what goes into it tells you what it can and cannot say.
Markets · ExplainerWhat is the difference between spot and derivatives trading in crypto?Buying a coin and buying a contract on that coin's price can look identical on a trading screen. Underneath, they carry different risks, different costs and different regulators.
Markets · ExplainerWhat are perpetual futures, and how does the funding rate work?Perpetual contracts have become a dominant form of crypto derivative, yet they never expire. A small, regular payment between buyers and sellers is what keeps their price tied to the real asset, and it can quietly add up.
Markets · ExplainerWhat are liquidity and slippage, and why do they change the price you pay?The price on the screen is a quote, not a promise. How close your fill lands to that quote depends on how much is waiting to trade on the other side.
Markets · ExplainerWhat is the Bitcoin halving, and why does it happen every 210,000 blocks?Every 210,000 blocks, the number of new bitcoin paid to miners is cut in half. The rule is a few lines of code, and it is the reason Bitcoin's supply schedule is known decades in advance.
Markets · ExplainerWhat is volatility, and why do crypto prices swing so much?Volatility is the size and speed of price swings. Crypto-assets have been far more volatile than most traditional assets, and understanding the numbers helps you judge what a sharp move really means for your money.