Trading glossary
Read the language of markets, orders and price movements. These explanations give context to trading terminology without recommending a trade.
APR
Annual percentage rate: in DeFi yield displays, an annualized rate usually quoted without reinvesting its periodic returns.
APY
Annual percentage yield: an annualized measure that accounts for the stated effect of compounding.
Arbitrage
Attempting to capture price differences between related assets, markets or trading routes.
Ask
A price at which a participant or trading system is prepared to sell an asset.
Bid
A price at which a participant or trading system is prepared to buy an asset.
Bid-ask spread
The gap between the best available buying and selling prices in a market.
Centralized exchange
A trading platform operated by an organization that coordinates user accounts, orders and exchange services.
Circulating supply
An estimate of the units available to the market under a data provider's methodology.
DYOR
Do your own research: a common reminder to investigate claims independently rather than rely on another person's enthusiasm.
FOMO
Fear of missing out: the feeling of urgency when others appear to be benefiting from an opportunity.
FUD
Fear, uncertainty and doubt: shorthand for anxious sentiment or negative narratives around a project, asset or market.
Fully diluted valuation
A hypothetical valuation multiplying a reference price by a broader total or maximum supply figure.
Leverage
Exposure to an asset or position larger than the capital directly supporting it.
Limit order
An order that permits a purchase only at or below a chosen limit, or a sale only at or above it.
Liquidity
The ability to trade an amount of an asset without a large delay or adverse price effect.
Market capitalization
An asset's reference price multiplied by its estimated circulating supply.
Market order
An instruction to trade promptly against available liquidity under a venue's execution rules.
Maximum supply
The stated upper limit on the number of asset units that can exist under applicable rules.
Order book
A collection of active buy and sell orders organized by price and matching rules.
Perpetual futures
Derivative contracts designed to provide ongoing price exposure without the ordinary expiration of dated futures.
REKT
A slang spelling of wrecked, used in crypto to describe a severe loss or a badly damaged trading position.
Slippage
The difference between an expected execution result and the result actually obtained.
Spot market
A market for exchanging the underlying asset with settlement according to the venue's delivery rules.
Stop order
An order that activates when a specified trigger condition is reached.
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