Market Order
An order to buy or sell a cryptocurrency immediately at the best available price on the exchange.
A market order is an instruction to buy or sell a cryptocurrency right away at the best price currently available in the exchange’s order book. It prioritizes speed over price certainty: the trade is usually filled quickly, but the final average price may differ from the last quoted price, especially in fast-moving or low-liquidity markets. This difference is often called slippage.
Market orders are commonly used when a trader wants immediate execution, such as entering or exiting a position quickly. For example, if Bitcoin is showing a best ask price of $60,000, a market buy order will start filling against the cheapest sell orders available, but a large order may also take liquidity from higher-priced sellers. In contrast, a limit order lets the trader set a maximum buy price or minimum sell price, but it may not fill if the market does not reach that level.
Other terms in Crypto Trading
Basis Trade
A trading strategy that seeks to profit from the price gap between a crypto asset’s spot price and its futures or perpetual contract price.
Funding Rate
A periodic payment between perpetual futures traders that helps keep the contract price close to the spot market price.
Leverage Trading
Leverage trading is using borrowed funds to open a larger crypto position than your own capital would normally allow.
Limit Order
An order to buy or sell a cryptocurrency only at a specified price or better.