The fundamentals of spot trading — market orders, limit orders, order books, slippage, and how to execute trades efficiently on any exchange.
Spot trading is the most straightforward way to trade cryptocurrency — you buy an asset at the current market price and own it outright. Unlike futures or margin trading, there's no leverage, no liquidation risk, and no expiration dates. You simply exchange one asset for another at the "spot" (current) price.
When you buy 1 BTC on the spot market, you own 1 BTC. You can hold it indefinitely, transfer it to your wallet, or sell it whenever you choose. This is how most people start their crypto journey and how long-term investors build positions.
Market Order: Buy/sell immediately at the best available price. Fastest execution but you may get slight slippage (worse price than displayed) on large orders or in thin markets.
Limit Order: Set your desired price and wait for the market to reach it. No slippage guarantee, but your order may not fill if price never reaches your level. Preferred by experienced traders.
Stop-Limit Order: Triggers a limit order when price reaches a specified level. Used for stop-losses (sell if price drops to X) or breakout entries (buy if price rises above X).
Pro Tip: For amounts under $10,000, market orders are fine — slippage is negligible. For larger orders, use limit orders or split into multiple smaller orders to minimize market impact.
Spot Market Price Action
Each candle represents one period of trading activity — open, high, low, close
The order book shows all pending buy orders (bids) and sell orders (asks) at each price level. The spread is the gap between the highest bid and lowest ask — tighter spreads mean more liquid markets.
Large orders ("walls") in the order book can act as temporary support/resistance. However, walls can be pulled (cancelled) at any time — don't rely on them for trade decisions. They're informational, not predictive.
Buy and Hold (HODL): Buy BTC/ETH and hold for years. Historically the most profitable strategy for the majority of investors.
DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging): Buy a fixed dollar amount at regular intervals regardless of price. Removes timing stress and averages your entry.
Swing Trading: Buy at support, sell at resistance. Hold for days to weeks. Requires technical analysis skills.
Accumulation: Gradually build a position during bear markets/dips using limit orders at key levels.
Advanced guide to crypto futures — perpetual contracts, funding rates, mark price vs last price, and how to manage leveraged positions.
Understanding leverage — margin requirements, liquidation mechanics, position sizing for leveraged trades, and why most leveraged traders lose.
Position sizing, stop-loss strategies, risk-reward ratios, portfolio allocation, and the Kelly Criterion. The guide to not blowing up your account.