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Crypto glossary: trading terms explained simply
CVD, open interest, funding rate, liquidation, Bitcoin ETFs, long/short ratio… Crypto trading terms explained in plain English, with concrete examples and the free tool to see them live.
AltseasonAltseason is a period when most altcoins clearly outperform Bitcoin.Bitcoin dominanceBitcoin dominance is Bitcoin's share of the total crypto market capitalization.Break-even (BE)Moving a position to break-even means raising its stop loss to the entry price: the trade can no longer lose.CVD (Cumulative Volume Delta)CVD adds up, candle after candle, the difference between market buys and market sells. It shows who is really pushing the price: aggressive buyers or aggressive sellers.DCA (Dollar Cost Averaging)DCA means investing a fixed amount at regular intervals, whatever the price, to smooth out your average purchase price.ETH/BTC ratioThe ETH/BTC ratio shows how many bitcoins one ether is worth. It measures Ethereum's strength against Bitcoin.Fear & Greed indexThe Fear & Greed index measures crypto market sentiment from 0 (extreme fear) to 100 (extreme greed).Funding rateThe funding rate is the periodic payment exchanged between buyers and sellers of perpetual contracts to keep their price close to the spot price.Isolated margin and cross marginIsolated margin limits the risk to a single position's margin; cross margin uses the whole account balance as collateral.LeverageLeverage lets you open a position larger than the capital committed. It multiplies gains and losses alike.LiquidationA liquidation is the forced closing of a leveraged position by the exchange once losses have eaten up the deposited margin.Long/short ratioThe long/short ratio compares the number of accounts (or volume) holding long and short positions on a crypto's futures.Open interestOpen interest is the total number of futures contracts still open on an asset. It measures how much leverage is in the market.Order bookThe order book lists all pending buy and sell orders on an exchange, at every price level.Order flowOrder flow analyzes the orders actually executed (who buys, who sells, how aggressively) to understand what moves the price.Perpetual futures (perp)A perpetual contract is a futures contract with no expiry date, used to bet on price going up or down with leverage.Risk/Reward (RR)Risk/reward compares the targeted gain with the accepted loss on a trade. An RR of 1:3 targets three times the risk taken.Sector rotation (narratives)Sector rotation is capital moving from one crypto sector to another: AI, Meme, DeFi, Layer 1, RWA…Spot Bitcoin ETFA spot Bitcoin ETF is an exchange-traded fund that actually holds bitcoins. Money flowing in and out forces the fund to buy or sell BTC.StablecoinA stablecoin is a crypto whose value tracks a currency, usually the dollar (USDT, USDC).Stop lossA stop loss is an order that automatically closes a position at a set price to limit the loss.Take profitA take profit is an order that closes all or part of a position at a price target, to lock in the gain.Taker and makerA taker executes a market order and consumes liquidity; a maker places a limit order that waits in the book and provides liquidity.TVL (Total Value Locked)TVL is the total value of crypto deposited in a DeFi protocol.