What is a trading pair? How to read BTC/USDT
Short answer
A trading pair is two assets that trade against each other. In BTC/USDT, BTC is the coin you buy or sell, and USDT is what you pay with and what the price is quoted in. A price of 60,000 means 1 BTC costs 60,000 USDT.
- To buy bitcoin with USDT, hit Buy on BTC/USDT. To turn bitcoin back into USDT, hit Sell.
- Stick to spot pairs. Anything marked perpetual is futures, not spot, so don't tap it.
In one line
Two assets that trade for each other: the first is what you buy or sell, the second is what you pay with.
An example
On BTC/USDT, at a price of 60,000:
- Buy 0.01 BTC and you pay 600 USDT.
- Sell 0.01 BTC and you get 600 USDT.
ETH trades against USDT on ETH/USDT, and against BTC on ETH/BTC, where its price is quoted in BTC.
Related
FAQ
In BTC/USDT, which one am I buying?
BTC, the one before the slash. Buy means paying USDT for BTC; Sell means turning BTC into USDT.
Why does the same coin have several pairs?
Because you can pay with different assets. For example, you can buy BTC with USDT (BTC/USDT) or with USDC (BTC/USDC). Prices differ slightly between pairs, and so does trading volume.
What does "perpetual" next to a pair mean?
It's a futures contract, not spot. Stick to spot pairs, and don't tap anything marked perpetual, futures or with a leverage multiplier.