LTC/EUR liquidity and execution costs

In brief A buyer's offered price, with the best bid being the highest displayed buy offer in a particular market.

A price at which a buyer offers to buy an asset. The best bid is the highest displayed buy price on a particular order book. A seller may receive less when a larger order consumes lower levels, and trading fees are separate.

For example A hypothetical $49.90 best bid is the top displayed buying price, not necessarily the average received for selling all your LTC.

Common mistake Using the best bid as a guaranteed purchase price or assuming a displayed order will remain available until you trade.

In brief A seller's offered price, with the best ask being the lowest displayed sell offer in a particular market.

A price at which a seller offers an asset. The best ask is the lowest displayed sell price on a particular order book. A buyer may pay more for a larger order that consumes several levels, and trading fees are separate.

For example If only 1 LTC is offered at a hypothetical $50 best ask, buying 3 LTC may require paying higher prices for the rest.

Common mistake Reading the best ask as the price you can sell at, or assuming your whole purchase is available at that one price.

In brief The gap between the best displayed buy and sell prices, before considering other trading costs and available quantities.

The gap between the highest displayed buy price (bid) and the lowest displayed sell price (ask). A small spread can reduce trading costs, but does not show how much you can trade at those prices.

For example If the best bid is $49.90 and the best ask is $50.10, the displayed spread is $0.20 before other charges.

Common mistake Treating the spread as the only trading cost while ignoring fees and prices beyond the top of the order book.

In brief A market's displayed buy and sell orders at stated prices and quantities, which can change before a trade executes.

A venue's displayed buy and sell orders, grouped by price and available quantity. A captured book can show only a limited number of levels and can change before execution. It is not a complete, permanent view of every order or all market liquidity.

For example If 2 LTC are offered at $50 and another 5 at $50.10, a larger hypothetical purchase reaches more than the first price level.

Common mistake Treating a saved book replay as an executable offer or assuming one venue's visible depth represents the whole market.

In brief An average price that gives larger traded quantities more weight, for a stated period or one modeled order.

An average price weighted by the asset quantities traded or modeled: total quote-currency value divided by total asset quantity. State which observations it covers. A replayed order's VWAP and a market's trading-period VWAP describe different sets of prices and quantities.

For example A hypothetical book replay buying 2 LTC at $50 and 1 LTC at $53 has VWAP $51: $153 divided by 3 LTC.

Common mistake Taking a simple average of price levels or comparing one modeled order's VWAP with a trading-day VWAP as if they used identical data.

In brief One hundredth of a percentage point, so 100 basis points equal one percentage point.

One hundredth of a percentage point: 0.01%. Basis points make small rate differences easier to compare. One hundred basis points equal one percentage point; the unit does not tell you which price or amount is used as the reference.

For example A cost of 20 bps of an order's value is 0.20% of that value, not 20%.

Common mistake Confusing basis points with whole percentages or comparing figures that use different reference prices.

In brief The difference between an expected reference price and a trade's achieved average price, measured against the stated reference.

The difference between a trade's expected reference price and its achieved average execution price. The comparison depends on the chosen reference and direction. A saved order-book replay can model visible-depth effects, but it does not measure the price you will actually obtain later.

For example A hypothetical buy expected at $50 but filled at an average $50.10 has 0.20% adverse slippage against that reference, before separate fees.

Common mistake Comparing slippage figures with different baselines or treating historical visible-depth estimates as guaranteed future fills.