Glossary
Market Order
An order to buy or sell immediately at whatever the best available price is.
A market order fills instantly at the best price currently on the book. You accept whatever price is available in exchange for the certainty of execution.
That trade-off is invisible until size matters. A market order large relative to the available depth walks through several price levels, and the average fill can be materially worse than the quoted price.
Use market orders for small size and for exits where not getting out is the bigger risk. For anything sized to the book, use a limit order or accept that you are paying for immediacy.
Related terms
Airdrop
Free tokens distributed to wallet addresses, usually to reward early users of a protocol.
AMM
Automated Market Maker — a protocol that prices assets with a formula instead of an order book.
APR vs APY
APR is the yearly rate without compounding; APY includes compounding and is always higher.
ATH
All-Time High — the highest price an asset has ever traded at.
Bear Market
A prolonged decline, conventionally 20% or more from recent highs.
Bull Market
A prolonged rise driven by new demand, easy credit and rising confidence.