#交易对
What is a Trading Pair? | A Core Concept Every Cryptocurrency Trader Must Understand
"Trading Pair" is one of the most fundamental and crucial concepts. Understanding the logic of how trading pairs work can help you choose the right market and direction, improving trading efficiency and win rates.
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1. What is a Trading Pair?
A trading pair refers to the exchange relationship between two types of assets, for example:
• BTC/USDT: Buying and selling BTC (Bitcoin) with USDT (Tether)
• ETH/BTC: Buying and selling ETH (Ethereum) with BTC
• DOGE/USDC: Buying and selling DOGE (Dogecoin) with USDC
2. Classification of Trading Pairs
1. Stablecoin Trading Pairs (Commonly Used)
• For example: BTC/USDT, ETH/USDC, SOL/FDUSD
• Suitable for most short-term traders, as prices are stable and liquidity is sufficient.
2. Cryptocurrency to Cryptocurrency Trading Pairs
• For example: ETH/BTC, SOL/ETH, APE/BNB
• Applicable for users who hold a certain coin and wish to exchange it for another coin, commonly seen in arbitrage and asset allocation.
3. Fiat Trading Pairs (Certain Platforms)
• For example: BTC/USD, BTC/EUR (limited to KYC platforms like Coinbase, Kraken)
• Provide a channel for direct exchange with real-world currency.
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3. How to Choose a Trading Pair?
Choosing the right trading pair is more important than guessing price movements:
1. Select pairs with high liquidity: Such as BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, SOL/USDT, which have low slippage and fast entry/exit.
2. Observe trading pairs when new coins are listed: Is it mainly paired with USDT? Are there pairs with BTC or ETH? This reflects institutional interest.
3. Trading pairs with high volatility are suitable for short-term operations: Such as MEME/USDT, AI/USDT, GAME/USDT.
4. Choose currencies based on capital flow direction: In a bull market, prefer to use USDT to buy coins; in a bear market, consider using BTC or ETH to buy anti-dip coins.
5. Avoid obscure pairs with poor liquidity: Such as certain small coins paired with USD or TRX, which can be easily manipulated by market makers.
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4. Trading Pairs in Contract Trading
In the contract market (such as Binance Futures), trading pairs are mostly labeled in the form of "Perpetual Contracts", indicated as:
• BTCUSDT Perpetual: BTC contract priced in USDT
• ETHUSD Perpetual: USD priced but settled in coins (inverse contract)
When choosing trading pairs for contracts, you should pay attention to:
• Whether it’s USDT-based (for easier profit and loss calculations) or coin-based (using BTC or ETH as collateral)
• How leverage limits, margin modes, and liquidation price logic may differ.
