In the cryptocurrency market, what you are buying and selling is not 'coins', but trading pairs (Trading Pair).

The choice of trading pair not only affects the price at which you place orders but also impacts the logic of your profit and loss, liquidity depth, and capital allocation efficiency.

Today, Sister Mao will take you from 0 to 1, understanding the underlying logic of trading pairs 👇

🧠 What is a trading pair? (Base Asset vs Quote Asset)

A trading pair refers to what coin you use to buy/sell another coin.

📌 It consists of two parts:

  • Base Asset: The cryptocurrency you want to trade, such as BTC.

  • Quote Asset: The currency you use to measure/settle, such as USDT.

➡️ For example, BTC/USDT:

You use USDT to buy BTC, 1 BTC = xxx USDT.

➡️ For example, ETH/BTC:

You use BTC to buy ETH, 1 ETH = xxx BTC.

🧩 Why does the choice of trading pair affect your profit and loss?

Because your profit and loss are settled in the pricing currency.


For example:

Assuming you use BTC to buy ETH (ETH/BTC), ETH rises, but BTC rises even faster, leading you to lose in the pricing currency (BTC).


📍So clarify: do you want to earn the value of USDT? Or do you want to accumulate more BTC?

🧭 I prefer trading 'stablecoin trading pairs' (like ETH/USDT) for three reasons:


1️⃣ Clearer returns: Profit and loss are settled in USDT, making it easier to record and backtest.

2️⃣ Clearer risk control: Stop-loss ratio and position control are intuitively easy to calculate.

3️⃣ Purity of volatility: Only influenced by the price change of one coin, unaffected by fluctuations in the base coin's value.


But I will also use BTC or ETH to price in specific scenarios:

  • Implement a medium to long-term BTC appreciation strategy.

  • Want to switch between strong and weak coins during fluctuations (like swapping ETH when BTC is high).

🧠 How to choose the most suitable trading pair? You can use this method:


✅ 1. Clarify goals

Do you want to earn stablecoins? Or do you want to accumulate ETH or BTC-denominated assets?

✅ 2. Assess market structure

  • Bull Market: Suitable for chasing coins/pairs with large volatility.

  • Bear Market: Prioritize stablecoin pairs, focusing on preserving value.

✅ 3. Assess exchange depth

Prioritize trading pairs with good liquidity (main exchange/large coins/USDT trading area).

✅ 4. Pay attention to rate differences and spreads

Some platforms have lower ETH/BTC transaction fees, but slippage may be larger; you need to combine your judgment.

💬 Practical experience sharing:

I once chose the wrong trading pair on a small coin that had a significant increase.

I should have used USDT to buy, but I chose the ETH trading pair instead. At that time, ETH was dropping; although the coin price rose, I ended up with a negative profit and loss when priced in ETH.

📍Conclusion: The direction is correct, but the pricing is wrong.

✅ Small exercise:

You currently hold a altcoin A, and you see it rising against both USDT and BTC; which trading pair should you sell it with?

If you want to recover USDT, use A/USDT;

If you want to accumulate BTC-denominated assets, then choose A/BTC.

📌 Behind the trading pair is your clarity and self-control regarding 'account goals'.

📢 What is your most frequently used trading pair? Have you ever chosen the wrong trading pair, missing out on profits even when the price went up?

Bring #交易对 to share your experience, helping more traders avoid detours! #交易类型解析与策略