#TradingPairs101 Trading pairs are fundamental to understanding how cryptocurrencies and other assets are exchanged on a trading platform. Essentially, a trading pair consists of two different currencies or assets that can be traded for each other, with the price of one quoted in terms of the other. The most common example is a fiat-to-crypto pair, like BTC/USD, where Bitcoin (BTC) is the base currency and its value is expressed in US Dollars (USD), the quote currency. This signifies how many US dollars one Bitcoin is worth.

Conversely, crypto-to-crypto pairs, such as ETH/BTC, allow traders to exchange one cryptocurrency directly for another, indicating how much Bitcoin is needed to purchase one Ethereum. The first currency in the pair is always the base currency, which you are buying or selling, while the second is the quote currency, which is used to price the base currency. The selection of available trading pairs varies significantly between exchanges and dictates which assets can be directly exchanged without converting to an intermediate currency. Understanding these pairs is crucial for executing trades, analyzing market movements, and identifying arbitrage opportunities, as the relative strength of one asset against another is constantly reflected in the trading pair's price.