Plain-English
crypto terminology
Order types, fee tiers, custody terms — the jargon you'll run into, defined without the buzzwords.
A
API key
A pair of strings (key + secret) that lets a bot or third-party tool act on your account. Every key is scoped (read-only / trade / withdraw) and can be locked to specific IP addresses. Generate from Account → Security → API keys.
C
Cold storage
Keys held offline, typically in geographically distributed multi-sig hardware wallets. Withdrawals from cold storage to hot wallets require manual approval and rate-limit signing.
F
Funding rate
A periodic payment between long and short holders of a perpetual contract, sized to keep the perp's price tethered to spot. Positive funding means longs pay shorts; negative means the reverse. We update funding every 8 hours.
L
Limit order
An order to buy or sell at a specified price or better. Sits in the book until matched or cancelled. Doesn't move the market on its own; can be partially filled.
Liquidation
Forced closing of a margin position when its collateral falls below maintenance margin. The exchange's liquidation engine takes over the position and unwinds it; any deficit is covered by the insurance fund.
M
Maker / Taker
A maker order adds liquidity to the order book (it sits there waiting). A taker order removes liquidity (it crosses the spread and fills immediately). Maker fees are usually lower because makers improve the book.
Margin (cross / isolated)
Cross-margin: all collateral in the margin wallet backs every position; one losing trade can eat into another's margin. Isolated: each position has its own walled-off collateral; the worst case is losing that position's margin.
O
Order book
The list of all unfilled buy orders (bids) and sell orders (asks) on a market, sorted by price. The top of the book is the best bid and best ask; their difference is the spread.
S
Slashing
A penalty applied to a staking validator that misbehaves (downtime, double-signing). A portion of the validator's stake — and your delegated stake — is destroyed by the protocol.
Slippage
The difference between the expected price of a market order and the price at which it actually fills, caused by the order eating through multiple book levels. Bigger orders → more slippage.
Spot trading
Buying or selling a crypto asset for immediate settlement at the current market price. No leverage, no liquidations, no funding — just the asset for cash (or another asset).
U
Utilization rate
For lending markets: the fraction of supplied funds that's currently borrowed. Higher utilization → higher borrow APY → higher supply APY → equilibrium. Stablecoins typically run at 75–85% utilization.
W
WebSocket
A bidirectional connection that pushes order book updates and trade events to a client in real time. Faster than polling REST, and the canonical way to consume live market data on bitexasia.