Learn the Terms
This page explains the main market and execution terms used inside TradeCompareIQ.
Venue
A venue is a trading platform or exchange where an asset can be bought or sold.
Example: Binance, OKX, Bybit, Kraken, Coinbase, and KuCoin are venues.
Asset
An asset is the digital asset being compared.
Example: BTC, ETH, or SOL.
Symbol
A symbol is the market pair used for the comparison.
Example: BTCUSDT means Bitcoin priced against USDT.
BUY
BUY means the user wants to spend USDT to acquire an asset.
Example: Spend 1,000 USDT to buy BTC.
SELL
SELL means the user wants to sell an asset and receive USDT.
Example: Sell 1 BTC and receive USDT.
Fill
Fill means how much of the requested order can be executed using the available market liquidity.
Example: A 100% fill means the venue appears to have enough liquidity for the full selected amount.
Fill %
Fill % shows the estimated percentage of the order that can be executed.
Example: A 75% fill means only around three quarters of the requested order appears executable based on available data.
Fee
A fee is the estimated trading cost charged by the venue for executing the order.
Example: If the trade value is 1,000 USDT and the estimated fee is 1 USDT, the fee is 1 USDT.
Fee Rate
Fee rate is the fee expressed as a percentage of the order value.
Example: A 0.10% fee rate means the estimated fee is 1 USDT on a 1,000 USDT order.
Bid
The bid is the highest price buyers are currently willing to pay for an asset.
For SELL comparisons: the bid is important because selling usually executes against available buy orders.
Ask
The ask is the lowest price sellers are currently willing to accept for an asset.
For BUY comparisons: the ask is important because buying usually executes against available sell orders.
Spread
Spread is the difference between the best ask price and the best bid price.
Example: If the best bid is 99 and the best ask is 100, the spread is 1.
Spread %
Spread % shows the spread as a percentage of the market price.
Why it matters: a smaller spread usually means tighter pricing and better immediate execution conditions.
Slippage
Slippage is the estimated difference between the top visible price and the average executable price for the selected order size.
Why it matters: larger orders may consume multiple price levels, causing the final average price to be worse than the top-of-book price.
Order Book
An order book is the list of available buy and sell orders at different price levels on a venue.
Why it matters: the order book helps estimate whether an order can be filled and at what average price.
Levels
Levels are the different price points in the order book.
Example: If BTC can be bought at 100,000, 100,010, and 100,020, those are separate ask levels.
Depth
Depth means the amount of liquidity available at each price level or across the order book.
Why it matters: deeper markets can usually handle larger orders with less slippage.
Top of Book
Top of book means the best available bid and ask price currently shown by a venue.
Important: the top-of-book price may not be enough to execute the full order size.
Executable Price
Executable price is the estimated average price that can actually be achieved for the selected order size.
Why it matters: TradeCompareIQ compares estimated execution outcomes, not just the headline top price.
Average Execution Price
Average execution price is the estimated weighted average price after the order consumes available liquidity.
Example: If part of a BUY order fills at 100 and the rest fills at 101, the average execution price will be between 100 and 101.
Liquidity
Liquidity means how much buying or selling interest is available in the market.
Why it matters: higher liquidity usually improves the chance of filling larger orders with less slippage.
Estimated Asset Received
Estimated asset received is the amount of asset the user is expected to receive after a BUY comparison.
Example: For a BTC BUY order, this estimates how much BTC may be received.
Estimated USDT Received
Estimated USDT received is the amount of USDT the user is expected to receive after a SELL comparison.
Example: For a BTC SELL order, this estimates how much USDT may be received.
Net Proceeds
Net proceeds means the estimated amount received after execution costs are considered.
For SELL comparisons: TradeCompareIQ looks for the venue with the strongest estimated net proceeds.
Total Cost
Total cost is the estimated full cost of a BUY order after execution-related costs are considered.
For BUY comparisons: TradeCompareIQ looks for the venue with the lowest estimated total acquisition cost.
Best Venue
Best venue is the venue with the strongest estimated execution outcome for the selected asset, direction, amount, venues, and time window.
Important: the best venue can change when market conditions, liquidity, spreads, fees, or order size change.
Current / Live
Current or live means the comparison uses the latest available market data.
Why it matters: live data can change quickly as order books update.
4-hour Window
The 4-hour window uses stored observations from the last 4 hours.
Why it matters: it helps show which venue performed better over a short recent period rather than at one instant only.
Today Window
The today window uses stored observations from the current UTC day.
Why it matters: it helps compare venue performance during the current trading day.
1-week Window
The 1-week window uses stored observations from approximately the last 7 days.
Why it matters: it helps compare venue performance across a wider recent period while still focusing on current market conditions.
1-month Window
The 1-month window uses stored observations from approximately the last 30 days.
Why it matters: it helps show which venue has more consistently produced stronger estimated outcomes over a wider recent period.outcomes over time.
Nearest Pre-calculated Bucket
Stored time-window results use the nearest pre-calculated USDT amount bucket.
Example: If the user enters 95,000 USDT, TradeCompareIQ may use the nearest available stored bucket, such as 100,000 USDT, for 4-hour, today, 1-week, and 1-month results.
Important: Live results use the exact amount entered by the user.
Insufficient Liquidity
Insufficient liquidity means the venue does not appear to have enough available order book depth to execute the selected amount properly.
Why it matters: a venue with an attractive headline price should not win if it cannot support the order size.
Estimated Result
An estimated result is a calculation based on available market data and assumptions.
Important: TradeCompareIQ does not execute trades, guarantee prices, guarantee fills, or provide financial advice.