Understanding Spot Trading: Your Complete Trading Guide

If you’re new to cryptocurrency trading, spot trading represents one of the most straightforward entry points. This guide walks you through every essential step to get started with spot trading on a major exchange, from selecting trading pairs to managing your orders effectively.

What is Spot Trading and Why Start Here?

Spot trading involves buying and selling cryptocurrencies for immediate delivery at current market prices. Unlike margin or futures trading, spot trading is direct: you own the assets you purchase. This makes spot trading ideal for beginners who want to build their cryptocurrency portfolio without leverage complexity.

When you navigate the trading interface, you’ll notice each trading pair displays the last traded price and 24-hour percentage change. Some pairs may show a “10x” label, indicating they support margin trading as well, but for basic spot trading, you’ll focus on standard pairs.

Finding and Selecting Your Trading Pairs

The first step in any trading session is choosing which cryptocurrency pair to trade. On the left sidebar, locate the dropdown menu for trading pairs. This displays all available options along with their current pricing information and recent performance metrics.

To quickly navigate to your desired pair:

• Use the search functionality to type the specific trading pair name directly
• Review the 24-hour price change percentage to gauge recent market activity
• Identify which pairs offer margin capabilities (marked with “10x” if available)

Understanding the difference between standard spot trading and spot margin trading is important—visit the help center resources for detailed comparisons with futures trading if you need additional context.

Creating and Submitting Orders

Before placing any order, confirm you’re in the Spot tab. The platform offers multiple order types, each serving different trading strategies.

For a Market Order approach:

Step 1 - Choose Your Action: Decide whether you want to buy or sell your selected cryptocurrency.

Step 2 - Enter Your Trade Details: Specify either the order value (for purchases) or quantity (for sales). Your decision determines the immediate execution parameters. If using alternative order types like Limit Orders or Conditional Orders, you’ll need to add price information or trigger conditions.

Step 3 - Review Before Confirming: A confirmation window appears displaying all your order specifics. Double-check that everything matches your intentions before clicking to finalize your purchase or sale. Once confirmed, your order enters the system and processes immediately.

Important Note: When selecting 100% of your available balance for a market order, slight discrepancies may occur between the displayed maximum and what the system calculates. This built-in buffer protects your order execution against rapid price fluctuations, ensuring smooth processing even during volatile moments.

Managing Your Active and Completed Orders

After placing orders, you’ll want to track their progress and history across your trading activity.

Monitoring Current Orders:

• Access the Current Orders tab to see all orders awaiting execution or conditional triggers
• Select the Show all trading pairs option to consolidate views across all your active positions
• Use the pencil icon beside any order to edit parameters like price, trigger conditions, or quantities

Reviewing Historical Data:

• Switch to the Order History or Trade History tabs to examine past trading activity
• Recent data extends up to 50 records covering the previous six months
• Check Show all trading pairs to see complete history across your full portfolio
• For data extending beyond six months, access the dedicated All Orders page for comprehensive records

Canceling Orders When You Change Your Mind

Market conditions shift rapidly, and you may need to cancel existing orders to adjust your strategy.

To Exit an Order:

• Navigate to the Current Orders tab
• Click the Cancel button beside the specific order you want to remove

To Clear Multiple Orders:

• Use the Cancel All option in the upper right area to exit multiple orders simultaneously
• Note: If you’ve activated the Show all trading pairs view, Cancel All removes orders across your entire portfolio, not just the current pair

Additional Resources: Understanding fee structures, trading rules, and frequently asked questions helps optimize your spot trading experience. Explore guides covering spot trading fees, regulatory rules, and common questions to develop more informed trading practices as you progress beyond the basics.

Starting with spot trading provides a foundation for understanding cryptocurrency markets and exchange mechanics before exploring more advanced strategies.