The spread in simplest terms is the difference between two prices. The general difference is between the price the seller is asking for and what the buyer is willing to pay.

There is no set spread, even when you are exchanging between the same two assets. The spreads change based on liquidity and market conditions all the time. When markets are more volatile, spreads will vary more and more.

Although spreads can vary greatly based on market conditions, In FEX, the exact amount of crypto you will be exchanging and the exact amount of crypto you will receive will be shown to you on the exchange section of the wallet before you exchange so you can decide if you want to make the trade or not.

What does a high spread mean?

There is a bigger difference between what the seller asks for and what the buyer is willing to pay.

What causes the spread to be higher?

When this happens, it is usually because of the following:

1. The market is volatile
2. Less popular assets where there is not a lot of buyers and sellers.

When is the spread higher?

There is no definitive answer to this question as it completely depends on market conditions and in fact this is not just the case with cryptocurrencies but also the traditional finance system. As a general rule you can look out for the following:

• Assets that are not as popular will have a higher spread associated with them.
• As the prices of the assets you want to exchange gain volatility, the spreads will become larger. This means that all crypto-related exchanges are subject to this as the entire crypto market is still young and extremely volatile so the volatility increases and decreases all the time.

What does a low spread mean?

There is a small difference between what the seller asks for and what the buyer is willing to pay.

What causes the spread to be lower?

When this happens, it is usually because of the following:

1. The market is less volatile
2. More popular assets where there is a lot of buyers and sellers.

When is the spread lower?

Just like the explanation for the spread being higher, there is also no definitive answer to this question again, as it completely depends on market conditions. As a general rule you can look out for the following:

• Assets that are more popular will have a lower spread associated with them.
• As the prices of the assets you want to exchange lose volatility, the spreads will become smaller. This means that all crypto-related exchanges are subject to this as the entire crypto market is still young and extremely volatile so the volatility increases and decreases all the time.

What you see is what you get in FEX

In FEX, you have the chance to see what the spread is before you make the exchange. You can clearly see what you are exchanging and what you will get back. You can see both the crypto value of the exchange as well as your chosen fiat value. This will ensure you have all the information available to decide whether you want to perform the exchange or not.