Crypto Market Metrics & Trading Terms Explained

Understanding crypto markets means learning more than just whether a coin's price is going up or down. Investors use dozens of market metrics and trading terms to measure a project's size, liquidity, popularity, and potential risk.

Whether you're comparing cryptocurrencies, placing your first trade, or analysing DeFi protocols, knowing what these terms mean can help you make more informed decisions. This guide explains the most common crypto market metrics, trading terminology, and yield calculations you'll come across, along with why they matter.

Reading the market

Crypto data platforms display a huge range of statistics, but not every metric measures the same thing. Some describe a cryptocurrency's size, others measure liquidity or adoption, while others help compare projects. Here are the most common market metrics you'll encounter.

All-Time High (ATH)

An all-time high (ATH) is the highest price a cryptocurrency has ever reached. Investors often compare the current price to its ATH to gauge how far it has risen or fallen over time.

All-Time Low (ATL)

An all-time low (ATL) is the lowest recorded price of a cryptocurrency since it began trading.

Circulating Supply

Circulating supply is the number of coins or tokens currently available to the public and actively circulating in the market. It excludes locked, burned, or unreleased tokens.

Daily Trading Volume

Daily trading volume measures the total value of a cryptocurrency traded over the past 24 hours. Higher trading volume generally indicates greater market activity and liquidity.

Fully Diluted Value (FDV)

Fully diluted value estimates a cryptocurrency's market capitalisation if every possible token in its maximum supply were already circulating.

Formula: Current token price × Maximum supply

Hard Cap

A hard cap is the maximum amount of money a crypto project aims to raise during a token sale. Once the hard cap is reached, no additional investment is accepted.

Hidden Cap

A hidden cap is a fundraising limit that isn't publicly disclosed during a token sale. Some projects use hidden caps to discourage speculative investing, although the practice is less common today.

Market Capitalisation

Market capitalisation (market cap) represents the total value of a cryptocurrency currently in circulation.

Formula: Current token price × Circulating supply

Market cap is commonly used to compare the relative size of different cryptocurrencies.

Maximum Supply

Maximum supply is the total number of coins or tokens that can ever exist. Some cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, have a fixed maximum supply, while others do not.

Mid Cap

Mid-cap cryptocurrencies are projects with a medium-sized market capitalisation. While definitions vary, they're generally considered riskier than large-cap assets but more established than small-cap projects.

Rank

Rank refers to where a cryptocurrency sits compared to others, usually based on market capitalisation. Bitcoin, for example, has consistently held the number one ranking.

Soft Cap

A soft cap is the minimum amount a project aims to raise during a token sale to proceed with development.

Total Exchange Volume

Total exchange volume measures the combined trading volume across cryptocurrency exchanges over a given period. It provides a snapshot of overall market activity.

Total Supply

Total supply refers to the number of coins or tokens that currently exist, including those locked or reserved, but excluding permanently burned tokens.

Total Value Locked (TVL)

Total value locked (TVL) measures the total value of assets deposited into a DeFi protocol. It's widely used to compare the size and adoption of lending platforms, decentralised exchanges, and staking protocols.

Trade Volume

Trade volume refers to the amount of a specific cryptocurrency traded during a selected period. Higher trade volume often makes it easier to buy or sell without significantly affecting the price. The most common periods are 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days, and 90 days.

Trading terms

Whether you're buying your first cryptocurrency or actively trading, you'll come across a range of terms describing how markets and orders work.

AOT Transaction

An AOT (All-Or-None Transaction) requires an order to be filled completely before it executes. If the full amount can't be bought or sold, the trade won't occur.

Ask Price

The ask price is the lowest price a seller is currently willing to accept for an asset.

Average Selling Price

Average selling price is the average price at which an investor sells their holdings across multiple transactions.

Bid Price

The bid price is the highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay for an asset.

Bid-Ask Spread

The bid-ask spread is the difference between the highest bid price and the lowest ask price. Smaller spreads usually indicate more liquid markets.

Buy Wall

A buy wall is a large buy order placed at a specific price level. It can temporarily act as price support because of the significant buying demand.

Fee Tiers

Many exchanges offer fee tiers, where trading fees decrease as your monthly trading volume increases or if you hold the platform's native token.

Fiat

Fiat refers to government-issued currencies such as US dollars.

Gas Limit

Gas limit is the maximum amount of computational work you're willing to pay for when submitting a blockchain transaction.

Gas Price

Gas price is the amount paid per unit of gas to process a blockchain transaction. Higher gas prices generally result in faster confirmation times.

In-the-Money (ITM)

In-the-money describes an option that would currently be profitable if exercised immediately.

Limit Order

A limit order lets you specify the exact price at which you want to buy or sell an asset. The trade will only execute if the market reaches that price.

Loan-to-Value (LTV)

Loan-to-value (LTV) measures how much has been borrowed compared to the value of the collateral securing the loan.

Formula: Loan amount ÷ Collateral value × 100

Higher LTV ratios generally indicate greater liquidation risk.

Market Order

A market order buys or sells immediately at the best available market price.

Off-Ramp

An off-ramp is a service that converts cryptocurrency into fiat currency and transfers it to a bank account or payment provider.

OCO Order

An OCO (One Cancels the Other) order combines two orders. If one executes, the other is automatically cancelled.

On-Ramp

An on-ramp is a service that allows users to purchase cryptocurrency using fiat currency.

Open/Close

Opening a position means entering a trade by buying or selling an asset. Closing a position means exiting that trade.

Order Book

An order book is a live list of all outstanding buy and sell orders on an exchange.

Out-of-the-Money (OTM)

Out-of-the-money describes an option that would not currently be profitable if exercised.

Over-the-Counter (OTC)

Over-the-counter (OTC) trading allows buyers and sellers to trade directly instead of using a public exchange order book. OTC desks are commonly used for large trades to reduce market impact.

Slippage

Slippage is the difference between the expected execution price and the actual price at which a trade is completed. Low liquidity and volatile markets often increase slippage.

Spreads

A spread is simply the difference between two prices, most commonly the bid price and ask price.

Stop Loss Order

A stop loss order automatically sells an asset once it reaches a specified price, helping limit potential losses.

Take Profit Order

A take profit order automatically closes a position once a target price is reached, locking in gains.

Ticker

A ticker is the short trading symbol used to identify a cryptocurrency, such as BTC for Bitcoin or ETH for Ethereum.

Trading Pair

A trading pair shows which two assets can be exchanged on an exchange.

For example, the trading pair ETH/BTC allows traders to exchange Ether directly for Bitcoin without first converting to fiat currency.

Trading Volume

Trading volume measures the total quantity or value of an asset traded over a given period. High trading volume generally indicates strong market participation.

52-Week High/Low

The 52-week high and low show the highest and lowest prices an asset has traded at over the previous 12 months.

52-Week Range

The 52-week range is the difference between an asset's highest and lowest prices during the past year, helping investors understand historical volatility.

Yield metrics

Yield and return metrics help investors compare the performance of investments, lending strategies, and staking opportunities over time.

Abnormal Return

Abnormal return is the difference between an investment's actual return and its expected return based on market performance.

Absolute Return

Absolute return measures the total gain or loss of an investment over a specific period without comparing it to a benchmark.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

APR measures the annual return on an investment without taking compounding into account. It's commonly used for crypto lending and staking rewards.

Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

APY measures annual returns while including the effects of compound interest. As a result, APY is usually higher than APR when rewards are regularly reinvested.

Annualised Rate of Return

The annualised rate of return converts an investment's overall return into an equivalent yearly rate, making investments with different holding periods easier to compare.

Average Annual Growth Rate (AAGR)

AAGR calculates the average yearly growth rate of an investment over multiple years.

Average Annual Return

Average annual return is the arithmetic average of an investment's yearly returns over a given period.

Maximum Extractable Value (MEV)

Maximum extractable value (MEV) refers to the additional profit that validators or block producers can earn by reordering, inserting, or excluding transactions before they're confirmed on-chain.

Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI measures how much profit or loss an investment has generated relative to its original cost.

Formula: (Profit ÷ Initial investment) × 100

Yield Curve

A yield curve plots interest rates across different borrowing periods. While it's traditionally associated with bond markets, similar concepts are increasingly discussed in DeFi lending markets when comparing yields across different lending durations.

Don’t forget the tax bill…

Don’t forget, if you’re trading crypto, you may have a tax bill.

Learn more in our guides, but taxes generally arise when you sell, trade, or earn crypto. If you've traded across multiple exchanges, wallets, and DeFi protocols, Koinly can automatically import your transactions, calculate your gains, losses, and crypto income, and generate tax reports to make filing much easier.