Trades in Crypto

A trade is an executed transaction where a buyer and seller match at a price for a quantity at a specific time on a venue (e.g., an exchange). Trade data (often called trade prints) typically includes price, size/quantity, symbol/instrument, venue/exchange, and one or more timestamps (and sometimes side/taker/maker information when the venue provides it).

In cryptocurrency markets, trades are generated whenever orders match in the order book (or when a venue reports an OTC execution). Traders analyze trades to understand market activity, liquidity, and realized prices.

Trade prints and common fields

Depending on the exchange and data vendor, a trade record may include:

• Price
• Size / quantity
• Symbol / instrument
• Venue / exchange
• Trade ID / sequence number
• Timestamp(s) (event time and/or received time)
• Side (buy/sell) or taker side (when available)

Positions (long/short) vs. trades

You may hear people describe being long or short. These refer to a trader’s position/exposure (expecting price to rise or fall), not the definition of a trade itself.

• Long position: holding/buying with the expectation that the price will rise.
• Short position: selling/borrowing (or using derivatives) with the expectation that the price will fall.

A long or short exposure can be created via spot trading or derivatives; in all cases, the underlying market data still consists of executed trades (prints).

Things to Remember

• A trade is an executed match (price, size, time, venue) — not a strategy.
• Trade prints are used to study market activity and realized execution prices.
• Long/short describe positions, which are separate from the trade definition.