Beginners are often confused by the term "trading pair" — what do BTC/USDT, ETH/BTC actually mean? It's actually quite simple to understand. If you don't have an account yet, register on Binance so you can follow along, and you can also download the Binance APP for a more intuitive experience on your phone.
The Basic Concept of Trading Pairs
A trading pair is simply the exchange relationship between two coins — similar to exchanging foreign currency at a bank. For example, the BTC/USDT trading pair:
- BTC on the left is called the "base currency" — the coin you want to buy or sell
- USDT on the right is called the "quote currency" — the coin used for pricing and settlement
So BTC/USDT means: buying and selling BTC using USDT. If the price shows 60,000, it means 1 BTC is worth 60,000 USDT.
Common Trading Pair Types
USDT Trading Pairs
These are the most commonly used, where you buy various coins with USDT:
- BTC/USDT: Buy and sell Bitcoin with USDT
- ETH/USDT: Buy and sell Ethereum with USDT
- BNB/USDT: Buy and sell BNB with USDT
Most people use USDT pairs because USDT is pegged to the US dollar, making it easy to calculate profit and loss.
BTC Trading Pairs
These use Bitcoin to buy and sell other coins. For example, ETH/BTC means buying and selling ETH with BTC. These pairs suit people who hold BTC and want to swap into other coins.
BNB Trading Pairs
These use Binance's platform coin BNB to trade other coins, with the benefit of trading fee discounts.
FDUSD Trading Pairs
FDUSD is another stablecoin. Some pairs are priced in FDUSD and may occasionally have fee promotion events.
How to Select Trading Pairs on Binance
On Binance's trading page, you'll see different tabs at the top: USDT, BTC, BNB, etc. Tap the corresponding tab to see all trading pairs priced in that currency.
You can also type a coin name directly into the search box, and the system will list all trading pairs containing that coin.
How to Read Trading Pair Prices
Using BTC/USDT as an example, if the current price is 60,000:
- Buying BTC: You spend 60,000 USDT to get 1 BTC
- Selling BTC: You sell 1 BTC and receive 60,000 USDT
When the price rises from 60,000 to 65,000, it means BTC has appreciated by 8.3%.
A Small Detail
The same coin may show different price movements across different trading pairs. For example, ETH/USDT might be up 5%, while ETH/BTC might be down 2%, because BTC may have risen even more. So always check which trading pair you're looking at when evaluating gains or losses.
Advice for Beginners
If you're new to crypto trading, start with USDT pairs. The reasons are simple:
- USDT has a stable price, making it easy to calculate profit and loss
- USDT pairs have the highest trading volume, so trades execute quickly
- Most coins have USDT pairs, giving you the widest selection
Once you're comfortable with the trading process, you can explore other types of trading pairs.