Learn · Educational Guide
Reading a Crypto Order Book
CryptoNewsSignal Editorial · Oct 5, 2026
A crypto order book shows open buy and sell orders for an asset on an exchange.
It helps traders see where other market participants are currently willing to buy or sell.
Bids and Asks
The two main sides are:
- Bids: prices buyers are offering.
- Asks: prices sellers are requesting.
The highest bid and lowest ask are usually closest to the current market price.
The difference between them is called the spread.
What Is Market Depth?
Market depth describes how much buying and selling liquidity exists at different prices.
A deep market has many orders near the current price.
A thin market has fewer.
Large trades can have a bigger effect on price when liquidity is thin.
This is called slippage.
Simple Example
Imagine ETH trades around $2,700.
If there are plenty of sell orders between $2,700 and $2,705, a large purchase may have only a small effect.
If there are very few sellers, the same purchase could move through multiple price levels.
This is why trading volume and order-book depth are not the same thing.
Our recent Ethereum analysis discusses exactly this issue.
Understanding the underlying asset is equally important. Start with What Is Ethereum?
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