Bid
Published Last updated
Key Takeaway
The highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay for a cryptocurrency on an exchange, representing the best available purchase offer in the order book at any given moment.
Learn These First
What Is Bid?
The highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay for a cryptocurrency on an exchange, representing the best available purchase offer in the order book at any given moment.
How Bid Works
Frequently Asked Questions
What does bid mean in crypto trading?
In crypto trading, the bid is the highest price that a buyer currently has on offer in the order book for a specific cryptocurrency. It is the best price you will receive if you want to sell immediately using a market sell order. The bid is always lower than the ask, which is the lowest price a seller will accept. The difference between the bid and ask is called the spread. When you look at a crypto price quote and see two prices displayed side by side, the lower number is the bid and the higher number is the ask.
If I want to sell crypto, do I get the bid price or the ask price?
When you place a market sell order, you receive the current bid price — the highest price a buyer is currently offering in the order book. You do not receive the ask price, which represents seller offers, nor the mid-price often shown on charts. This is why the price you see quoted and the price you actually sell at can differ slightly. To sell at the ask price or higher, you would need to place a limit sell order and wait for a buyer willing to pay your specified price, which may take time or may not happen at all.
Why does the bid price keep changing on my exchange?
The bid price changes continuously because the order book is live and dynamic. Every time a new buyer places a limit order above the current best bid, that order becomes the new bid. Every time a seller's market order fills against the best bid and consumes it, the next-highest buy order in the queue becomes the new bid. Cancellations of existing buy orders also affect the bid. In active markets trading major cryptocurrencies, the bid can refresh dozens of times per second as participants constantly adjust their positions and intentions in response to market movements.
Common Misconceptions About Bid
The bid price is the current market price of the cryptocurrency.
The bid is one of two prices that together define the market — not the market price on its own. The true market price is typically considered the last traded price or the mid-price between the bid and ask. The bid specifically represents what buyers are currently offering, which is always lower than the ask. Charts and price tickers usually display the last traded price, which may sit anywhere between the bid and ask, not necessarily equal to either. Conflating the bid with the market price leads to inaccurate sell price expectations.
The bid price is what I pay when I buy cryptocurrency.
When you buy cryptocurrency using a market order, you pay the ask price — the lowest price a seller is willing to accept — not the bid. The bid is the price relevant to sellers. Buyers pay the ask; sellers receive the bid. This distinction is the foundation of understanding the spread and why trading always involves a small immediate cost equal to the spread. New traders who assume they buy and sell at the same mid-price are often surprised to find their trade executed at slightly different prices on each side.
A higher bid price always means more people want to buy the asset.
A higher bid price reflects that buyers are competing more aggressively for the asset at that moment, but it does not directly indicate the number of buyers. One large buyer bidding aggressively can push the bid higher just as effectively as many smaller buyers. Conversely, market sentiment, news events, or large sell pressure can cause the bid to fall rapidly. The total quantity available at the bid level — visible in the order book — is a better measure of buy-side commitment than the bid price level alone.