Markets
What you trade — beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
Beginner — What is a market?
What is a market?
A market is a place where buyers and sellers meet to exchange assets at an agreed price. In finance, markets exist for stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, and crypto. Prices move because supply and demand shift constantly.
Spot vs. futures
Spot trading means you buy the asset itself and own it. Futures trading means you agree to buy/sell at a future date at a set price — you can trade direction (long/short) and use leverage, but you do not own the underlying.
Asset classes
Stocks (equities), forex (currencies), commodities (gold, oil), indices (S&P 500), and crypto (Bitcoin, altcoins). Each has different hours, volatility, and tick sizes.
Market hours
Stocks trade ~9:30–16:00 ET. Forex is 24/5. Crypto is 24/7. Knowing when a market is open tells you when liquidity and volatility are highest.
Intermediate — Market structure
Order book & liquidity
The order book lists resting buy (bid) and sell (ask) orders. Liquidity is how much you can trade at a given price without moving it. Deep books = low slippage.
Bid/ask spread
The spread is ask − bid. Tight spreads mean low cost to enter/exit. Wide spreads signal low liquidity — avoid market orders there.
Market vs. limit orders
Market orders fill immediately at the best price (taker, pays fee). Limit orders rest on the book (maker, lower fee) and only fill when price reaches your level.
Slippage & fees
Slippage is the difference between expected and filled price. Fees are charged per trade. Both eat into returns — especially at high frequency.
Advanced — Market microstructure
Funding & basis
In perpetual futures, funding rates keep the contract price anchored to spot. Positive funding = longs pay shorts. Basis = futures − spot.
Open interest & volume
Open interest (OI) is total open contracts. Rising OI + rising price = trend strength. OI + volume together signal conviction.
Market regimes
Markets alternate between trending (higher highs/lows) and ranging (sideways). Mean-reversion strategies win in ranges; trend strategies win in trends. Knowing the regime is half the edge.
Volatility regimes
Low volatility (squeeze) precedes breakouts. High volatility means wider stops and larger moves. Match your strategy to the volatility, not the other way around.
Ready to practise?
Apply what you learn on the paper trading simulator with real market data and zero risk.