Unsure about what we mean by bid and ask? This helpful article breaks it down for you.

If you’re reading this article, you may have questions about how order books work and how what we mean by “bid” and “ask”. Thankfully, this is all pretty simple.

Ask VS Bid

An Ask

An ask is the price the seller is asking for by selling you the asset in question.

A Bid

A bid is the price buyers are bidding to buy from you.

Any bids and asks in the order book are waiting to be executed, or filled.

When placing a limit order, you can add your own order to the asks if you’re selling or add to the bids if you’re buying. Then wait until your order is filled.

When placing a market order, you can buy or sell right away from the available asks or bids without needing to wait.