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What is spot trading?
Spot trading is buying or selling an asset for immediate delivery at the current price, so the buyer gets the asset itself rather than a contract tied to its price. On a crypto exchange, a spot trade swaps one currency for another, such as dollars for a coin, without borrowing.
What it means for you
Bought on the spot market with your own money, the most you can lose is what you paid: there is no margin call and no forced liquidation. If the coin stays on the exchange, the exchange holds it for you; withdrawing it to your own wallet is a separate step that can carry a fee.
How it works
Markets divide into the cash or spot market, where the actual asset changes hands for immediate delivery and payment, and derivatives markets, where people trade contracts such as futures and options. The spot price is the price for immediate delivery at a given time and place. A futures price can sit above or below it, and the two tend to converge as the contract nears delivery. A spot buyer holds a long position in the plainest sense: they own the asset and gain if its price rises.
Sources: CFTC Glossary, Investor.gov: Stock Purchases and Sales: Long and Short · checked 4 October 2026
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