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Wash trading
Wash trading is buying and selling the same asset with yourself, or with a partner, to create the appearance of trading without any real change in ownership or risk. It inflates reported volume and can make an asset or exchange look more popular and liquid than it is.
What it means for you. Volume figures can be faked, so high volume alone does not show you could sell a large amount at the quoted price. A peer-reviewed study found wash trading made up most of the reported volume on the unregulated crypto exchanges it examined. Order book depth and the spread say more about whether you can sell than headline volume does.
Sources: CFTC Glossary, Cong, Li, Tang and Yang: Crypto Wash Trading (arXiv) · checked 4 October 2026
Trading volume
Trading volume is the amount of an asset traded during a set period, such as 24 hours, counted in units or in their money value. It shows how much buying and selling took place, and is often read as a sign of interest and liquidity.
What it means for you. Reported volume can be inflated by wash trading, so a large 24-hour figure does not prove you could sell a large amount near the quoted price. Like any chart data, volume describes the past and does not tell you what happens next. Volume on one platform or one trading pair can be much smaller than the headline total.
Sources: CFTC Glossary, Cong, Li, Tang and Yang: Crypto Wash Trading (arXiv) · checked 4 October 2026