This glossary explains the 50 terms you meet most often when you trade or exchange crypto, in plain English and grouped by topic. If you only have time for five, learn slippage, liquidity, spread, network fee and confirmations: together they explain why the amount you receive differs from the number on a price chart.
The examples use round numbers for illustration, not live prices. To see the terms on a real screen, keep this page open next to a pair page such as the ETH to USDT exchange or the main SwapRocket crypto exchange.
DEX, CEX and Swap Services: The Big Picture
Most of the vocabulary makes sense once you know the three kinds of place where crypto changes hands.
| Type | Who holds your funds | KYC | Used for | Common catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEX (centralized exchange) | The exchange | Usually required | Order books, limit orders, fiat | Account freezes and withdrawal limits |
| DEX (decentralized exchange) | You, in your own wallet | None | On-chain trading and DeFi on one chain | Gas fees, slippage and token approvals |
| Swap service such as SwapRocket | You, until you send the deposit | None for standard swaps; a flagged transaction can be held for verification | Exchanging one coin for another, including across chains | The margin is inside the rate, and the rate floats until your deposit confirms |
A CEX feels like a banking app. A DEX feels like driving a manual car. A swap service is closer to a currency exchange desk: you hand over one coin and receive another at the address you give.
The 50 Terms
A. Swap basics
1. Swap
A direct exchange of one cryptocurrency for another, for example SOL for ETH.
2. Pair
The two assets in a trade or swap, such as ETH/USDT or BTC/XMR.
3. Base asset
The first asset in a pair, the one being priced. In ETH/USDT, ETH is the base.
4. Quote asset
The second asset in a pair, the one the price is expressed in. In ETH/USDT, USDT is the quote.
5. Rate (exchange rate)
How much of one asset you get for one unit of the other at this moment.
6. Price impact
How much your own trade moves the price. It is largest on DEX pools with little liquidity.
7. Slippage
The difference between the expected amount and the amount actually received. Example: a swap of 1 ETH is quoted at 2,000 USDT and pays 1,980 USDT, which is 1% slippage. More in crypto slippage explained.
8. Slippage tolerance
A DEX setting for the maximum slippage you accept before the transaction reverts. Too low and the swap fails. Too high and you may get a poor price.
9. Execution
The moment the swap actually happens, at the final rate.
10. Route
The path a trade takes. On a DEX it can run through several pools, for example SOL to USDC to ETH.
B. Fees and costs
11. Network fee
A fee paid to the miners or validators of a blockchain for processing a transaction. It does not go to the exchange.
12. Gas
Ethereum's unit for measuring the work a transaction needs. Gas is paid in ETH, not in a separate token, and a busy network means a higher gas price.
13. Gas limit
The maximum amount of gas a transaction may use. If it is set too low, the transaction fails.
14. Gas price
What you pay per unit of gas. A higher gas price usually means faster inclusion in a block.
15. Priority fee (tip)
An extra amount paid to validators to have a transaction processed sooner.
16. Spread
The gap between the buy price and the sell price, or between the mid-market rate and the rate you are quoted. A service that advertises zero fees still earns from the spread. See crypto swap fees explained.
17. Platform fee (service fee)
What an exchange charges for its service. It may be shown as a separate line or included in the rate.
18. Maker fee
A fee paid by a trader who adds liquidity to an order book by placing a limit order that waits to be filled.
19. Taker fee
A fee paid by a trader who removes liquidity by filling an existing order, typically with a market order.
20. Withdrawal fee
What a custodial exchange charges to send crypto out to your wallet.
C. Market structure
21. Liquidity
How easily an asset can be bought or sold without moving its price. High liquidity means tight spreads and low slippage.
22. Order book
The live list of buy and sell orders on an exchange.
23. Bid
The highest price a buyer is currently offering.
24. Ask
The lowest price a seller is currently accepting.
25. Market depth
How much volume sits at each price level. The deeper the market, the less a large trade moves the price.
26. Limit order
An order to buy or sell at a set price or better. It gives control over price, with no guarantee of being filled.
27. Market order
An order that fills immediately at the best available prices. It guarantees a fill, not a price.
28. Volatility
How fast and how far a price moves. High volatility raises the risk of slippage.
29. Arbitrage
Profiting from the same asset being priced differently in two places. Arbitrage traders are the reason prices on different venues stay close together.
30. Aggregator
A tool that queries several exchanges or liquidity sources and picks among them. SwapRocket is not an aggregator: one licensed liquidity provider executes each swap, and the estimate is shown before you send.
D. DEX and DeFi concepts
31. DEX (decentralized exchange)
An exchange that runs on smart contracts. You trade from your own wallet with no account.
32. AMM (automated market maker)
A DEX design that uses pools of tokens in place of an order book. The price comes from the ratio of tokens in the pool.
33. Liquidity pool
A pool of two or more tokens locked in a smart contract for traders to swap against. See liquidity pools explained.
34. LP (liquidity provider)
On a DEX, someone who deposits tokens into a pool and earns a share of the trading fees. Outside DeFi the phrase also means a firm that fills orders from its own reserves.
35. Impermanent loss
The shortfall an LP can end up with compared with simply holding the tokens, caused by the pooled assets changing price relative to each other.
36. Smart contract
Code on a blockchain that runs automatically when called. A DEX swap is a smart contract call.
37. On-chain
Recorded on a blockchain and visible in a block explorer.
38. Off-chain
Recorded somewhere else, such as a centralized exchange's internal ledger.
39. Bridge
A system that moves an asset from one chain to another, usually by locking it on one side and issuing it on the other. See how cross-chain bridges work.
40. Wrapped token
A token that represents another asset on a different chain, such as wrapped BTC on Ethereum. Its value depends on whoever holds the original asset.
E. Wallets, custody and identity
41. Wallet
Software or hardware that stores your private keys and signs transactions.
42. Self-custody
Holding your own keys. It is the difference between owning crypto and an exchange owing it to you.
43. Non-custodial
Describes a service that does not hold a balance for you. SwapRocket is non-custodial: you send from your own wallet and the swapped coins go to the address you give.
44. Custodial
Describes a service that holds funds on your behalf, as a CEX account does.
45. Private key
The secret that controls the funds at an address. Whoever has it can spend them.
46. Seed phrase (recovery phrase)
A list of words, usually 12 or 24, that can restore a whole wallet. Never type it into a website or give it to anyone.
47. KYC (Know Your Customer)
Identity verification with documents such as a passport and a selfie. SwapRocket has no KYC for standard swaps, though the liquidity provider can, rarely, hold a flagged transaction and ask for verification. See how no-KYC exchanges work.
48. AML (Anti-Money Laundering)
The rules that require financial services to detect and report illicit funds. Transaction screening by exchanges and liquidity providers is an AML measure.
F. Confirmations and settlement
49. Confirmation
A transaction has one confirmation when it is included in a block, and one more for each block added after it. Services wait for a set number before treating a deposit as final, which is why a swap takes minutes.
50. Finality
The point at which reversing a transaction becomes practically impossible. Chains reach it at different speeds: some within moments, Bitcoin over several blocks.
The Terms in Three Real Swaps
ETH to USDT. You move ETH into a stablecoin on the ETH to USDT exchange. The spread is inside the rate, gas is what your wallet pays to send the ETH, and slippage is whatever the market does while the deposit confirms.
SOL to USDT in a fast market. The SOL to USDT converter shows the current amount. Volatility is the main variable here, and because Solana reaches finality quickly, the window in which the rate can move is short.
BTC to XMR. On the BTC to XMR exchange the wait is mostly Bitcoin confirmations. The flow is non-custodial and needs no KYC for standard swaps.
Twelve Terms to Learn First
Slippage, liquidity, spread, network fee, gas, confirmations, DEX, CEX, AMM, liquidity pool, self-custody and non-custodial. With these you can read almost any swap screen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the amount I receive change after I start a swap?
Because of slippage. At a floating rate the final amount follows the market until the trade executes or the deposit confirms, so it can end slightly below or above the estimate.
Is no-KYC the same as anonymous?
No. No-KYC means you do not upload identity documents for a standard swap. The transactions themselves are still recorded on public blockchains, and a flagged transaction can be held for verification.
What is the difference between a DEX and a CEX?
A CEX is a company that holds your funds in an account and matches orders on its own books. A DEX is a set of smart contracts you trade against from your own wallet. A CEX usually requires KYC and a DEX does not.
What is the difference between spread and slippage?
Spread is the gap built into the rate you are quoted, so you can see it before you trade. Slippage is the change between that quote and the final result.
What is the most common beginner mistake?
Looking only at the visible fee. Spread, network fees and slippage often cost more than the fee line, especially on small swaps and in volatile markets.
Related Reading
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