When you buy or sell crypto — especially with Crypto Boost — there are two important factors that may cause the executed price to differ from what you initially saw: spread and slippage. These effects are a normal part of trading in fast-moving markets and can become more visible during periods of high volatility.
What is a spread?
The spread is the difference between:
the bid price (what buyers offer), and
the ask price (what sellers ask).
The difference is the spread.
The bid price is the highest amount a buyer is willing to pay for a crypto asset, while the ask price is the lowest amount a seller is willing to accept. The spread is the gap between the two, and it represents a key cost when placing a trade. It is a crucial factor for profitability in crypto and financial markets.
The smaller the spread, the lower your trading costs—especially important for active traders who buy and sell frequently.
Spreads are influenced by factors like liquidity, volatility, exchange fees, macroeconomic events, and market maker activity.
A wide spread may indicate low liquidity or turbulent markets, leading to higher entry costs and possible slippage.
You can reduce spread costs by using limit orders, trading during peak hours, and selecting high-volume cryptocurrencies.
With Vivid, You’ll always see the final price — including any spread — before confirming your trade.
What is slippage?
Slippage is when the final execution price of your trade ends up higher or lower than what you expected — because the market price moved while your order was being processed.
This is more likely during:
high market volatility
low liquidity (when few people are trading a particular coin)
Example:
Let’s say you buy crypto at a shown price of EUR 1,000, but by the time the trade executes, the market price changes to EUR 990. This EUR 10 difference is slippage.
You may gain or lose slightly more than expected — depending on which direction the price moved.
Why is this especially important when using Crypto Boost?
With Crypto Boost, both your profits and your risks are multiplied — including any effect from slippage or spread.
A small price movement that would normally have little effect can cause a larger-than-expected result.
Your boosted exposure means even small differences in price amplify gains or losses.
If slippage pushes your position into a large unrealised loss, you could hit the liquidation threshold sooner.
Important:
The slippage or spread is applied to the full boosted amount, not just your own invested funds. That means slippage and spread can impact the outcome more significantly on boosted trades.
Customers should be aware that Boosted positions carry higher risk during periods of strong market volatility, and a margin call or liquidation can occur immediately after the trade is executed. Read more about Crypto Boost here.
Is my order protected against slippage?
Yes — but only at the moment when the order is created.
To protect you from sudden price jumps, we don’t allow an order to be placed if the expected execution price differs too much from the current market rate — usually around 3–5%. However, this protection applies only to slippage (rapid price movement) and does not cover wide bid–ask spreads.
In rare cases of extreme market volatility, some coins may have a spread of 10–20%.
In such situations, the order can still be executed at the current market price — even if that price is significantly higher or lower than the mid-price shown in the app.
Tips to manage spread & slippage:
Trade during high-liquidity hours (when markets are more active)
Be cautious when trading low-volume coins
Use Crypto Boost only when you understand the risks of amplified volatility