The cryptocurrency trading market consists of makers and takers. Makers are traders who create orders and place them in the order book, waiting for others to complete the orders. Takers are traders who accept existing orders from the order book. The main distinction between the two is that makers provide liquidity, while takers consume liquidity.
For exchanges that utilize a trade matching mechanism, makers fill a more important role, as they can enhance the depth of the order book, thereby increasing the platform's attractiveness as a trading venue.
This is a matching mechanism that matches orders from both buyers and sellers. Makers create orders at different price levels, which are recorded in the order book, while takers match corresponding price level orders to complete trades.
Let's use a simple example to illustrate. If you want to buy MX tokens at a price of 3 USDT, there must be makers in the market selling MX at 3 USDT or less. Otherwise, you cannot make the purchase. Every completed trade requires both buyers and sellers. Otherwise, orders cannot be executed.
Most centralized exchanges use this order book matching mechanism. The advantages of this model include its simplicity (it's easy for users to understand), its versatility (traders can set orders like stop-loss), and its rapidity (quick trades reduce losses due to slippage).
When both parties in a market trade can quickly complete asset exchanges at the expected price, it indicates a healthy market liquidity. Popular tokens like BTC, ETH, and MX typically have good liquidity. However, less-traded tokens may have difficulty completing trades, indicating a lack of liquidity. This phenomenon is particularly common among NFTs.
In the example mentioned earlier, MX is a token with exceptional liquidity, resulting in a large number of trades taking place in the market. For tokens with poor liquidity, it can be challenging to sell assets at the desired price, and achieving a trade might require a significant price reduction.
This also highlights a drawback of using the order book matching mechanism. In scenarios where market liquidity is lacking, the trading experience for makers can be poor.
The simplest way to know whether you are a maker or a taker is by learning their concepts and characteristics. A maker is someone who creates an order, providing liquidity and the best possible execution price to the market. On the other hand, a taker is someone who immediately completes an order, consuming existing liquidity rather than contributing to it.
If the order you placed does not appear on the order book and is immediately filled, you are undoubtedly a taker. This is why market orders are classified as taker orders, as they are designed for immediate execution.
If the order you placed is not immediately filled but appears on the order book, it increases the order quantity on the order book, thereby contributing liquidity to the market. Hence, your trade is considered a maker order.
When it comes to your order history, MEXC offers comprehensive data, showing the role you played in each trade. You can access this information through both the website and app.
Log in to the MEXC official website. Click on [Orders] in the upper right corner and select [Spot Orders]. On the Spot Orders page, click the [Trade History] tab, and you can check your past spot orders to see if you were the taker or maker in each trade.
Similarly, on the MEXC official website, click [Orders] in the upper right corner, and select [Futures Order]. On the Orders page, click the [Order History] tab, and select [Filled History] for the order type. You can check your past futures orders to see if you were the taker or maker in each trade.
Log in to the MEXC App. On the homepage, tap on the user icon in the upper left corner. Then, tap on [Transactions], select [Spot Orders], and tap the [Trade History] tab to check your past spot orders to see if you were taker or maker in each trade.
Log in to the MEXC App. On the homepage, tap on the user icon in the upper left corner. Then, tap on [Transactions], select [Futures Orders], and tap the [Order History] tab. Under the filtering options below, select [Filled History], and you can check your past orders to see if you were the taker or maker in each trade.
Disclaimer: The information entailed does not offer guidance on investment, taxation, legal matters, finance, accounting, consulting, or any related services. It does not suggest buying, selling, or holding any assets. The MEXC Learn serves purely as an informational resource and should not be considered investment advice. Make sure to fully comprehend the associated risks and proceed with caution in your investment endeavors. All user investment activities are independent of this platform.