In crypto, a pair is simply the two assets you trade against each other on an exchange. Think of it like a scale where you weigh the value of one coin against another. One is the asset you want to buy or sell, and the other is what you’re using to pay for it or receive when you sell. When you trade, you don’t simply buy Bitcoin; in reality, you are selling your fiat currency or any other coin to get that Bitcoin.
Pairs are always written with a slash between the two assets. For instance, you will see it denoted as BTC/USDT or ETH/BTC. So, if you come across BTC/USDT on an exchange, it means you are using Tether, a stablecoin pegged to the dollar, to buy Bitcoin. If the price is 50,000, it means 1 Bitcoin costs 50,000 USDT.
Crypto exchanges don’t usually let you trade coins directly with regular fiat everywhere. So they create these two-coin combinations. The first asset in the pair is called the base currency, the one whose price is moving. While the second coin is called the quote currency, the price that is quoted for the swap. This system is used because every asset in crypto needs a reference point to determine its value. Since there is no single “official” price for a coin, its value is always relative to whatever it is paired with.
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So do you always have to trade in pairs? Most likely yes, as you can’t just buy Bitcoin without choosing what you’re giving in return. Even on centralized exchanges, it looks like you’re buying with dollars or any fiat, but behind the scenes, the platform is actually using a pair. Simply put, a pair is just the ‘this for that’ rule of crypto trading.