Why does the spread change or widen on Pluang?
The spread changes, and sometimes widens, because it follows market conditions from moment to moment. When trading is active and many buyers and sellers are present, liquidity is high and the spread narrows. When trading is quiet and liquidity is low, fewer offers sit close to the current price, so the spread widens. Volatility can widen it sharply: when prices move fast — around major news, economic data releases or sudden market swings — market participants quote wider prices to protect themselves against the price moving before a trade completes. That is why the same asset can show a noticeably different spread at different times of day, in a quiet period compared with a busy one, or in the minutes after a major announcement. A widened spread normally narrows again once activity returns and prices settle. On Pluang, crypto uses a floating spread that varies with liquidity, volatility and market conditions, and the buy and sell prices you see before confirming always reflect the spread at that moment.
How market conditions move the spread
| Market condition | Effect on the spread |
|---|---|
| Active trading, high liquidity | Narrows — many offers sit close to the current price |
| Quiet trading, low liquidity | Widens — fewer offers near the current price |
| High volatility, such as major news or data releases | Can widen sharply as prices are quoted more cautiously |
| Conditions settling after a swing | Usually narrows again as offers return |
- Crypto trades around the clock. Because the crypto market never closes, liquidity rises and falls through the day and night, and the spread moves with it.
- Your portfolio uses the mid price. A wider spread mainly changes the price you would trade at right now. Your holdings are valued at the mid price, halfway between buy and sell, so a wider spread on its own doesn't reduce the number of units you hold.
Related questions:
Q: Why is the Bitcoin spread wide right now?
Most likely because market conditions at this moment are either quiet or volatile. In a quiet period, fewer buyers and sellers are quoting prices near the current level, so the gap between the best bid and the best ask grows. In a volatile period, such as right after major news, prices are quoted more cautiously because they can move quickly. Even a highly liquid coin like Bitcoin sees its spread widen at times like these, and it usually narrows again as conditions settle.
Q: When is the spread usually narrowest?
Generally when trading activity is high and prices are relatively calm, because that is when the most buyers and sellers are quoting prices close to each other. There is no guaranteed time of day when the spread is narrowest, since it depends on activity in the global market for that asset and on any news moving prices. The practical approach is to compare the buy and sell prices shown in the app right before you confirm.
Q: Will the spread go back to normal after it widens?
Usually, yes. A widened spread is typically a response to temporary conditions, such as a burst of volatility or a quiet period, and it tends to narrow again as trading activity returns and prices settle. How long that takes is not fixed and depends on what caused it. If your trade isn't urgent, you can check the prices again later; if it is, the prices shown before you confirm tell you the cost at that moment.
Q: Does a widening spread change my portfolio value?
Not directly. Your portfolio values your holdings at the mid price, which sits halfway between the bid and the ask, so a spread that widens evenly around the same midpoint leaves that value roughly unchanged. What a wider spread changes is the price you would actually get if you traded now: buying costs more and selling brings in less. Your portfolio value still moves whenever the market price itself moves, which often happens in the same volatile moments.