January 9, 2024

Introduction to Trading Terminals

Trading terminals are pivotal in the financial world as the interface between investors and various markets. These platforms facilitate millions of transactions daily across various instruments, including stocks, bonds, derivatives, and, increasingly, cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrency market, for instance, has seen exponential growth, with a market capitalization that surged past $2 trillion in 2021, according to CoinMarketCap.

Core Functionality

A trading terminal’s primary function is to enable financial instrument trading. This includes traditional markets like the New York Stock Exchange, which sees an average daily trading volume of around 1 billion shares and extends to the dynamic world of cryptocurrencies, where platforms like Binance process transactions worth billions of dollars every day. Real-time data, essential in these terminals, covers market prices, trading volumes, and historical trends, which is crucial in markets where assets like Bitcoin can experience price swings of 10-20% within hours.

Key Features of Trading Terminals 

In the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency trading, real-time market data is crucial. Crypto markets operate 24/7, and prices can fluctuate dramatically within minutes. For instance, Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has experienced intraday volatility peaks of over 10% on numerous occasions. Trading terminals provide live data feeds, including price charts, trading volumes, and order book details, which are essential for traders to make informed decisions.

Advanced Charting Tools

Charting is a vital component of crypto trading terminals. Traders rely on a variety of technical analysis tools to navigate the market. These include indicators like moving averages, which help identify trends over specific periods. For example, the 50-day moving average is a widely watched indicator in the Bitcoin trading community. Other tools like Fibonacci retracement levels and Bollinger Bands are commonly used to predict potential price movements and volatility in cryptocurrencies.

Customization and Personalization

Customization is another essential feature, allowing users to tailor the trading terminal to their needs. Traders can set up personalized dashboards, choose their preferred technical indicators, and configure alerts for specific cryptocurrencies. For instance, a trader focused on altcoins might customize their terminal to display real-time data and news for coins like Cardano (ADA) and Polkadot (DOT).

Design Philosophy

A cryptocurrency trading terminal’s user interface (UI) design is crucial to its usability and effectiveness. A well-designed UI should balance simplicity and functionality, providing easy navigation for beginners while offering advanced features for experienced traders. For instance, platforms like Coinbase are renowned for their clean, intuitive interfaces, making them ideal for newcomers to crypto trading. On the other hand, some platforms offer more complex layouts, such as detailed charts, order books, and a plethora of trading tools, catering to the needs of seasoned traders.

Responsiveness and Speed

In the volatile world of cryptocurrency trading, the responsiveness and speed of a trading terminal are critical. Delays in data updates or order executions can lead to missed opportunities or significant losses. Modern crypto trading platforms are designed to provide real-time data and execute orders with minimal latency. For instance, high-frequency trading platforms used in crypto markets are optimized for speed, processing orders in milliseconds.

Order Placement Capabilities

The ability to execute a range of order types is a key feature of crypto trading terminals. This includes market orders, limit orders, and more sophisticated orders like stop-loss and take-profit orders. In the volatile crypto market, these tools are essential for risk management. For instance, a trader might set a stop-loss order 5% below the purchase price of Ethereum to limit potential losses in a sudden market downturn.

Order Placement Necessities 

The utilization of diverse order types is a fundamental aspect for traders (especially in the cryptocurrency space) as it offers several key advantages:

  • Strategic Execution Flexibility: Various order types allow traders to execute transactions at optimal times and prices, aligning with their trading strategies. This aspect is particularly crucial in the crypto market, known for its rapid price fluctuations.
  • Enhanced Trade Precision: By employing specific order types like limit and market orders, traders can achieve greater precision and control in their trade executions. This is especially important for managing the inherent risks in the volatile crypto market.
  • Effective Risk Mitigation: Certain orders, such as stop-loss orders, are pivotal in risk management. They enable traders to set predetermined selling points, thus automatically limiting potential losses if the market trends unfavorably.
  • Optimizing Profit Opportunities: A deep understanding and strategic use of different order types can significantly influence a trader’s approach, potentially enhancing profit margins. Selecting the right order type can optimize market entry and exit points.
  • Adaptability to Market Trends: As the cryptocurrency market evolves, familiarity with various order types equips traders to adjust their strategies in response to market shifts, thereby improving their chances of market success.

Limit Orders

Definition: Limit orders allow traders to specify the price to buy or sell a cryptocurrency. The order is only executed when the market reaches the specified price.

Usage Example: A trader might set a limit order to buy Ethereum when its price drops to a certain level, believing it to be a good entry point.

Stop-Loss

Definition: These are orders set to close a position when it reaches a certain loss (stop-loss level). It is crucial for risk management in the volatile crypto market.

Usage Example: A trader holding Ripple (XRP) might set a stop-loss order 10% below the purchase price to limit potential losses in a sudden market downturn.

Default Stop-Loss:

Used in a percentage, this feature allows you to set a percentage below your average cost basis to exit your position. For instance, if your average’d position cost is $1, and you set your default stop-loss at 10%, a sell order will trigger should the position fall to $0.90. 

Stop loss Timeout

Candles that may have a sharp move upwards or downwards are known to fake people out and, in some cases, cause them (or their bots) to close their positions once the price of an asset hits their target for their stop loss, initiating a sell order.

However, in some instances, those same candles have been known to reverse nearly instantly and proceed on their upward trajectory once. It’s for this reason the “Stop loss timeout” was created. This allows a trader to set a pre-determined interval until the stop loss triggers should their target be hit.

For example, if the trader has a stop loss set to trigger at $1, and say the asset is trading at $1.20. A sell wick could send the asset down to $1, but if the trader had set a 30-second timer and said the asset trended back up above $1 before the 30 seconds was up, the sell order would not initiate. This could help a trader avoid “shakeouts” or attempts to get people to sell.

Cornix Trading Terminal

Cornix combines the previously touched-up points to deliver traders on one of the most powerful and robust terminals available on one platform.

From displaying your tradable exchange accounts, coins and their pairs, and trades, Cornix combines the most vital information and tools needed under one terminal to aid in a trader’s success, and the terminals are highly customizable.

This is important because not all trades have the same preferences regarding setups and overall layout of information and resources. 

Think of our trade terminal as an inside look into a mega machine that powers your trades. Start by selecting your exchange alongside the coin, its trading pair, and the desired order fill quantity. 

You can even select different strategies for placing entry (and exit) orders. For example, if you chose ten entries for the “Entry Strategy,” you can also choose “Evenly Divide,” which would allocate 10% of your trading capital towards this trade and evenly distribute it across the ten entry lots.

Taking it one step further, we also enable traders to choose a price range to allocate funds. Considering the previous ten-entry example, if a trader’s desired coin was $1 and they anticipate it to dip in price before setting another up for another run-up, they could set a range of $.90 to $1 to fill those 10 entries.

They could set the buys to trigger at every $0.01 interval or climb each of the ten buys to $0.90.

As any crypto trading platform should have, Cornix also provides a trading chart with intensive tools and trading indicators and leverages Tradingview’s charts. Just as we offer in-depth options for the trade setup, our trading terminal also provides intriguing (yet easy-to-use) take-profit settings.

Referring to our previous example, one can choose “Evenly Divide” for the take-profit strategy. If the trader wanted to offload their share amount across ten trade lots, choosing this option would automate the process, spreading their entire position holdings across ten sales.

The Cornix Trading Terminal also provides advanced trading functionalities, including trailing entry, trailing take-profit, and trailing stop, designed to enhance your trading experience by maximizing profits and securing gains. Trailing mechanisms allow trades to stay open and profit if the price moves favorably. The system automatically closes the trade if the price changes direction by a specified percentage, ensuring proactive risk management.

Cornix’s current Trading Terminal has received a significant facelift with better UX/UI while focusing more on the chart for a smoother trading experience.

In addition to being sleeker and more user-friendly, Cornix added the option to save custom strategies, set a stop loss as a distance percentage, and view your trade summary, making trade creation a breeze.

The old terminal layout is still on the same platform, and you can effortlessly switch between them using the provided button on the right of the Trading Terminal headline.

Keys to Success

In the end, trading terminals are tools specifically created to help traders excel by streamlining the information and analytical feeds. For those serious about trading and who plan to trade long-term, researching and identifying a trading terminal that fits your needs can be monumental to their success.

Gradually, as you learn your way around the terminal, you will become more comfortable leveraging its amazing technology and learn how to utilize it to propel you forward as a trader.