Currency Pairs
Anatomy
A currency pair is not a single asset; it is a battle between two economies. Understanding the liquidity tiers—from the hyper-liquid EUR/USD to the highly manipulated exotics—is mandatory for survival.
Stay Ahead of the Market
Subscribe to receive news about our exposes and articles first.
Live Market Scanner
Direct Liquidity Feed
Warning: Spreads on these assets can instantly trigger margin calls during rollover.
The Dollar
Monopoly
Why 88% of all global forex trades involve the US Dollar, and why you should care.
Every quote consists of a Base currency (the first one) and a Quote currency (the second one). When you buy EUR/USD, you are buying Euros and simultaneously selling US Dollars.
The "Majors" are simply the strongest global economies paired against the US Dollar (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, etc.). Because the entire world needs USD for international trade and oil, these pairs possess virtually unlimited liquidity.
Why Trade The Majors?
High liquidity means fierce competition among Liquidity Providers. This competition drives the spread (the cost of trading) down to near zero. Furthermore, massive volume makes it nearly impossible for a single entity or broker to manipulate the price on a whim.
The Exotic
Trap
Trading emerging market currencies is a mathematical disadvantage engineered against the retail trader.
Exotic pairs pair a major currency against the currency of a developing or emerging economy (e.g., USD/TRY, USD/ZAR, USD/MXN). Brokers love to advertise these pairs during geopolitical events to attract retail volume.
The reality is a mathematical bloodbath. Because there is very little global demand to trade the Turkish Lira compared to the Euro, the order book is empty.
The Spread and Slippage Penalty
While EUR/USD might cost you 1 pip to trade, an exotic pair like USD/TRY might carry a spread of 50 to 200 pips. You start the trade deeply in the red and need a massive fundamental shift just to break even.
Because the order book is thin, price does not flow smoothly. It jumps. If a central bank makes an unexpected announcement, price will gap straight over your Stop Loss, resulting in catastrophic negative slippage.
Continue Your Market Structure
Trading Sessions & Liquidity
Learn when specific currency pairs experience their highest trading volume.
Central Banks & Macro
Understand which fiat currencies react the hardest to US Federal Reserve data.
The Spread Illusion
See how brokers mark up spreads to extreme levels on exotic pairs.
Live Robot Rankings
Check which automated algorithms perform best on Majors vs Crosses.