Execution Venue Decision Table

Condition	Correct venue	Typical cost
Liquid pair, size under 10% of displayed depth, not urgent	Order book, limit order	0.0 to 0.1%
Liquid pair, size under 10% of depth, urgent	Order book, market order	0.1 to 0.2%
Liquid pair, size 10 to 50% of depth	Work over time, or request a desk quote	Varies
Liquid pair, size above 50% of depth	Desk	Few basis points to 0.3%
Thin pair, any size	Swap or desk	0.5 to 1.5%
Cross-network	Swap	0.4 to 1.0%
Any size, discretion required	Desk	Few basis points to 0.3%

The depth measurement

Sum resting liquidity within half a percent of the mid, on the side you need.

Adjust downward: displayed depth overstates what fills, typically by a factor of two to three and more during volatility. For a worked instance of the definitions below, a crypto OTC trading platform publishes them applied.

So the thresholds above are conservative and the desk becomes correct at smaller sizes than raw figures suggest.

The comparison method

Express every route as a percentage against the market mid at the moment of decision. That single figure makes all three comparable. On the merchant side the vocabulary shifts, and a regulated European crypto platform sets out its own.

For desks and swaps, request simultaneously. A quote lasts seconds, and a sequential comparison measures the market moving rather than the providers differing.

The common expensive mistake

Splitting a large order into many small ones to avoid a desk spread.

Each piece moves the price and the market does not reset between them. The cumulative impact usually exceeds the spread avoided, and it is distributed across enough transactions that nobody measures it.

Settlement, for bilateral trades

Agree before agreeing a price, and hold the arrangement constant regardless of size.

A counterparty who accepts a settlement structure at a small size and objects at a large one has explained the arrangement.

What to record per execution

Mid at submission or quote, size, venue, realised or quoted price.

Ten entries produce a cost curve for your assets and sizes, which replaces every general recommendation including this table. On trading terminology specifically, a provider you can actually reach publishes its fee schedule using these definitions.