Market Impact
Market impact refers to the influence that a large trade has on the price of an asset due to the size of the order relative to the available liquidity. When a trader attempts to buy or sell a significant quantity, the order consumes the available volume at the best price levels, moving the market price against the trader.
This is a critical factor in execution risk, as it effectively increases the cost of the trade beyond the initial quoted spread. In cryptocurrency, market impact is often higher due to the fragmentation of liquidity across multiple centralized and decentralized exchanges.
Quantitative models use market impact functions to estimate the optimal trade size and execution schedule to minimize total cost. Understanding this impact is essential for institutional investors and large-scale market makers who manage significant positions.
It represents the reality that every trade leaves a footprint on the market price.