> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.fx.meme/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Trading and routing

> Compare complete routes, understand price impact, and read an execution quote.

An FX token can be approached from either side of its currency pair. You can buy with one of its quote currencies, sell back into that currency, or use a route that passes through the connecting FX market.

## Compare the final output

For a USDC purchase, two possible paths are:

| Route        | Path                | Pools used                 |
| ------------ | ------------------- | -------------------------- |
| Direct       | USDC → TOKEN        | TOKEN/USDC                 |
| Through EURC | USDC → EURC → TOKEN | EURC/USDC, then TOKEN/EURC |

For the same amount of USDC, compare the **net tokens received**. Spot prices alone do not include the cost of moving through a pool.

A route with a better initial price can produce a worse result after fees and price impact. A second hop can improve execution, but it also adds another market's costs.

## Read the quote

<Steps>
  <Step title="Confirm the assets and amount">
    Check the input currency, output token, contract identities, and selected network. Token symbols alone are not unique.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Inspect the route">
    Identify every pool used. Each FX token-pool leg pays its own launch fees; an external currency hop pays that pool's fees.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review deductions and price impact">
    Check protocol fees, native LP fees, any creator or holder fees, and an opening surcharge when applicable. Network gas is separate.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set execution bounds">
    An exact-input trade fixes how much you spend and uses a minimum output. An exact-output trade fixes what you receive and uses a maximum input. The deadline limits how long the order can execute.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Price impact and slippage

**Price impact** is the change in execution price caused by your own trade. It depends on trade size and the liquidity available along the route.

**Slippage tolerance** is the difference you allow between the quoted result and execution. Other trades or changes in liquidity can alter the market before your transaction lands.

Raising slippage tolerance does not improve the quote. It allows execution under less favorable conditions.

## The first seconds of a market

New launches can have a temporary buy surcharge. Its rate follows chain time, and both sides of an FX launch share the same activation clock. Sells pay ordinary trading fees.

Read the [opening window](/economics/opening-window) before interpreting a launch-time quote.

## When a route cannot execute

A transaction can fail when the deadline expires, the output is below your limit, an input limit is exceeded, or the route cannot fully fill. Refresh the quote and review the changed conditions.

The FX router rejects partial fills. Its transaction bounds are checked against the actual settlement, rather than treating a displayed spot price as an execution guarantee.

## Currency conversions and FX revenue

A direct EURC/USDC conversion that never enters a launched-token pool does not pay FX's token-market protocol fee. Its costs belong to the underlying currency venue.

See [fees](/economics/fees) for a per-leg breakdown and [architecture](/reference/architecture) for how quotes and settlement fit together.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Worked quote examples" icon="calculator" href="/guides/read-a-quote">
    Calculate minimum received and maximum spent.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Troubleshoot a transaction" icon="circle-question" href="/guides/troubleshooting">
    Understand approvals, pending receipts, and delayed data.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>