The crypto industry is unique in so many different ways. There are more than 21,000 crypto coins on the market, although a majority of these are worthless dead projects. Sites like Crypto.com offer the ability to trade over 250 different cryptos. But trading cryptos can be an adventure in itself. The term rate expired is one you should get to know if you ever want to get involved in trading cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange. What does rate expired mean on Crypto.com?

When you get the message “rate expired”, it is referring to the price you are quoted before making a trade. Since trading cryptocurrencies requires swapping two different tokens, the quote you see is a snapshot of the values at that specific time. After a set amount of time, the transaction will refresh and the rates are considered expired. 

This is not something that is unique to just Crypto.com. It happens in every major centralized exchange. Now before you go complaining or slandering Crypto.com, you should know that the rate expired function is out of their control. Why is that? Well, read on and I’ll explain to you what exactly rate expired means and how it can affect your trades on Crypto.com.

What Does Rate Expired Mean on Crypto.com?

Remember, Crypto.com is just one example of where the message “rate expired” will appear. It might not be phrased exactly the same, but you can receive this same message on other platforms like Coinbase or Binance. It has nothing to do with the platform and everything to do with how crypto transactions are tracked. 

So what exactly does this mean? It quite literally means the rate you were quoted is no longer available. Why is this? Crypto prices are fluctuating constantly. The crypto market itself is open 24 hours per day seven days per week, and even on holidays. There’s a good chance that if you took too long to consider the trade, the prices of those two tokens have already moved. 

Sure you can make your trade with stablecoins which are pegged to a currency like the US dollar. But the token you are buying or selling will still see its price fluctuate. If you make a market order with stocks you will receive your trade at the price provided by the brokerage. With cryptos, the platform has to expire that rate and provide you with a new one if you still wish to complete your trade. Why? There is a more technical explanation. 

See if Crypto.com Made My List of the Top 23 Best Crypto Exchanges in Canada 2023

Why do Crypto Prices Fluctuate?

As I said, the crypto markets are open 24/7 around the world. If you are trying to buy something in Canada, then someone is also trying to sell that same token in China. This is what makes the crypto market so unique and so much more complicated than equities. The price fluctuation is one reason why we receive the rate expired message from crypto exchanges. 

But there is another reason. On Crypto.com you have about 15 seconds to make a decision before you receive the rate expired message. This is to allow the price to remain stable for as long as possible. After 15 seconds, it is likely the exchange rate between the cryptos has already changed. If you try to make the transaction again the rate will likely have changed, although probably not by much. 

Every crypto transaction needs to be verified by the blockchain. This is what makes cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum so valuable. These transactions are on-chain data and cannot be replicated or faked. Since your transaction needs to be verified on the blockchain, you only have so much time before another transaction takes your place. This is why sites like Crypto.com give you 15 seconds before saying that your rate has expired. 

Why Does it say Rate Expired on Crypto.com?

There can be some other reasons why you receive the rate expired message on Crypto.com. If you are trading less-liquid tokens, there might not be enough of a supply. Or, there could be a volatile supply of the token which means that there is a higher-than-normal amount of trading in that market. 

Think back to the original frenzy surrounding the Shiba Inu Token surge in price. During this time, Crypto.com users were seeing the rate expired messages with high frequency. Why? Because there was so much Shiba Inu being traded that the price was constantly moving. This also caused slow on-chain transfers which means that the verification of that block on the blockchain is being congested by a large number of attempted transactions. 

This all sounds pretty technical and it can be for those who are not really interested in how blockchains work. But for those of you who receive the rate expired message on Crypto.com or any other exchange, just know that it is not usually a problem that is specific to that site. It is typically a problem with the blockchain itself. If you do receive that message, just try the trade again. Unless it is a fervour like with Shiba Inu Token, you will likely be successful the second time around. 

See My Thoughts on the Future of Shiba Inu here: Will Shiba Inu (SHIB) Ever Reach $100?

The Bottom Line: What Does Rate Expired Mean on Crypto.com?

So there you have it! There are a few different reasons why you might see the rate expired message on Crypto.com. Most of the time, it has to do with the blockchain itself. Either there are too many transactions going through at once or the price of the token is seeing volatility. It can also be that you just took too long to make the trade. Crypto.com gives you 15 seconds to confirm the rate. If you do not hit the confirm button in time you will almost certainly see that your rate has expired. 

Thanks for reading today and I hope that helped!

Geek, out.