The spread is the difference between the buying price and the selling price of the same asset at the same moment. Say a coin's market price is ISK 1,000. If a crypto exchange sells it to you for ISK 1,020 but buys it back for ISK 980, the spread is ISK 40: 2% above the market price when you buy and 2% below it when you sell.
You know this from buying foreign currency. Your bank sells you euros at a higher rate than it buys them back from you. The difference is the bank's income.
How does a spread work?
On an open market, a spread forms between the highest buy order and the lowest sell order. In a market with good LiquidityLiquidityHow easily an asset can be bought or sold quickly at a fair price, without the trade moving the price much. it is small. In a market with few orders it can be wide.
Many crypto exchangesCrypto exchangeA company or platform where you buy, sell and swap crypto, for example with krónur. charge their fee through the spread. The fee is then built into the price you see, instead of being a separate line on the receipt. At Myntkaup, each buy and each sell carries a 1.99% spread. It is included in the price you see before you confirm (more about fees).
Example
Say the spread is 2% on each trade and you buy crypto for ISK 100,000. You receive crypto with a market value of about ISK 98,000. If you sold it straight back at an unchanged price, you would pay the spread again and get about ISK 96,000.
A spread is not the same as a network feeNetwork feeA fee paid to a crypto network, not to a bank or company, for including your transaction in a block., which goes to the blockchain network when you send crypto between wallets. When you compare costs, look at the total amount you actually end up with.
Everything in Myntkaup Learn is written and regularly reviewed by the Myntkaup editorial team. It is for education and is not investment advice. Editorial policy. Updated 18 October 2026.