Symbol

What Is a Symbol?

A symbol is the short form of the name of a crypto asset. For example, Bitcoin is traded under BTC, while Ether trades under ETH. Then there are Terra or TER, Luna or LUN, and Dogecoin or DOGE.

Symbols are a common need of the stock market as all public companies trade under their symbols, like MSFT for Microsoft and XOM for Exxon Mobil. In addition, symbols are seen as necessary for helping investors differentiate between assets with similar names. Or separate stock issues. 

With the increasing number of hard forks in the market, there are multiple currencies with similar names, for example, the numerous Bitcoin variants. The symbols help to differentiate between them. In addition, when rates are displayed in a ticker, the symbols allow for easy reading and avoid confusion. 

The number of characters in a symbol can be different. For example, some symbols only have one character, while others may have up to four or five.