Spot trading means buying and selling actual tokens, such as SOL, ETH, or memecoins. When you buy, the token becomes part of your wallet balance. When you sell, you exchange it for Cash or another supported token.

This article covers entering a trade, holding your tokens, and selling some or all of your balance. For swap fees and troubleshooting, see Swap crypto in Phantom.

How spot trading works #

Buying a token gives you exposure to its price. If its price rises, the value of your holdings increases. If its price falls, their value decreases.

While you hold the token, these changes are unrealized gains or losses. Selling some or all of your tokens realizes the gain or loss on the amount sold. Your result depends on your purchase cost, the amount you receive when selling, and trading costs.

For example, you buy tokens worth $100. If you later sell all of them for $120, your gain is $20 before costs. If you sell them for $80, your loss is $20 before costs. The value shown in your portfolio is an estimate; the sell quote shows what you can receive for a particular trade.

A spot token balance has no perp margin requirement, funding payments, or liquidation price. You can hold the tokens until you choose to sell or send them. Their value can still fall to zero, and low liquidity or token restrictions can prevent you from selling.

For leveraged long and short positions, see Trade perps in Phantom on mobile.

What you need #

• Choose the token and network you intend to use. Tokens with the same name or ticker can be different assets. For how to find a specific token, see Search for a specific token in Phantom.
• You need a supported payment balance and enough native tokens to cover network fees unless a gasless option is available. Check the amount you will receive and the fees before confirming.

Buy spot tokens on mobile #

1. Open the token you want to buy.
2. Tap Buy, Buy > More, or Trade > Buy, depending on the token page.
3. Select your payment asset and enter an amount.
4. Review the quote and costs, then confirm.

Cash is the default payment method on mobile. Select another supported token if you want to pay with crypto instead. Available payment options depend on the trade.

Once confirmed, the purchased tokens appear in your portfolio. You hold the tokens themselves rather than a perp contract.

Sell spot tokens on mobile #

Sell part of your balance to reduce your holdings, or sell all of it to exit the trade.

1. Open the token in your portfolio.
2. Tap Sell or Trade > Sell.
3. Select the asset you want to receive and enter the amount to sell.
4. Check the quote and costs, then confirm.

Cash is the default destination on mobile. Change the receiving asset if you want another supported token. Selling into Cash is different from withdrawing money to a bank.

Trade spot tokens in the browser extension #

Use Swap to buy or sell:

1. On Home, click Swap.
2. Set You Pay to the asset you are selling and You Receive to the asset you want.
3. Enter an amount, check the quote, and confirm.

To enter a trade, set your target token in You Receive. To exit, set the token you hold in You Pay.

Review your execution price #

Your chart price and execution price can differ. Before confirming, check the following:

• Slippage: How much the execution can differ from the quote. A higher tolerance allows a worse fill; a lower tolerance can cause the swap to fail.
• Price Impact: How much your own trade affects the price. Large trades relative to available liquidity can return less favorable quotes.
• Fees: Trading and network costs reduce your net result, even when the token price moves in your favor.

To change available settings, open the settings icon in the upper right before confirming. See Adjust swap settings in Phantom.

Trade spot tokens in Phantom Terminal #

For desktop trading with TradingView charts, Quick Buy, wallet tracking, and trading presets, use Phantom Terminal at trade.phantom.com. Terminal supports spot trading for Solana tokens.

For connection, funding, and trading steps, see Trade spot and perps in Phantom Terminal.

If you cannot sell a token #

A displayed token value does not guarantee that you can sell for that amount. A market may lack liquidity, or the token may have restrictions that block selling. Increasing slippage does not create liquidity or remove token restrictions.

See Unable to swap a token due to low liquidity and Troubleshoot swaps.