# OTC Crypto Desk: How a Quote Is Built and Why Desks Differ > Inventory, hedging cost, volatility and relationship all go into an OTC quote. Understanding the inputs tells you when to push back and when the price is fair. - Source: https://cryptounderthehood.com/otc-crypto-desk-how-a-quote-is-built/ - Published: 2026-08-18 - Author: Ivan Kruse - Publication: Crypto Under the Hood — How crypto payment infrastructure actually works - Topic: otc - Tags: otc, pricing, execution --- Two desks quoting the same trade at the same second will give different numbers, sometimes by a meaningful margin. The difference is not arbitrary and knowing the inputs tells you which desk to call for which trade. Anyone comparing this should have [an OTC crypto desk](https://collectnexchange.cy/services/crypto-otc) open alongside, because it publishes what the rest leave implicit. ## Input one: the desk's current inventory A desk that is already long an asset and wants to reduce will quote a seller a worse price and a buyer a better one. A desk that is flat has to source in the market and prices accordingly. You cannot see inventory, but you can infer it over time. A desk that is consistently competitive on one side of a particular asset is probably running a position there. This is the single largest source of quote variation and it is why asking two desks is worth the extra two minutes. ## Input two: the cost of hedging Once the desk trades with you it has a position it does not want. It hedges, either by trading the spot market, by using derivatives, or by finding an offsetting client trade. The cost of that hedge is passed into your quote. For a liquid asset at moderate size, small. For a thin asset or a large size, substantial, because the desk faces the same book-walking problem you were avoiding. This is why the spread widens more than proportionally with size on illiquid assets. ## Input three: volatility The desk is exposed between quoting and hedging. Higher volatility means more risk in that window and a wider quote. Quotes taken during a volatile period will be worse, and quote validity windows will be shorter. This is not a desk being opportunistic, it is the risk genuinely being higher. If your trade is not time-sensitive, executing during a calm period measurably improves the price. ## Input four: size relative to normal flow A trade that is routine for the desk prices better than one that is large for them. A desk handling hundreds of millions daily will quote a five million trade tightly. A smaller desk will quote the same trade defensively because it represents real risk to their book. Above a certain balance the same logic points at [a platform built for institutional allocations](https://collectnexchange.cy/industries/funds-family-offices) instead. Matching the desk to the trade size matters. Taking a large trade to a small desk produces a wide quote and sometimes a decline. ## Input five: the relationship Repeat counterparties with clean settlement history get better pricing. This is not sentiment, it is that a known counterparty carries less operational and credit risk. The implication is that concentrating flow with one or two desks after an initial comparison usually produces better pricing than continually shopping every trade. ## How to read a quote Convert it to a percentage against mid-market at the moment of the quote. That number is comparable across desks and across time. For a major asset at moderate size, expect something in the range of a few basis points to a few tenths of a percent. Materially wider than that on a liquid asset suggests either the desk does not want the trade or is testing you. ## When to push back When the quote is materially wider than another desk gave you seconds earlier for the same size. Say so. Desks expect this and frequently improve. When the quote is wider than the same desk gave you for a comparable trade previously, and market conditions have not changed. Ask why. When the validity window is unusually long for a volatile asset, which usually means the margin is wide enough to absorb the risk. ## When the price is fair and you should take it When two desks are within a few basis points of each other. That is the market, and further shopping wastes the window. When the asset is illiquid and the desk is quoting a size the book could not absorb. You are paying for access to liquidity that does not exist publicly. ## The settlement question again Price is not the only term. A slightly worse quote from a regulated counterparty with a documented settlement process is usually better than a slightly better quote requiring you to send first to an unknown entity. Desks operating as [a licensed crypto OTC trading platform](https://collectnexchange.cy/services/crypto-otc) publish their settlement mechanics, which lets you compare that dimension properly rather than discovering it at settlement. --- This article explains how something works. It is not financial advice. Canonical HTML version: https://cryptounderthehood.com/otc-crypto-desk-how-a-quote-is-built/