Conversational trading, explained. Guides on embedded AI trading agents for exchanges and brokers, the advice boundary, and trading concepts in plain English.https://askthehippo.com/blog/enhttps://askthehippo.com/blog/ai-order-ticket-fields/https://askthehippo.com/blog/ai-order-ticket-fields/Every field an AI-drafted order ticket needs before a trader confirms, why each matters, and worked spot and leveraged perpetual examples.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe advice boundaryorder ticketorder confirmationAI trading agentperpetual futuresUXteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/ai-trading-agent-vendor-checklist/https://askthehippo.com/blog/ai-trading-agent-vendor-checklist/Twenty questions for exchanges and brokers evaluating an AI trading agent vendor, grouped by safety, confirmation, data, integration, security and pilot.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTEmbedded trading agentsvendor evaluationRFPAI trading agentdue diligencecrypto exchangeteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/build-vs-buy-ai-trading-agent/https://askthehippo.com/blog/build-vs-buy-ai-trading-agent/What it takes to build an AI trading agent in-house, how that compares with buying one, and the questions that decide which path fits your venue.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTEmbedded trading agentsbuild vs buyAI trading agentcrypto exchangebroker technologyvendor evaluationteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/exchange-trader-retention-second-trade/https://askthehippo.com/blog/exchange-trader-retention-second-trade/Why the second trade is a stronger retention signal than the first, the cohort metrics that track it, what drives drop-off, and how to measure it.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTExchange growthretentionsecond tradecohort analysisexchange growthproduct metricsteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/hippo-explains-never-advises/https://askthehippo.com/blog/hippo-explains-never-advises/Why 'Hippo explains, never advises' is a product decision, how it shows up in behaviour, how it is enforced, and what traders get instead of a verdict.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe advice boundaryHippoinvestment adviceadvice boundaryAI trading agentproduct designteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/how-ai-trading-agents-avoid-investment-advice/https://askthehippo.com/blog/how-ai-trading-agents-avoid-investment-advice/Where the line between information and advice sits for an AI trading agent, and how to build and test an agent that stays on the information side.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe advice boundaryinvestment adviceAI compliancetrading agentguardrailsteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/how-to-read-an-order-book/https://askthehippo.com/blog/how-to-read-an-order-book/How to read a crypto order book: bids, asks, the spread, mid price and depth, with an illustrative book, worked calculations and what depth means for size.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedorder bookbid ask spreadmarket depthliquiditytrading basicsteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/information-vs-investment-advice/https://askthehippo.com/blog/information-vs-investment-advice/How market information differs from investment advice, with paired examples, why definitions vary by jurisdiction, and the grey areas that need care.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe advice boundaryinvestment advicemarket informationcomplianceAI trading agentadvice boundaryteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/isolated-vs-cross-margin/https://askthehippo.com/blog/isolated-vs-cross-margin/How isolated and cross margin work on perpetual futures, how a loss on one position affects each mode, and the trade-offs between them, with a worked example.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedisolated margincross marginmarginliquidationperpetual futuresteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/leverage-margin-liquidation-explained/https://askthehippo.com/blog/leverage-margin-liquidation-explained/How leverage, initial margin, maintenance margin and liquidation price fit together on perpetual futures, with a worked calculation and common mistakes.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedleveragemarginliquidationperpetual futuresriskteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/liquidation-cascades-explained/https://askthehippo.com/blog/liquidation-cascades-explained/How forced liquidations can push price into further liquidations, why thin books and high leverage matter, and how cascades show in open interest.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedliquidationliquidation cascadeopen interestleverageperpetual futuresteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/long-vs-short-positions/https://askthehippo.com/blog/long-vs-short-positions/What going long and going short mean in spot and derivatives trading, how profit and loss is calculated each way, and why short losses have no ceiling.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedlong positionshort positionperpetual futurestrading basicsP&Lteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/maker-vs-taker-fees/https://askthehippo.com/blog/maker-vs-taker-fees/What maker and taker fees are, why they differ, how to calculate a trading fee on notional value, and how post-only orders work, with worked examples.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedtrading feesmaker feetaker feepost-onlyorder typesteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/mark-price-vs-last-price-vs-index-price/https://askthehippo.com/blog/mark-price-vs-last-price-vs-index-price/What last price, index price and mark price mean on a perpetual futures contract, and why venues use mark price for liquidation, with a worked example.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedmark priceindex pricelast priceperpetual futuresliquidationteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/market-limit-stop-orders-explained/https://askthehippo.com/blog/market-limit-stop-orders-explained/How market, limit, stop-market and stop-limit orders work, when each fills, and what can go wrong, with worked examples and a side-by-side comparison.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedorder typeslimit orderstop lossstop-limittrading basicsteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/mcp-endpoint-vs-embedded-trading-agent/https://askthehippo.com/blog/mcp-endpoint-vs-embedded-trading-agent/Publishing an MCP server lets outside AI tools reach your exchange. Embedding an agent keeps traders on your surface. The trade-offs, compared side by side.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTEmbedded trading agentsMCPModel Context Protocolexchange APIAI strategyteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/measuring-ai-agent-impact-exchange/https://askthehippo.com/blog/measuring-ai-agent-impact-exchange/How to design a holdout pilot for an embedded AI trading agent, the primary and guardrail metrics to track, and a sample week-by-week timeline.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTExchange growthpilot designholdout groupAI trading agentproduct metricsexperimentationteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/open-interest-explained/https://askthehippo.com/blog/open-interest-explained/Open interest counts the derivative contracts still open. How it changes with each trade, how it differs from volume, and how traders read it alongside price.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedopen interestderivativesperpetual futuresmarket datateam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/perpetual-futures-funding-rates-explained/https://askthehippo.com/blog/perpetual-futures-funding-rates-explained/What a funding rate is, why perpetual futures have one, who pays whom, and how to calculate the cost of funding on a position, with worked examples.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedfunding rateperpetual futuresperpsderivativesteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/slippage-explained/https://askthehippo.com/blog/slippage-explained/What slippage is, what causes it, how to calculate average fill price and slippage percentage from an order book, and the ways traders limit it.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedslippageorder bookmarket ordersliquidityexecutionteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/spot-vs-futures-vs-perpetuals/https://askthehippo.com/blog/spot-vs-futures-vs-perpetuals/How spot trading, dated futures and perpetual futures differ on ownership, expiry, leverage, funding and settlement, with a comparison table and worked example.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedspot tradingfuturesperpetual futuresderivativestrading basicsteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/stablecoin-pairs-usdt-usdc-explained/https://askthehippo.com/blog/stablecoin-pairs-usdt-usdc-explained/What a quote currency is, how USDT and USDC trading pairs work, why the same coin shows slightly different prices in each, and how to convert between them.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedstablecoinsUSDTUSDCtrading pairsquote currencyteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/take-profit-stop-loss-perpetuals/https://askthehippo.com/blog/take-profit-stop-loss-perpetuals/How take-profit and stop-loss orders work on perpetual futures, mark vs last price triggers, reduce-only, and the P&L at each level in a worked example.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedtake profitstop lossperpetual futuresreduce-onlyriskteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/thin-client-sdk-vs-deep-integration/https://askthehippo.com/blog/thin-client-sdk-vs-deep-integration/Two ways to embed an AI trading agent: a docked panel via thin-client SDK with server-driven cards, or deep integration into native screens. Trade-offs.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTEmbedded trading agentsthin clientSDKintegrationAI trading agentserver-driven UIteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/time-in-force-gtc-ioc-fok/https://askthehippo.com/blog/time-in-force-gtc-ioc-fok/How time-in-force settings control how long an order stays live, with GTC, IOC, FOK, post-only and GTD worked against a sample order book.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedtime in forceGTCIOCFOKpost-onlyorder typesteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/trading-agent-vs-support-chatbot/https://askthehippo.com/blog/trading-agent-vs-support-chatbot/A trading agent and a support chatbot both look like a chat bubble, but they do different jobs, use different data and are measured differently.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTEmbedded trading agentssupport chatbotAI trading agentcrypto exchangecustomer supportproduct strategyteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/what-are-perpetual-futures/https://askthehippo.com/blog/what-are-perpetual-futures/What perpetual futures are, how they differ from dated futures, and how funding, leverage and mark price work, with a worked profit and loss example.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTrading concepts, explainedperpetual futuresperpsderivativesfunding rateleverageteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/what-is-an-embedded-conversational-trading-agent/https://askthehippo.com/blog/what-is-an-embedded-conversational-trading-agent/An embedded conversational trading agent lets traders ask, research and draft orders in plain English inside their exchange's own app. How it works.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTEmbedded trading agentsconversational tradingAI trading agentcrypto exchangebroker technologyteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/where-traders-go-with-questions/https://askthehippo.com/blog/where-traders-go-with-questions/The questions traders ask mid-session, where they go to answer them, what each exit costs an exchange in attention, and how to measure it in your own data.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTExchange growthtrader behaviourengagementexchange growthin-app helpproduct metricsteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/why-confirm-by-default-matters/https://askthehippo.com/blog/why-confirm-by-default-matters/When an AI agent can draft trades, mandatory trader confirmation protects the trader, the exchange and the agent. What a good confirmation step shows.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe advice boundaryorder confirmationAI order flowtrader safetyexchange riskteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)https://askthehippo.com/blog/why-new-traders-stall-before-first-trade/https://askthehippo.com/blog/why-new-traders-stall-before-first-trade/Where new exchange users drop off between sign-up and first trade, the questions behind each drop, and the activation metrics product teams can track.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTExchange growthactivationonboardingexchange growthproduct metricsteam@askthehippo.com (Team Hippo)