Market Maker
a.k.a. Liquidity provider
A firm that always stands ready to both buy and sell, earning the spread in return for being there.
A market maker is the shopkeeper of trading. It quotes two prices at once: a bid it will buy at and an ask it will sell at. Want to trade at 3 a.m.? The market maker is open. The small gap between its two prices, the spread, is its pay for standing behind the counter all day and night.
Many retail forex brokers work this way: they take the other side of your trade themselves (a "dealing desk"). That is not automatically sinister, but it does mean your loss can be their gain, which is why regulation and a broker's reputation matter.
Keep this word for good
Your free Private Swap Lounge saves the terms you’ve learned and quizzes you on them. Portal under construction. Expected delivery date is December 01, 2026.