Long versus short
When we open a position that we expect to rise in value, we do it by opening a long position, going long or “longing.”
When we open a position that we expect to fall in value, we open a short position, go short, or just short (a token).
Even though, theoretically, we can go in both directions at the same time (and some risk management strategies do this, for example, hedging), we usually go either long or short.
When we issue a long order, the CEX buys the token for our account. For example, we can send a market order to buy one BTC at market value and, after execution, we’ll be owning (or rather our account on the CEX will be owning) one BTC.
When we open a short position at market value, what the CEX actually does is buy the token, and then instantly sell it at the price it bought it. When we close the short, the CEX rebuys the token at the new price, and we get the difference.
For example, we short 1 BTC at market value, let...
