01Definition
Price impact is the change in execution price caused by your order relative to available liquidity.
02Why it matters
The same dollar order can produce very different fills in different pools.
03What to check
- Current executable quote for the intended size
- Pool depth and route
- Impact, fees, and slippage tolerance separately
04Healthy / Dangerous
Healthy
The order fits the quote and the expected cost is understood.
Dangerous
Thin depth or broad tolerance turns a modest order into a poor fill.
05Beginner mistake
Expecting equal buy sizes to create equal moves.
06Takeaway
Thin liquidity magnifies each trade.
See the idea
- 01
Compare a $1k order in a deep pool and a thin pool.
- 02
The thin pool may offer a much worse average execution price.
- 03
Compare the actual quotes, not just the chart prices.
Try it on a token
See it in Meme Fast → SwingCheck reported liquidity as context. Obtain current impact and execution quotes externally.
Go deeper
Price sensitivity is not automatically strength: it can amplify selling too. A ratio of price change to sampled net buying is descriptive, not a stable capital-efficiency score. Liquidity, routes, and missing trades can all change the comparison.
Need the basics? Revisit 101A →