Market Maker
A firm or program that continuously offers to both purchase and sell an asset, earning the spread for providing that service.
A market maker profits from the spread and from rebates, while managing the inventory it accumulates by hedging on other venues or in derivatives. Token issuers often sign agreements with market-making firms, sometimes paid in the token itself or through loan-and-option structures, which is a practice with no close parallel in listed equities. Unlike a designated market maker on a regulated stock exchange, a crypto market maker usually has no regulatory obligation to keep quoting, so quotes can be withdrawn during stress precisely when they are most needed. The automated market maker is a software analogue that quotes from a formula rather than from a view on inventory.
Na prática
During sharp moves, spreads widen across venues as quoting firms reduce size to limit the inventory they must hedge.
O equívoco comum
Market makers do not set an asset's fair value; they quote around where they believe they can offload inventory and manage risk.