Ask

An ask (also called the offer) is the price at which a prospective seller is willing to sell an asset, along with the quantity available at that price. On an order book, asks form the sell side, and the lowest of them is the “best ask”—the cheapest price at which the asset is currently offered.

An ask executes only when it meets a matching buy order at or above its price. The best ask always sits above the best bid, and the difference between them is the spread. Submitting an ask does not guarantee a sale; it fills only when a buyer meets that price.