Base Currency

Base Currency is the currency that appears first in the currency pair quote format (for instance GBP for Pound Sterling in “GBPUSD”) applied in foreign exchange markets.  A traditional way to express currency exchange rates of a given currency pair is to express conversion rates in units of the second currency (called quote currency or counter currency) for 1 unit of the base currency.  For instance, a quote of GBPUSD = 1.0500 means that one Pound Sterling (GBP) is worth 1.05 US Dollars.  It is common to distinguish between Bid and Ask quotes - the rate at which one can buy or sell Base currency vs quote currency, respectively. It has become common to also show Mid quote - a theoretical average of prevailing Bid and Ask quotes.  HedgeFlows platform always shows you the rate relevant to the direction of the payment so you don't have to guess which rate is relevant for you.