Slippage refers to the difference between the price you expect to pay (or receive) for a token during a trade and the actual price at which the trade is executed.

In a decentralized exchange (DEX), prices can change quickly due to market volatility and liquidity, which means the final trade might occur at a slightly higher or lower price than expected.

For example, if you’re trying to buy a token at $10 but the price moves to $10.05 by the time your trade goes through, the $0.05 difference is considered slippage. Slippage can happen in both directions—either in your favor (a better price) or against you (a worse price).

When exchanging on platforms like AhaSwap, you can often set a slippage tolerance, which is the maximum percentage of a price difference you’re willing to accept for a trade to go through. If the slippage exceeds your tolerance, the transaction won’t execute, protecting you from unexpected losses.