XTZUSD is the market symbol for Tezos (XTZ) priced in US dollars, where XTZ is the native token of the Tezos blockchain and USD is the US dollar. The quote shows how many US dollars buy one XTZ. Tezos is a proof-of-stake blockchain known for being self-amending, meaning it can upgrade its own rules through on-chain governance.
To trade XTZUSD you use a crypto CFD, a position on the price that requires no token ownership and no wallet. Take a long position if you expect XTZ to climb, or a short position if you expect it to drop. The pair is quoted in US dollars, trades continuously, and can be volatile in line with the wider crypto market.
Because Tezos can amend itself through governance, holders can vote on protocol upgrades that take effect without splitting the network, which sets it apart from chains that rely on contentious hard forks. XTZ's price is influenced by network adoption, governance and upgrade activity, staking participation, and correlation with Bitcoin, and it competes with other smart-contract platforms such as Ethereum.
Say XTZUSD is trading at 1.00 and you expect a decline, so you short 2,000 XTZ. The price falls to 0.85, a move of 0.15 in your favour per token, so your profit is:
0.15 √ó 2,000 = USD 300
If XTZ had instead risen to 1.15, the same 0.15 move per token against you would have cost USD 300.