How to place a limit order
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 5 min
In short
Placing a limit order generally means choosing the pair, choosing buy or sell, entering a price and a quantity, and confirming. The order then sits in your order list until the market actually reaches that price. Before you place one, find out how long it stays valid and where the cancel control is, so you do not leave orders running unattended.
Key points
- You set the price and the quantity yourself, so the fill price is the one you intended
- If the market never reaches your price, the order simply stays open
- After placing it you can check its status in your order list, and normally cancel it
- While an order is open, the funds or coins behind it are usually held aside
Definition
An order in which you name the price yourself: buy at or below your price, sell at or above it.
The flow is much the same everywhere. Pick the pair on the trading screen, choose the limit order type, choose buy or sell, enter a price and a quantity, then review and confirm. Layouts and tab names differ by operator, so take your time the first few times and actually read the confirmation screen before committing.
When you type the price, most screens show the order book beside it. Put a buy limit below the current asking price and you have an order that waits for the market to come down. Put it where it can match immediately and you have something that behaves much like a market order. Either is fine — just know which one you are doing. The glossary entries on the order book and market depth explain how to read that panel.
Quantity is entered either as an amount of the coin or as an amount of yen, depending on the service. If you enter yen, the screen should show the coin quantity it works out to; look at that number before confirming. Reading the confirmation screen is what prevents the classic off-by-one-digit accident.
Once placed, the order appears in a list as open, partially filled or filled — the wording varies. A partial fill, where some of your size executes and the rest stays open, is normal: it just means the book did not have enough at your price. You then decide whether to wait or cancel the remainder.
How long an order stays valid differs by operator: some run until cancelled, some expire at the end of the day, some let you choose. If you place orders without checking this, one will eventually fill at a moment you have forgotten about. The longer you intend to wait, the more it pays to set the expiry deliberately and to glance at your open orders regularly.
Watch out for
- · While an order is open, the balance behind it may be held and unavailable for withdrawal or other orders
- · In a fast market, price can jump straight past your level without filling — or fill sooner than you expected
- · A cancellation is not done until it is accepted; if it races an execution, it may not go through
Frequently asked questions
How long does a limit order stay open?
It depends on the operator. Some run until you cancel, some expire the same day, and some let you pick a duration. Check the order screen or the help pages of the exchange you use.