Crypto order types, one by one
Market, limit, stop, iceberg, peg and the rest: what each crypto order type guarantees, what it risks, and how the same ideas carry over to swaps on decentralized exchanges.
In 30 seconds
Crypto order types are instructions that tell a venue how to trade: at any available price (market), only at a set price or better (limit), or only once a trigger price is reached (stop). Each one trades certainty of execution against control over price, and the details vary by venue.
Market and limit orders
Market order
A market order buys or sells immediately at the best prices available. It guarantees execution, if there is any liquidity at all, but not price. A market order larger than the size at the top of the book walks through the levels, so the average fill can sit well away from the quote on screen.
Limit order
A limit order sets the worst acceptable price: a buy limit at $100 fills at $100 or lower, never higher. It guarantees price but not execution. A buy limit above the ask fills at once, like a market order with a ceiling. A buy limit below the ask joins the book and waits, adding liquidity for others.
Time in force: GTC, IOC and FOK
Every order carries a time-in-force instruction that says how long it stays active. The common ones:
- Good-til-canceled (GTC): the order rests until it fills or the trader cancels it. Some venues expire GTC orders after a long period.
- Immediate-or-cancel (IOC): whatever can fill right now fills, and the remainder is canceled. Partial fills are allowed.
- Fill-or-kill (FOK): the whole order fills immediately or none of it does.
A crypto "day" has no closing bell, so day orders follow each venue's own cut-off. A GTC limit order left resting can fill hours later in a market that has changed completely, often right after a sharp move toward it. IOC and FOK suit traders who want to take liquidity without leaving a visible footprint. Algorithms that split a large order often send a stream of IOC limit orders, each probing the book for size without ever resting in it.
| Order type | Guarantees | Risks |
|---|---|---|
| Market | Execution, if liquidity exists | Poor average price in a thin book |
| Limit | Price at the limit or better | No fill if the price never reaches the limit |
| Stop (stop-market) | A market order once the stop triggers | Fill far below the stop in a fast move |
| Stop-limit | No fill worse than the limit | Price gaps past the limit, leaving no fill |
| Iceberg | Only part of the size is shown | Each refill loses queue priority |
| Midpoint peg | Fill at the midpoint, if matched | No fill when no contra side arrives |
| Trailing stop | Trigger follows favorable moves | Brief dip triggers it |
Stop, stop-limit and trailing stop orders
Stop order (stop-market)
A stop order sits dormant until the market reaches a trigger price, then becomes a market order. A sell stop at $95 on a token trading at $100 does nothing until a trade prints at $95 or lower; then it sells into whatever bids are there. It guarantees only that an order will be sent, not the price. In a fast fall the fill can come well below $95.
Stop-limit order
A stop-limit order adds a limit. A sell stop at $95 with a limit of $94 becomes a limit order to sell at $94 or better once $95 trades. If the price gaps from $95.50 to $93, the order sits unfilled.
Trailing stop
A trailing stop sets the trigger as a distance from the best price reached. If a token rises from $100 to $120 with a 5% trailing sell stop, the trigger moves from $95 to $114. When the price falls 5% from its high, the order triggers. Venues differ on what triggers a stop: the last trade, a mark price or an index.
Post-only orders, makers and takers
An order that rests in the book and is later filled is the maker; the order that arrives and matches against it is the taker. Many crypto venues charge the two differently through maker-taker fees, with lower fees or rebates for makers because they supply the quotes others trade against.
A post-only order guarantees maker status. If it would match immediately, the venue either rejects it or reprices it one tick away so that it rests. Market makers use post-only to avoid paying taker fees by accident.
Iceberg and reserve orders
An iceberg order, also called a reserve order, shows only part of its size in the book. A trader selling 500 units might display 20 at a time. When those 20 fill, the venue replenishes the visible slice from the hidden reserve, and the process repeats until the order is done or canceled.
The purpose is to limit information leakage. A visible 500-unit offer tells others a large seller is present, and they may step ahead of it or pull their bids. Each refill usually goes to the back of the queue at that price, so the hidden part loses time priority to orders displayed throughout.
Icebergs are not invisible. Observant traders notice a price level that keeps refilling after each trade and infer the hidden size from the pattern. At the far end of the same idea is fully hidden matching in dark pools, where nothing is shown at all.
Peg orders and the midpoint peg
A peg order has no fixed price. Its price is tied to a reference, usually the best bid, the best ask or the midpoint between them, and it moves as the reference moves. A primary peg tracks the same side of the market, a market peg the opposite side.
The midpoint peg bridges lit markets and dark pools. It rests at the midpoint of the best bid and best offer, so when it matches, buyer and seller each save half the spread compared with crossing it. Nasdaq's Midpoint Peg Post-Only order, for example, rests undisplayed at the midpoint of the national best bid and offer. Crypto has no national best bid and offer, so each venue defines its own reference, either its own book or an index it chooses. Midpoint matching is the core mechanism of most crypto dark pools.
The life of a limit order
- SubmitThe trader sends price, size and time in force.
- Risk checksThe venue checks balance, price bands and order rules.
- Match or restAny marketable part fills; the rest joins the book.
- Wait in queueEarlier orders at the same price fill first.
- FillA seller reaches the price and trades against it.
- SettleBalances update on the venue's ledger.
Conditional orders and OCO
Conditional orders link several instructions. The most common in crypto is one-cancels-the-other (OCO): two orders are placed at once, and when one fills, the venue cancels the other. A trader holding a token at $100 might pair a limit sell at $110 with a stop sell at $92. Whichever trades first cancels the other, so the position cannot be sold twice.
Bracket orders attach both a profit-taking limit and a protective stop to an entry.
Order types on decentralized exchanges
On an AMM-based decentralized exchange there is no book to rest an order in. The basic order is a swap priced by the pool's reserves. Protection against a bad fill comes from the slippage tolerance, a percentage that fixes the minimum amount the swap must return. If the price moves beyond it before the transaction is included in a block, the swap reverts. In effect, a swap with a tolerance is a marketable limit order with a fill-or-kill instruction.
Limit orders exist on-chain in other forms. Some DEXs run on-chain or hybrid order books. Aggregators let a trader sign an off-chain order at a chosen price, which a third party executes once that price is available. The slippage calculator shows how tolerance and pool depth decide what a swap returns.
Short answers
Crypto order types FAQ
What is the difference between a limit order and a market order?
A market order trades immediately at the best available prices, so it guarantees execution but not the price. A limit order sets the worst acceptable price, so it guarantees the price but not execution. In a thin book a market order can fill far from the quote, while a limit order may never fill.
How does a stop-limit order work in crypto?
A stop-limit order has two prices. When the market trades at the stop price, the order becomes a limit order at the limit price. The order will never fill worse than the limit, but if the price jumps past it, the order stays unfilled while the market keeps moving.
What is an iceberg order?
An iceberg order shows only a small part of its total size in the order book. Each filled slice is replaced from the hidden reserve until the order is done. Traders use iceberg orders to avoid signaling a large buying or selling interest.
What is a midpoint peg order?
A midpoint peg order is priced at the midpoint between the best bid and the best ask and moves as those prices change. When it matches, both sides save half the spread compared with crossing it. In crypto, each venue defines its own reference midpoint because there is no consolidated best bid and offer.
What do GTC, IOC and FOK mean?
GTC, IOC and FOK are time-in-force instructions. Good-til-canceled (GTC) keeps an order active until it fills or is canceled. Immediate-or-cancel (IOC) fills what it can at once and cancels the rest. Fill-or-kill (FOK) requires the whole order to fill immediately or not at all.
Can you place limit orders on a decentralized exchange?
Limit orders are possible on some decentralized exchanges, though not in a plain AMM swap. Some DEXs run on-chain or hybrid order books, and aggregators accept signed off-chain limit orders. A plain AMM swap uses a slippage tolerance instead, which works like a limit on the worst acceptable price.
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