When placing a cryptocurrency trade, you have a choice between three order types. One thing to keep in mind and what makes cryptocurrency trading unique is that you may place an order for a partial or non-whole number (decimalized) quantity. In summary, you will only have control over specific details on an order ticket, depending on the selected order type.
To learn how to place a crypto order, please click here.
Since cryptocurrencies trade 24/7/365, all submitted orders are inherently GTC (Good ‘Til Cancel) orders as there is no normal “Day” session similar to equities. Any working cryptocurrency (limit) order will continue working until canceled.
What kind of orders can I place for crypto?
Market Orders
You may only adjust the quantity on the order ticket. Your crypto order will base the total fill price based on the quantity entered to the current market price (qty x current market price) after sending the order. Market orders fill immediately based on the current market price, which is the Ask price when buying or the Bid price when selling.
Limit Order
You may only adjust the quantity and the limit price on the order ticket. A crypto limit order will fill your order at the limit price you specified or better. As a result, the order may not fill immediately based on your limit price if it is not marketable.
For example, if you wish to buy 0.25 of BTC when it is currently trading at $41,000 and enter a limit order at $40,000, it will fill when the ASK price of BTC falls to $40,000. The Estimated Dollar Amount based on your quantity to the quantity entered will be $10,000.
When placing a crypto limit order, you are specifying a price in relation to the value of a full coin. Based on the quantity entered, the estimated dollar amount of the entered order will list in the Est. Dollar Amount field (qty x limit price of a full coin = Est. Dollar Amount).
Dollar Amount
You may only adjust the Dollar Amount you wish to purchase or sell. In short, you are submitting an order to buy or sell a specific dollar amount of crypto, which is effectively a notional market order. The actual quantity filled will depend on the entered dollar amount to the current market price, which is the Ask price when buying or the Bid price when selling.