Market order

A market order is an instruction to buy or sell crypto right away. You get the best available price at that moment.

What is a market order?

With a market order, speed is your main priority. You don’t set a specific price yourself. The platform executes your buy or sell order right away at the price available at that moment.

The final price may be slightly different from the price you saw just before placing the order. This is called slippage. It can happen especially when prices move quickly. You can’t cancel a market order after placing it.

An example of a market order

You want to buy Bitcoin right away, and the exact purchase price isn’t that important to you. You place a market order for the amount you want to spend.

The platform then buys Bitcoin at the best available price at that moment. So you know the order will be executed quickly, but you won’t know the exact price in advance.

Why are market orders important in crypto?

Market orders are a commonly used order type on crypto platforms. They’re useful for people who want to buy or sell quickly without setting a specific price.

Reports about sharp price movements may mention slippage. That doesn’t automatically mean a market order is a bad choice, but it does mean the execution price may differ from what you expected.

A market order offers speed, not price certainty. If you want to set a maximum purchase price or minimum selling price in advance, you can look into a limit order.