Must-read for Newbies in the crypto world: Understand 5 types of order methods to avoid pitfalls.

To be honest, many people feel confused when they enter the exchange—there are so many order buttons, how should they be used? Today, I will clarify the ins and outs of placing orders in the crypto world for you.

The two basic types: Market Order vs Limit Order

Market Order = I want to buy/sell now, regardless of the price.

Imagine you are optimistic about BTC, the current price is 15,000 USD, and you directly buy 3 BTC with one click, totaling 45,000 USD. This is a market order - fast, but the cost may be some slippage loss.

Limit Order = I only execute at a specific price

You set “Buy 3 when BTC drops to $14,500” and then just wait. Once the price hits your limit, the order is executed automatically. The benefit is saving money, while the downside is that you might not reach that price.

There is a concept that needs to be understood: market order people are “takers” (taking money from the liquidity pool), while limit order people are “makers” (providing liquidity), so makers usually enjoy lower fees.

Advanced Three Brothers

Stop-Limit Order

BTC is at $10,000, and you are worried it might drop. Settings: Stop loss price $9,900, limit price $9,895.

When the price drops to $9900, the system will automatically place a limit order at $9895. Sounds perfect, but there’s a catch: if the price plunges through $9895, your order might not be filled.

OCO order (One Cancels the Other)

Want to make money and stop loss at the same time, one order to solve it all:

• Buy order: Buy when BTC drops to $9900
• Sell order: Sell when BTC rises to 11,000 USD

Whichever is executed first, the other will be automatically canceled. It's equivalent to setting up a “safe” for yourself.

There is also a detail: order validity period

GTC (Good 'Til Canceled) — Orders will remain open until you manually cancel or they are filled. The crypto market operates 24 hours, so this is the default option.

IOC (Immediate Or Cancel) — Execute as many as possible, and cancel the rest. For example, if you want to buy 10 BTC and only 5 are available at your price, then buy 5 and the remaining 5 will be void.

FOK (Fill or Kill) — No compromise at all; all 10 must be executed at your price, otherwise, you can forget about any.

Practical Suggestions

• In a hurry to enter the market? Use a market order, but be mentally prepared.
• Want to save on fees + earn the price difference? Use a limit order and wait patiently.
• Afraid of being trapped? Use a stop-loss order, but don't have too high expectations for the stop-loss price.
• Want to achieve two goals with one action? Use OCO orders to set profit taking and stop loss simultaneously.

Mastering these will elevate your trading from “guessing” to “methodical.”