A market order is an instruction to promptly purchase or sell an asset at the prevailing best available price. Its execution depends on the presence of sufficient liquidity in the market, as it is carried out based on existing limit orders listed in the order book. When the objective is to acquire or offload a security immediately at the present market rate, opting for a market order is the most suitable course of action.
To illustrate, if the price of BTEX is experiencing a rapid surge, and you're eager to acquire it without delay, you are ready to accept the current market price as long as you can secure BTEX instantly. In this scenario, you would place a market order on your chosen exchange.
Advantages of a market order
- Simplicity in execution
Market orders are remarkably user-friendly. When dealing with highly liquid assets like BTC or ETH, boasting substantial market capitalization, a market order offers a relatively secure and straightforward option.
- Immediate fulfilment
Market orders enable you to swiftly acquire or dispose of the precise quantity of an asset you desire. Whether you need to swiftly close all your positions or initiate a new one, a market order almost invariably ensures your immediate access to the market.
- Swift trade execution
In scenarios where time is of the essence, such as just before closing hours, a market order guarantees expeditious trade execution. It is often the fastest way to carry out trades under time constraints.
Disadvantages of a market order
- Vulnerability to slippage
Market orders, especially when applied to assets with low trading volumes, can subject you to significant slippage. This means you may end up paying more or receiving less than initially anticipated, as there might not be sufficient volume on the order book, causing your order to traverse various price levels.
- Lack of preplanning
Market orders don't allow for advance planning of your trades. It's not always feasible to be constantly monitoring the market for optimal trade entry points. In situations where the market moves against your trading strategy while you are unavailable or asleep, utilizing a market order is not an option. In such cases, limit orders or stop-limit orders offer a more strategic approach.
Market order and limit order can be distinguished through the following variances:
| Market order | Limit order |
|---|---|
Filled immediately | Filled only at limit order’s price |
| Manually confirmed | Can be set in advance |
Purchases asset at market price | Purchases asset at set price |
On our Marketplace, sold currency is the one that you pay, bought currency is the one that you buy. There are no trading fees and the fulfilment of the order is almost immediate.
On our Advanced trading section, your order would be instantly placed in the Order book. It would be fulfilled if there is an opposite order there for the same market price and at the same time. The buyer and the seller would get matched in the Order book and they would exchange their currencies.
So if you would like to place a market order via Advanced trading, you need to choose trading pair first:
After you select trading pair, you can navigate to trading section on the right of the page and select Market:
If you select Buy button is selected and currency pair X/Y is selected, then currency X will be bought and currency Y sold.
If you select Sell button is selected and currency pair X/Y is selected, then currency X will be sold and currency Y bought.
Once you input amount, the system instantly provides you with critical information. This includes an estimated order value, an estimation of the slippage rate, and the anticipated trading fee. It's vital to note that these values are approximate and are subject to slight variations based on the current market conditions, including its level of volatility or tranquility.
⚠️ Placing a market order in a highly volatile market can bring unexpected results. The price might change between the moment you create the order and when it fully executes. These slight differences can be the difference between profit and loss for arbitragers.
If you agree with parameters, you can click Buy/Sell button. Then you will need to confirm the order once again:
⚠️ If you would like to skip double confirmation in the future, you can tick an option not to ask double confirmation.
After that, if there is enough volume in Order book to fill the order, it will be filled almost automatically. If not, you will be able to see your order in Order book and in Active orders below.
If you do not want the other part of the order to be filled anymore, you can cancel it by clicking on the relevant button. All actions are additionally shown as pop-up messages on the top right corner. 
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact our Support team.