Categories: Order types

Participants trading on RULEMATCH may use a variety of order types depending on their needs and trading strategies. Combined with a variety of time-in-force and triggering conditions, RULEMATCH offers flexible options for institutional traders of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, enabling them to deploy the right order for the right situation.

Limit

A limit order must specify a valid price and will only execute in part or in full at prices equal to or more generous than its specified limit price.

Market

A market order is an unpriced order that will execute against the best-priced orders in the order book. Market orders cannot be stored in the order book during continuous trading and will be canceled if they are not immediately executed.

Best Limit

A best limit order will automatically be assigned to the best price on the same side of the order book at the time the order is registered. No price is therefore required. The order is rejected if no order is available on the same side of the order book. Once in the order book, the order price is never amended even if a better-priced order is entered.

Market-to-Limit

A market-to-limit order will execute at the best possible price on the opposite side of the order book. If the order is partially matched, the remainder is converted to a limit order priced at match price. In comparison with a normal market order, the Market-to-Limit order only executes at the best price level and therefore does not trade through the order book. Once in the order book, the order price is never amended even if a better-priced order is entered.

Iceberg

An iceberg order consists of a visible and a total quantity. The visible quantity of the iceberg order is published in the order book. If the visible quantity of the iceberg order is executed, another tranche of the total quantity is entered as visible quantity in the order book until the order is fully executed, canceled, or expired. Each tranche shall be given a new time stamp and identification number and will lose time priority. An iceberg order can be entered as a limit, best limit or market-to-limit order, by defining both the visible and the total quantity of the order.

Imbalance

An Imbalance order can only participate in an Opening/Closing Auction at the equilibrium price and any unfilled balance after the uncrossing will be canceled. Imbalance orders do not affect the equilibrium price and are executed only against any surplus imbalance (i.e. behind limit and market orders) and not against each other. Imbalance orders are not publicly shown, neither as order depth or price depth.

Time in Force conditions determine how long an order will be kept in the market if it has not yet been executed.

Immediate-Or-Cancel (IOC)

Orders with IOC time in force shall be executed immediately, partially or in full. Non-executed parts of the order shall be deleted without entry in the order book.

Fill-or-kill (FOK)

Orders with FOK time in force shall be executed immediately and in full or not at all. If an immediate, full execution is not possible, the order shall be deleted without entry in the order book.

Day

Day orders are valid during the current trading day only. If the order cannot be executed in this timeframe, it is automatically canceled following the closing auction of the trading session.

Good-till-Canceled (GTC)

GTC orders remain in effect until executed or canceled. All GTC orders are automatically canceled 180 calendar days after entry.

Good-till-Date (GTD)

GTD orders remain valid until the close of trading on a specified trading day. GTD orders turn into Day orders at the final date of their validity. The maximum term of validity shall be 180 calendar days.

Good-till-Session (GTS)

GTS orders are valid until the end of a defined session and are only kept in the order book for the trading day on which they were entered.

Allowed time in force conditions per order type:

Iceberg orders inherit the allowed Time in Force conditions of the order type they were entered as (Limit, Best Limit or Market-to-Limit order).

Triggering conditions are optional and represent the mechanism used by the matching engine to automatically activate orders based on specified criteria.

The following triggering conditions are available:

• Trigger by price: orders using this condition are triggered based on price movements of the Central Limit Order Book of RULEMATCH. Triggering can only take place during Continuous Trading, and the condition can be defined relative to the best bid, best offer or last match price.

• Trigger by session: orders using this condition are triggered when the Central Limit Order Book enters a specified trading session (either Opening Auction, Closing Auction or Continuous Trading).

Only one triggering condition per order is allowed.

Un-triggered orders with time in force up to and including Day will expire at the logical day shift, either on a session change (if applicable), or following the closing auction. Un-triggered orders with time in force longer than Day will be reloaded in the next trading day. As a result, an un-triggered order with time in force FOK, IOC, Day or GTS will therefore not be reloaded in the next trading day, while GTC and GTD will always be reloaded the next trading day.

At Open and At Close orders can be entered with the triggering session set to Opening (Closing) Auction and the time in force set to GTS for the same trading session.

Stop loss orders can be entered as a market order with an IOC time in force and trigger on price but will only be valid for the current trading day. In case longer validity is required, a Stop limit order can be used, set up as a limit order with a GTD time in force and trigger on price.

The following features are not allowed during opening and closing auctions:

• Best Limit & Market-to-Limit orders
• FOK Time in Force
• Triggering on Price conditions

IOC time in force is allowed during the opening and closing auctions, with any remaining quantity canceled after the uncrossing.

Imbalance orders may only be entered during the opening and closing auctions and always as active orders (no triggering conditions). All time in force values, except FOK, are allowed but lead to the same outcome of any remaining quantity of the Imbalance order being canceled after the uncrossing.

Quotes represent a special type of transaction that includes both a buy and sell side with corresponding prices and quantities. They are meant to provide high frequency and low latency order entry for market makers and liquidity providers. A new quote always replaces a previous one, per order book and user.

Thus, a user is only allowed to have one quote per order book. Bid and ask prices in an incoming quote are not allowed to cross or lock with each other. Quotes are implicitly limit orders with time in force set to Day.