Stop Market and Stop Limit entry/standalone orders

Introduction

Stop Market and Stop Limit orders are conditional orders that only become active after a specified Stop Price is reached.

They are useful when you want to automate entries or exits that would otherwise execute immediately at the current market price.

These order types appear at the top of the Trading Widget and can be used as:

• An entry for a Smart Position
• A standalone order (placed without a linked Take Profit or Stop Loss)
• A stop loss for coins already owned — or for repurchasing coins sold short

In each case, the order is placed and executes in the same way.

Smart Stop Loss orders (as exits for Smart Orders) also use Stop Market and Stop Limit logic, but behave differently and include additional features — see Comparison: standalone Stop Orders vs Smart Stop Loss below for details.

Contents

Understanding Stop Orders

When to Use Stop Market or Stop Limit Orders

How Altrady Handles Stop Orders

How to Place a Stop Market Order

How to Place a Stop Limit Order

Troubleshooting

• Trading Widget error: "Price should be higher (lower) than XXXXX"
• Order error: "Stop price below (above) XXXXX"
• Coins not reserved after placing the order

Related Articles

Understanding Stop Orders

The functional part of a Stop Market or Stop Limit order is the associated Market or Limit order.

• Stop Market: Becomes a Market order when the Stop Price is reached.
• Stop Limit: Becomes a Limit order when the Stop Price is reached.

The main purpose is to place an order that would otherwise fill immediately, by holding it until the market reaches your chosen trigger level.

Example:

If BTC is trading at $60,000 and you want to buy at $61,000, a normal Market or Limit order would execute immediately.

A Stop order lets you wait until the price rises to $61,000 before buying.

When to Use Stop Market or Stop Limit Orders

• Stop Market

Triggers a Market order — best for guaranteed execution when price crosses the Stop Price.

May incur slippage during volatile conditions.

• Stop Limit

Triggers a Limit order — gives you control over the execution price, but may not fill if the price moves too quickly past your Limit.

How Altrady Handles Stop Orders

Where possible, Altrady places both Stop Market and Stop Limit orders directly on the exchange using the exchange’s native stop order type.

This ensures your order can trigger even during periods of high API load or temporary connection delay.

Most exchanges don't reserve the coins immediately when a Stop order is placed.

A table can be seen below, indicating which exchanges support native Stop Market orders, whether they reserve the coins immediately and who the order is managed by:

Behavior for internally managed Stop Market orders:

• Coins are not reserved.
• Altrady continuously monitors price data.
• When the Stop Price is reached, a Market order is placed on the exchange.

During high volatility or exchange delays, this can cause slippage between your Stop Price and actual fill price.

How to Place a Stop Market Order

A Stop Market order is a Market order with a Stop Price trigger.

Steps:

1. Open the Trading Widget and select Stop Market.
2. Enter your Stop Price (the trigger level).
3. Enter the Amount you wish to buy or sell.
4. Review and confirm the order.

Once the Stop Price is reached, Altrady places a Market order on the exchange.

How to Place a Stop Limit Order

A Stop Limit order combines a Stop Price trigger with a Limit order placement.

Steps:

1. Select Stop Limit in the Trading Widget.
2. Enter your Stop Price — when this price is reached, your Limit order will be created.
3. Enter your Limit Price — the maximum (buy) or minimum (sell) price you’re willing to trade at.
4. Enter your Amount and confirm.

If the market moves quickly beyond your Limit Price, the order may not fill.

Troubleshooting

Trading Widget error: “Price should be higher (lower) than XXXXX”

The Stop Price must be:

• Higher than the current price for a Buy order
• Lower than the current price for a Sell order

Otherwise, the exchange rejects the order immediately.

If this occurs, use a regular Market or Limit order instead.

Order error: “Stop price below (above) XXXXX”

This is the same logic as above — but may occur when the market moves while you’re entering the order.

Coins not reserved after placing the order

This is normal for:

• Exchanges where native Stop Market orders are unavailable (managed internally by Altrady), and
• Kucoin Spot, which does not reserve coins even for native stop orders.

Order Type Comparisons

Standalone Stop Orders vs Smart Stop Loss

Stop orders within Smart Orders are always managed internally by Altrady:

• Take Profit orders are placed directly on the exchange and reserve coins.
• Stop Loss orders are triggered internally once the Stop Price is reached.
• This allows for features like cooldowns and multiple Take Profits.

See Smart Orders: Stop Loss for details.

Stop Orders vs Start Condition

A Start Condition (price) functions similarly to a Stop trigger, but can be combined with any entry order — including ladders, Market, or Limit.

See Smart Orders: Start position at ... (hidden orders) for more information.

Quick Reference Summary

Related Articles

• How to Place a Market Order
• How to Place a Limit Order
• Smart Orders: Stop Loss
• Smart Orders: Start position at ... (hidden orders)
• Smart Orders: Stop Loss including optional Cooldowns (Time and Candle Close)

Updated on: 24/10/2025