On 17th March, Coinbase made the announcement that they were introducing stop orders to their Coinbase Exchange service, via a post on the Coinbase blog.
Stop Orders Limit Losses
Investopedia defines a stop order as “an order to buy or sell a security when its price surpasses a particular point, thus ensuring a greater probability of achieving a predetermined entry or exit price, limiting the investor's loss or locking in his or her profit.”
In the context of Bitcoin, “stop orders allow customers to buy or sell Bitcoin at a specified price. This order type helps traders protect profits, limit losses, and even initiate new positions when the market breaks out.”
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Coinbase Exchange
All Coinbase users need to do to place a stop order on the Coinbase Exchange is (or if you’re quick, you can follow the gif):
- Sign in to Coinbase Exchange
- Select the STOP tab on the orders panel
- Choose whether you want to place a ‘Buy’ or ‘Sell’ stop order
- Enter the amount of Bitcoin you want to buy or sell
- Set the price at which you want to trigger the order
- Click ‘Place Buy Stop’ or ‘Place Sell Stop’ to place the order.
“Once submitted, stop orders are immediately visible on the open orders panel and can be cancelled anytime by clicking the ‘X’ in the status column. Customers who use programmatic or automated trading strategies can also place stop orders via the STOP ORDER endpoint in the Coinbase Exchange API.”
The post concluded with Coinbase reiterating its goal in creating Coinbase Exchange: “We’re committed to making Coinbase Exchange the most liquid, transparent, and trusted Bitcoin exchange in the world.”