You’ve placed an order to buy or sell at a certain price, but after several minutes, it still hasn’t been filled. We’ve felt this frustration, too! Nothing is wrong with the app or the exchange. It’s just how open orders work.
Knowing how an open order book exchange works can help you plan your trading better.
Okay, how do open orders work?
ZebPay’s trading platform works via an open-order book – a list of all open orders to buy or sell crypto that are currently available. We do not buy or sell to individual traders ourselves, but only make sure your transactions go through correctly.
Each order represents an individual investor saying they are willing to buy or sell at a specific price.
Think of the order book as a marketplace. Anyone can place an open order, but that does not guarantee that someone else will agree to their price.
That open order will then remain on the order book until the person that placed the order either cancels it, or someone else agrees to take the open offer.
In some cases, an order may be partially completed – in which case part of your balance will be updated. You will still see a pending order, but only for the amount remaining.
So why is my order still pending?
If you find your order still pending after an hour or two, it’s possible that there have been no counter-parties willing to purchase at the price you’ve set. Alternatively, it could be that your order is partially complete. Try refreshing your app to see if there has been a change in your balance.
Else, take a look at the current trading price. Crypto is still very volatile, and it is not uncommon to see massive price swings – especially at the time of a new coin launch. If you find the price has changed, that is a great indicator for why your order is still pending.
Try cancelling, and placing the order again. With a new order more in line with the current market price – you’re sure to see results!
If your order is closer to the market price, you are more likely to get your order filled. But again, remember there are no guarantees in any market on any exchange. Prices keep moving and you need to have another trader match your order in order to get filled. This is simply the reality of trading. But don’t worry. People have been doing it successfully for thousands of years, and so can you.
Want to learn more about open orders on ZebPay? Click here!
