What is Placement Price Protection? – Bitvavo Help Center

Placement price protection is a safety feature that prevents you from placing limit orders with prices too far from the current market value. This helps catch typing errors before your order goes live, protecting you from unintended trades. Read on to learn how this feature works and what to do if your order is blocked.

A limit order does not fill straight away. It waits in the order book until the market reaches your price, which makes a mistyped price easy to miss. The order does not fail, it just sits there, and it may fill much later at a price you never meant to set. Placement price protection catches that at the moment you place your order, while it is still easy to fix.

What does placement price protection do?

When you place a limit order, we check that the price you set is not too far from where the asset is currently trading.

The check uses the midpoint between the best buy price and the best sell price on Bitvavo's order book at that moment. Your price has to sit within a set range either side of that midpoint. The range differs per market.

Why does it exist?

Mainly to catch input errors before they become a live order. An accidental extra zero would otherwise leave an order resting far from the market, where it could fill at a price you never intended.

Which orders does it apply to?

Limit orders, at the moment you place them.

Because the range is calculated from the midpoint at that moment, it moves as the market moves. A price that is inside the range now can be outside it a few minutes later.

What happens if it is triggered?

Your order is not placed. You will be asked to move your price closer to the midpoint before you can continue. Nothing reaches the order book, so there is nothing to cancel afterwards.

An example

The numbers below are made up to show how it works. The actual range differs per market.

On Bitvavo, the best buy price for bitcoin is €99,900 and the best sell price is €100,100. The midpoint is therefore €100,000. Say the range for this market is 10%, so you can place a limit order anywhere between €90,000 and €110,000.

You want to sell 1 BTC at €105,000. That is inside the range, so your order is placed and waits for the market to reach it.

Now say you miss a zero and type €10,500. That is far below €90,000, so we do not place the order and ask you to move your price closer first. Without this check, the order would have gone straight into the order book and sold your bitcoin at once, far below the market price.

The same applies when the price is deliberate. If you want to buy at €80,000, that is outside the range too, so you cannot place that order yet. You would have to wait until the market moves closer to the price you have in mind.

What you can do

Move your price closer to the midpoint until it is accepted. If you want to place an order well away from the current market, you will need to wait until the market moves closer to the price you have in mind.

Note: Passing this check does not mean your order will definitely fill. Reference price protection applies separately when a limit order fills.

Frequently asked questions

Was my order rejected?

Not exactly. The order was never placed, so there is nothing in your order overview and nothing to cancel. Once you adjust the price, you can place it as normal.

Can I still place a limit order far from the current price?

Yes, as long as it is within the allowed range for that market. Placement price protection only steps in when your price falls outside that range. Bring it within the range and the order goes through.

Does this protection cost me anything?

No. No order is placed, so no fees apply.