Before you can start buying and selling, you'll need to deposit funds into your Kraken account.
Once your account is funded, you can use this guide to place your first order!
Note: Kraken has numerous trading options and order types. To help keep things simple, the step-by-step guide cover Market or Limit orders. Although a summary of order types can be found below.
Trading on the platform
Placing your first trade on Kraken Pro
- 1.
Select the currency pair you'd like to trade
Decide which assets you want to trade, such as buying Bitcoin (BTC) with US Dollars or selling Ethereum (ETH) for Euros. Select your chosen pair from the market selector button in the top left corner of the Trade tab.From here you can select any of the trading pairs.For more details on currency pairs, see: Cryptocurrencies available on Kraken. The first currency in a pairing represents the base currency, while the second currency represents the quote currency.In the BTC/USD currency pair, BTC is the base currency, and USD is the quote currency.
In a Buy order: You pay the quote currency, and receive the base currency.In a Sell order: You sell the base currency, and receive quote currency. - 2.
Fill out the order form
After selecting your trading pair, you can fill out the Order form to submit your trade.Here you’ll see three text boxes and the option to use a market or limit order. Before we input values into these boxes, knowing how a market or limit order works is necessary.A Market order is meant for immediate execution, as it will match with limit orders that are already available on our order books. Market orders will always incur a slightly higher fee known as a taker fee (the second percent beside your 30 day volume). With market orders you can only input the volume you would like to buy or sell and not the price.Limit orders will execute at the price you’ve set or better, once the market reaches your limit price. They can be subject to maker or taker fees depending on when it executes. If a matching order already exists and it’s executed immediately, then taker fees will be charged. - 3.Submit orderOnce you’ve decided on if you’re looking for a market or limit order, you can select your choice with the buttons above the Total field.After things look good you just need to press the large buy/sell button and your order will be submitted.You'll notice an order summary is located directly above the buy/sell button.Note: The order confirmation page will truncate (not round) the amount of cryptocurrency to spend/receive based on that cryptocurrency's price precision (rather than the volume precision). The extra volume not shown is still included in the order.
- 4.Wait for order executionIf a market order is selected, the trade will happen instantly and your balance will change. Funds can be withdrawn or used to trade again right away. You can view successfully executed (closed) market orders on the Orders tab.Limit orders may not be filled right away but you can view their status in the Orders tab. In the below example, the BTC/USD price would have to reach $26,000 for the limit buy order to be executed.If your order has not yet been executed you are able to edit or cancel the order by selecting the edit/cancel buttons on the right side of Open Orders.
Order submission methods
Order Form
- •Spot or margin selector: Choose between a spot order or a margin order. This distinction is important for traders who either want to use their available funds directly for a spot order, or leveraged funds for trading.
- •Buy/Sell Toggle: Select whether they want to buy or sell the base currency. In the example above, you would be selecting whether to buy or sell Bitcoin. (BTC/USD)
- •Order Type Selector: A dropdown menu within the order form that allows you to choose the specific type of order you want to place. This function offers various options such as market orders, limit orders, and others to match different trading needs.
- •Market Price and Quantity: The market price of the base currency (in this case, Bitcoin) and the quantity you wish to buy or sell. The total amount in USD, the quote currency, is calculated automatically.If a Limit Order is selected, you will need to input the limit price manually.
- •Percentage Slider: The slider allows you to quickly set the order size as a percentage of your available balance. Moving the slider changes the quantity field proportionately.
- •Available Balance: The available balance is displayed, showing how much of the quote currency is available to use for a buy order. In a buy order, the quote currency is displayed because you are using that to purchase the base currency. (Buying Bitcoin with USD in this example)In a sell order, the base currency is displayed as your available balance. This is because in a sell order, you are selling the base currency to obtain the quote currency. (Selling Bitcoin for USD in this example)
- •Estimated Fee: An estimate of the trading fee for the transaction.
- •Conditional Order Option: Various conditional options that allow you to set specific conditions under which your orders will execute. These options help you manage your trades by setting price levels for triggering buy or sell actions, whether to limit potential losses or lock in profits as the market moves. This flexibility ensures that your trading strategy can adapt to changing market conditions without needing constant manual adjustments.
- •Execution Button: At the bottom, there is a button to confirm and execute the order, labeled "Buy BTC/USD" in this example, which finalizes the trade when clicked.
1-Click Trading
- •Manage favorites: Select the market pairs in which you'd like displayed for 1-click trading by adding them to your favorites.
- •Order Type Dropdown: Located in the upper right corner of the widget, this dropdown menu allows you to choose whether you'd like a Market Order or a Limit Order.
- •Market overview: Displays the selected market pair in the top left corner, a line chart showing recent price movements, the 24-hour trading volume, and the percentage change over the last 24 hours. It provides a quick overview of key market data to help you assess the current environment.
- •Quantity Input Field: The quantity input field allows you to specify the amount of the asset you want to buy or sell.
- •Enable Margin Toggle: A toggle switch that enables or disables margin trading.
- •Buy and Sell Buttons: The widget features prominent "Buy" and "Sell" buttons, each displaying the corresponding action's price. Clicking either button executes the trade instantly, making this a true "1-click" experience.
- •Spread: At the very bottom of each market card, you'll see the spread which is the difference between the highest bid price and the lowest ask price in the market for the selected trading pair.
Simple Order Form
- •Spot/Margin Toggle: Located at the top, this toggle allows you to switch between placing spot or margin orders.
- •Buy/Sell Toggle: Select whether they want to buy or sell the base currency. In the example above, you would be selecting whether to buy or sell Bitcoin. (BTC/USD)
- •Market/Limit Dropdown: This dropdown allows you to choose between a Market Order (executing immediately at the current market price) or a Limit Order (executing at a specific price you set).
- •Market Price and Quantity: The market price of the base currency (in this case, Bitcoin) and the quantity you wish to buy or sell. The total amount in USD, the quote currency, is calculated automatically.If a Limit Order is selected, you will need to input the limit price manually.
- •Percentage Slider: The slider allows you to quickly set the order size as a percentage of your available balance. Moving the slider changes the quantity field proportionately.
- •Available Balance: The available balance is displayed, showing how much of the quote currency is available to use for a buy order. In a buy order, the quote currency is displayed because you are using that to purchase the base currency. (Buying Bitcoin with USD in this example)In a sell order, the base currency is displayed as your available balance. This is because in a sell order, you are selling the base currency to obtain the quote currency. (Selling Bitcoin for USD in this example)
- •Buy/Sell Confirmation Button: This large button at the bottom of the form places the order once all details are set.
Order types on Kraken Pro
Market Order
A Market Order is an order which buys or sells immediately at the best available price on the Kraken order book.
❇️ Good for:
- •Getting a quick, immediate execution, especially in fast moving markets.
- •Guaranteeing execution of the full quantity of your order.
- •Prioritizing speed over price improvement, especially in highly liquid markets where the bid-ask spread is small.
🔺 Watch out for:
- •Larger quantity orders can have a market impact, and therefore a higher cost, especially in high volatility conditions. This is because larger orders trade with multiple levels of the order book to reach their desired quantity, and therefore the achieved price is an average of the price and quantity executed at each level.
- •Market Orders incur taker fees, which are higher than maker fees.
❓How to use Market Orders
Just specify the order quantity you want, and submit. Your order will execute for the full size, immediately.
Limit Order
A Limit Order lets you buy or sell at a limit price that you set, or better.
❇️ Good for:
- •Aiming for a specific target price, which the market may get to while you're not at the helm.
- •Knowing what price you will get. Limit orders guarantee you will never be matched with a worse price than your specified limit price.
- •Controlling your order’s participation in the order book.
🔺 Watch out for:
- •Limit orders with prices better than the current market price may not be fully executed as the market price may not reach your limit price.
- •Limit orders with prices that are worse than the current market price will start executing immediately.
❓How to use Limit Orders:
Determine the price that you are willing to buy or sell at. Input that, and your quantity and submit. As soon as the market price reaches your Limit Order, your order will start executing.
Stop Loss Order
A Stop Loss Order buys or sells as soon as your stop loss price is observed in the market. This is used to protect against losses during adverse market movements.
❇️ Good for:
- •Defining your maximum losses in advance.
- •Managing your risks for open positions or holdings.
- •Having peace of mind even when you are not actively watching your portfolio.
🔺 Watch out for:
- •Larger quantities may have a market impact, and therefore higher cost. Consider a Stop Loss Limit to control this.
- •Short-lived price swings on a specific order book can lead to your order triggering, even if the price reverts immediately after. Consider using an index price trigger to avoid this, as this aggregates prices from multiple providers and is less sensitive.
❓How to use Stop Loss Orders:
Suppose you purchased 1 BTC at 40,000 USD. You want to protect yourself against losses if the price goes down. You set a stop loss order at 39,000 USD. When the market reaches 39,000 USD, your 1 BTC will be sold, and your losses will be limited to 1,000 USD, even if the market continues going down.
Stop Loss Limit Order
A stop loss limit order places a buy or sell limit order in the order book as soon as your stop loss price is observed in the market. This is used to protect against losses during adverse market movements.
❇️ Good for:
- •Defining your maximum losses in advance.
- •Managing your risks for open positions or holdings.
- •Having peace of mind even when you are not actively watching your portfolio.
- •Better control over execution price than a standard stop loss order.
🔺 Watch out for:
- •Limit orders may not execute in full. If your stop loss limit is not fully executed, some of your risk of loss remains for the un-executed portion.
- •Short-lived price swings on a specific order book can lead to your order triggering, even if the price reverts immediately after. Consider using an index price trigger to avoid this, as this aggregates prices from multiple providers and is less sensitive.
❓How to use Stop Loss Limit Orders:
Suppose you purchased 1 BTC at 40,000 USD. You want to protect yourself against losses if the price goes down. You set a stop loss order at 39,000 USD, with a limit price of 38,950 USD. When the market reaches 39,000 USD, your 1 BTC @ 38,950 USD limit order will become active in the book. If the price further drops to at or below 38,950 USD, your order will execute. Your losses will be limited, even if the market continues going down.
Take Profit Order
A Take Profit order buys or sells as soon as your take profit price is observed in the market. This is used to lock in profits during favorable market movements.
❇️ Good for:
- •Defining your profit targets in advance.
- •Gradually taking profit on long term trades.
- •Managing your risks for open positions or holdings.
- •Having peace of mind even when you are not actively watching your portfolio.
- •Creating a target risk-reward ratio, with the usage of Take Profit together with Stop Loss orders.
🔺 Watch out for:
- •Larger quantities may have a market impact, and therefore higher cost which can erode your profits. Consider a Take Profit Limit to control this.
- •Short-lived price swings on a specific order book can lead to your order triggering, even if the price reverts immediately after. Consider using an index price trigger to avoid this, as this aggregates prices from multiple providers and is less sensitive.
❓How to use Take Profit Orders:
Suppose you bought 1 BTC at 40,000 USD. You think the price will go up, and want to lock in 2,000 USD profits. You can set a sell take profit order at 42,000 USD. When the market reaches 42,000 USD, your 1 BTC will be sold, and your 2,000 USD profits will be realised. If after your trade, the price continues going upwards you may miss out on larger profits, but if the price goes down, you have locked in your desired profit.
Take Profit Limit Order
A Take Profit Limit Order places a buy or sell Limit Order in the order book as soon as your take profit price is observed in the market. This is used to lock in profits during favorable market movements.
❇️ Good for:
- •Defining your profit targets in advance.
- •Gradually taking profit on long term trades.
- •Managing your risks for open positions or holdings.
- •Having peace of mind even when you are not actively watching your portfolio.
- •Creating a target risk-reward ratio, with the usage of Take Profit together with Stop Loss orders.
- •Better control over execution price than a standard Take Profit Order.
🔺 Watch out for:
- •Limit Orders may not execute in full. If your take profit limit is not fully executed, some of your exposure remains in the market and you may not lock in all the profits you had planned to.
- •Short-lived price swings on a specific order book can lead to your order triggering, even if the price reverts immediately after. Consider using an index price trigger to avoid this, as this aggregates prices from multiple providers and is less sensitive.
❓How to use Take Profit Limit Orders:
Suppose you bought 1 BTC at 40,000 USD. You think the price will go up, and want to lock in 2,000 USD profits. You can set a sell Take Profit Order at 42,000 USD, with a limit price of 42,000 USD.
When the market reaches 42,000 USD, your 1 BTC @ 42,000 USD limit order will become active in the book, and you will execute the quantity available at that price or better.
Based on the execution quantity, some or all of your 2,000 USD profits will be realised. If after your trade, the price continues going upwards you may miss out on larger profits, but if the price goes down, you have locked in your desired profit.
Iceberg Order
An Iceberg Order places a buy or sell Limit Order, executing your total order quantity in smaller sizes. This is to prevent market impact from your total order quantity being known by other market participants.
❇️ Good for:
- •Executing orders that are large compared to the usual market volumes and order book levels.
- •Maintaining confidentiality of your full order quantity, and limiting information leakage to other market participants.
- •Trading in illiquid markets where larger orders can have a significant market impact, and therefore higher cost.
🔺 Watch out for:
- •Display sizes that are too small may not attract sufficient taker interest and therefore lead to the order taking a longer time to execute.
- •As any order with a limit instruction, your order is not guaranteed execution. and your full quantity may not be executed.
❓How to use Iceberg Orders:
Suppose you want to buy 5 BTC at 40,000 USD. You could place a Limit Order, but the 5 BTC size being fully visible in the order book could attract unwanted attention and create market impact.
You decide to use an Iceberg Order instead, with a order quantity of 5 BTC, limit price of 40,000 USD and a display size of 1 BTC. Only 1 BTC of your order will be visible on the order book at a given time.
Once this is executed, another order is immediately placed for another 1 BTC at the same limit price. This process continues until your full order quantity is executed.
Trailing Stop Order
A Trailing Stop Order buys or sells as soon as your dynamic trigger price is reached in the market. This is used to protect against losses, whilst dynamically adjusting and benefiting from favourable market movements.
❇️ Good for:
- •Locking in profits by auto-adjusting the stop price as the market moves in your favor.
- •Limiting losses by auto-adjusting the stop price when the market dips.
- •Allowing you to retain your desired loss protection, whilst following a favourable price trend.
- •Automating risk management. No need to manually change Stop Loss prices as market conditions change.
🔺 Watch out for:
- •Larger quantities may have a market impact, and therefore higher cost.
- •Short-lived price swings can lead to your order triggering ‘early’.
- •Trailing amounts that are too tight can lead to your order triggering ‘early’.
❓How to use Trailing Stop Orders:
Suppose you bought 1 BTC at 40,000 USD. You think the price will go up, and would like to profit from that, but you want to retain a maximum loss protection of 1,000 USD. You place a Trailing Stop sell order for 1 BTC, with a notional offset of 1,000 USD.
As the market moves up, your Trailing Stop level will be adjusted to always be 1,000 USD from the highest price. If the market then reverts, and the market price reaches the stop price, your trailing stop will activate and sell in the market.