On Kraken Pro you can place orders to buy or sell stocks.
- •Buy order: You pay in USD and receive shares of the stock (e.g. buy APPL/USD).
- •Sell order: You sell shares of the stock and receive USD.
There are two order types you can use:
What's the difference between the order types?
On Kraken Pro, the key differences between market and limit orders come down to execution speed vs. price control:
Market order:
- •Executes immediately at the current market price
- •Ensures fast execution but the exact price is not guaranteed
- •Suitable for traders who prioritize speed over price
- •May experience slippage if liquidity is low (you might buy for more or sell for less than expected).
Limit order:
- •Executes only at a specific price or better
- •Allows precise price control
- •Suitable for traders who prioritize price over speed
- •Can be used to buy lower or sell higher than the current market price.
Regular market hours are 9:30AM to 4PM ET,Mon to Fri. Markets are closed during certain U.S. holidays; you can find the market details here.
How to trade using a market order:
- 1.In Kraken Pro select the Trade tab on the left side of your screen.
- 2.In the market selector, select the stock you want to buy. You can specify the stock in the dropdown menu.
- 3.Select Buy/Sell, then select Market from the order type dropdown.
- 4.Use the order size slider or manually enter the amount you would like to trade.
- 5.Select Buy to process your market order.
How to trade using a limit order:
- 1.In Kraken Pro select the Trade tab on the left side of your screen.
- 2.In the market selector, select the stock you want to buy. You can specify the base currency with the dropdown menu.
- 3.Select Buy/Sell, then select Limit from the order type dropdown.
- 4.Enter the amount you want to spend in the Total field.
- 5.In the Limit Price field, enter the amount you want to pay for the stock.
- 6.Select Buy to process your limit order.
What are market hours?
Regular market hours are 9:30AM to 4PM ET, Mon to Fri. Markets are closed during certain U.S. holidays.
Market orders placed outside of regular market hours will be queued to execute immediately at the next market open, at the best available price. A limit order placed outside of regular market hours will only execute when the market is open and the stock's price reaches your specified limit.
You can queue both market and limit orders in advance.
Are there any limits to how much I can buy/sell?
There are no limits, but be mindful of the following:
- •Your available balance in USD can be used to purchase stocks
- •Stocks in the US are subject to the Pattern Day Trading (PDT) rule.