What it is
TWAP, short for Time-Weighted Average Price, breaks one large order into a series of smaller orders and places them at regular intervals across a time window you choose. The aim is an average fill price close to the market's average price over that period, rather than having everything execute at a single moment.
Why you might use it
Placing a large order all at once can move the market against you and leave you with a worse price. TWAP helps you reduce that market impact by spreading the trade out over time, avoid having to time the market perfectly, and aim for a fair, benchmark-style average price, all without having to manage each order yourself.
How it works
You choose the total amount and a Total run time, anywhere from 1 minute up to 30 days. Kraken then splits your order into smaller slices and places them at regular intervals across that window until the full amount is filled or the window ends. Slice sizes are randomized, which makes the Bot Order harder for the market to anticipate.
You can run TWAP in market or limit mode:
- Market: each slice fills at the best available price at the time it is placed.
- Limit: you set a price cap for buys or a price floor for sells. Slices only fill at your limit price or better. If the market moves beyond your limit at a given interval, that slice is skipped, and any amount still unfilled when the window ends is cancelled.
TWAP is available for spot trades.
Good to know
- The Total run time can be set from 1 minute to 30 days.
- While a TWAP Bot Order is running, you can track its progress in the Bots tab, including the amount filled and the average fill price, and cancel at any time to stop the remaining orders.
- TWAP reduces market impact but does not remove it entirely, and it does not guarantee a specific final price. Your result depends on market conditions during the window.