This guide explains how to submit trades using Kraken Desktop’s trading interface. Learn how to use the trading form, edit existing orders, and trade from the chart.
Below is an ordered list of the fields and functions found on the Order Ticket module:
Bid/Ask (yellow): Clicking one of these buttons will automatically fill in your Limit Price with the highest bid price, or the lowest ask price that is currently in the order book.
Note: The bid/ask buttons do not work for Market Orders.
Buy/Sell (orange):
Action | Function |
|---|---|
Buy | Buy an Asset Open a long position (using leverage) |
Sell | Sell an Asset Open a short position (using leverage) |
Spot/Margin selector (green): Determines whether the order will be executed with spot balances, or an extension of margin. When margin is selected, a slider will appear where you may select the level of margin used.
Note: Margin trading is subject to geographical restrictions.
Order Type (light blue): Determines the order type for the trade.
Limit/Market Price (red): Determines the specific price for the order. With certain order types (e.g. Limit, Stop Loss, Take Profit), you are able to input a specific price into this field. If opening a market order, the best available price will auto-populate.
Quantity (dark blue): Determines the volume of the asset to be traded. For example, in the SOL/USD market, the Quantity field is where you put the amount of SOL you wish to buy or sell.
You may enter the Quantity manually, use the balance percentage buttons, or the up and down arrows. A calculator is also provided for your convenience.
Est. Total (white): Calculates the total cost of the order. (Quantity x Price = Total)
Trading fees are not included in this calculation. You can also use the Est. Total field as an input when creating your order. The Quantity field will automatically update as you adjust your Total.
Est. Fee (light brown): The estimated fee if your order executes. Hovering the tooltip (i) will display your current Maker and Taker Fees.
Other options (purple):
Post-only: This prevents placing a limit buy order that instantly matches against the sell side of the order book (and vice versa for sell orders) which would result in taker fees. The order will either get posted to the order book or be cancelled, ensuring a maker fee when executed.
Duration: Set the duration that your order may stay in the order book.
OTO (Conditional Close): Creates an opposing order for closing a position at the same time that the order for opening the position is created. The conditional close order's direction is always opposite the primary order (e.g. if the primary order is a buy, the conditional close will be a sell).
The conditional close option creates a new order after the primary order triggers. It does not allow two trigger conditions for a single order.
Review and Buy/Sell (neon green): Once you are satisfied with your Order Ticket, you may click this button to review and submit your order. You can use this opportunity to review the order for any errors. Order reviews can be disabled in the module Settings menu, in the top-right of the Order Ticket. If you’d like to reset the Order Ticket entirely, click Reset located to the left of the button and all fields will return to default.
Below those two buttons, there is an indicator which will display “Ready for order…” if the Order Ticket has been filled out. Or, it will let you know if there’s any issues preventing the order from being submitted. (For example, a Quantity of 0)
Open Orders/Margin Positions (pink): A quick glance at your current Open Orders and Margin Positions. Buttons are conveniently located here to cancel all Open Orders, or close all Margin Positions.
On Kraken Desktop, you may submit or edit any order type directly from the chart. Chart trading is enabled in the Chart module by default, but may be turned off in the module settings.
On the Chart module, place your mouse at the price level you'd like to place an order. You'll see a (+) icon to the side of the price axis. (Right side of the chart) Clicking this + button will allow you to start your order at this price level.
After you've clicked the +, you'll see the chart trading pop-up. Here, you can enter the quantity for the order, and toggle margin on or off.
Clicking the three dots on the left side opens a percentage slider. This slider allows you to select a percentage of your spot balance to spend. (Or available margin, if margin is enabled)
After inputting the details of your order, click the green/red button on the right to submit the order. That's it, your open order will now be displayed on the chart!
(Optional) Take Profit and Stop Loss orders may also be set after you've submitted your order. To begin, simply hover over the open order on your chart.
When hovering, you'll see TP and SL boxes. You can click and drag these boxes to your desired price level. The quantity will automatically match the original order.
Be sure to click the checkmark to confirm your Take Profit or Stop Loss order.
The Chart module will display your open orders as green (buy) or red (sell) circles attached to the Y-axis, at the price level your order is sitting at. In the example below, we have open orders at $170, $165, and $150.
The Depth Chart module will display your open orders as green (buy) or red (sell) circles on the X-axis at the price your open order is sitting at. In the example below, we have open orders at $170, $165, and $150.
Open orders can be edited via the Trade Activity widget by clicking on the pencil under the Actions column.
Note: Open orders must have an “Amount Filled” of 0 in order to be edited. If any amount of your open order has been filled, the order cannot be edited, only canceled.
After clicking the pencil icon, you’ll be able to adjust the quantity and/or price of your open order. After you are satisfied with the new parameters, you may click the checkmark to confirm your edits.
The Order Ticket module can be customized and tuned to your liking, for more information on Order Ticket settings, check out this article.
For orders that are submitted through the Chart module, you can drag the order up and down to change the price level. Be sure to click the checkmark to confirm your edit.
Note: The order quantity cannot be adjusted from the chart, either cancel the order and resubmit with the new quantity, or adjust the quantity in the Open Orders tab of the Trade Activity module.