XRPL Limit Orders Guide
Set your price, place an order, and let the market come to you. The XRPL DEX has a full on-chain order book.
What Are Limit Orders?
A limit order lets you specify the exact price at which you want to buy or sell a token. Unlike a market swap (which executes immediately at the current price), a limit order sits on the XRPL's on-chain order book until the market reaches your price.
On the XRPL, limit orders are called OfferCreate transactions. They are completely on-chain - no centralized matching engine, no hidden orders. Every order is visible on the ledger.
Limit Orders vs Market Swaps
- Market swap - executes instantly at the best available price. Best for quick trades where speed matters.
- Limit order - waits for your target price. Best for larger trades, buying dips, or selling at resistance levels.
Most traders use a mix of both. Quick entries with market swaps on the Swap page, and limit orders on the token detail page for strategic positions.
How to Place a Limit Order
How the XRPL Order Book Works
The XRPL has a central limit order book (CLOB) built into the protocol. When you place an offer, the ledger first checks if any existing orders can match yours immediately. If so, your order fills (fully or partially) right away. Any unfilled amount stays on the book.
If you place a buy order at a higher price than the best sell order, your order is immediately matched at the better price (you get a deal). This is called price improvement - a feature of proper order books.
Managing Your Orders
- Cancel anytime - submit an OfferCancel transaction to remove your order from the book
- Partial fills - orders can fill partially. The remaining amount stays on the book
- Expiration - you can set an expiration time so the order auto-cancels if not filled
- No fees for placing - you only pay the ~0.000012 XRP transaction fee for the OfferCreate/OfferCancel transactions
Tips for Limit Orders
- Check the price chart for support and resistance levels before setting your price
- Place buy orders at support levels (recent lows) to catch dips
- Place sell orders at resistance levels (recent highs) to take profits
- Use the order book depth to see where other traders have placed their orders
- For large trades, limit orders avoid the slippage you'd get with a market swap
Start Trading
Browse tokens and place your first limit order on the XRPL DEX.