Immediate or Cancel
Immediate or Cancel
An “Immediate or Cancel” (IOC) order is a type of order type used primarily in cryptocurrency trading, and particularly prominent in futures trading. It's a sophisticated order instruction designed to balance the desire for immediate execution with the risk of unfavorable price slippage. This article will explain the nuances of IOC orders, their benefits, drawbacks, and how they differ from other order types.
Understanding the Basics
An IOC order instructs your exchange to execute as much of your order as possible *immediately* at the best available price. The crucial part of an IOC order is the “or cancel” component. If the entire order cannot be filled immediately, any portion that remains unfilled is *automatically cancelled*. Unlike a limit order, the IOC order doesn't wait for the price to reach a specified level; it attempts to fill at the current market price.
Think of it like this: you want to buy 10 Bitcoin futures contracts. You place an IOC order. The exchange will try to buy all 10 contracts *right now* at the best asking price. If only 6 contracts are available at that price, the exchange buys those 6, and the order for the remaining 4 contracts is instantly cancelled. You won’t be left waiting for the other 4 to potentially become available at a less desirable price.
How IOC Orders Differ from Other Order Types
Here’s a comparison with common order types:
| Order Type | Description | Fill Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Market Order | Executes immediately at the best available price. | Fills the entire order if sufficient liquidity is available. |
| Limit Order | Executes only at or better than a specified price. | May not fill immediately, and may not fill at all. |
| Stop-Loss Order | Triggers a market or limit order when a specified price is reached. | Fills the triggered order based on its type (market or limit). |
| Immediate or Cancel (IOC) | Executes as much as possible immediately at the best price, cancels the rest. | Fills immediately available quantity, cancels unfilled portion. |
| Fill or Kill (FOK) | Executes the *entire* order immediately at the specified price, or cancels the entire order. | Requires complete fill; no partial fills allowed. |
Recommended Crypto Futures Platforms
| Platform | Futures Highlights | Sign up |
|---|---|---|
| Binance Futures | Leverage up to 125x, USDⓈ-M contracts | Register now |
| Bybit Futures | Inverse and linear perpetuals | Start trading |
| BingX Futures | Copy trading and social features | Join BingX |
| Bitget Futures | USDT-collateralized contracts | Open account |
| BitMEX | Crypto derivatives platform, leverage up to 100x | BitMEX |
Join our community
Subscribe to our Telegram channel @cryptofuturestrading to get analysis, free signals, and more!