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What is a limit order?
A limit order is an instruction to buy or sell only at a price you set, or better. A buy limit fills only at that price or lower; a sell limit only at that price or higher.
What it means for you
A limit order caps the price you pay or accept, but the SEC notes it is not guaranteed to fill: if the market never reaches your price, nothing trades. Check whether an open order expires or stays live, since a forgotten one can fill later.
How it works
A limit order joins the order book at your price and waits. A buy limit can fill only at that price or lower, a sell limit only at that price or higher, so you never pay more or accept less than you set, but nothing trades if the market never reaches it. Timing instructions decide how long it waits: a day order expires at the end of the trading day, a good-til-cancelled order stays live until filled or cancelled, and an immediate-or-cancel order fills what it can at once and drops the rest. A stop-limit order becomes a limit order once a trigger price is hit.
An example
Say a coin trades at 10 dollars and you place a sell limit at 12. If the price never reaches 12, nothing sells. If it later touches 12 while the order is still live, it fills at 12 or higher, even if you had forgotten it.
Source: SEC Investor Bulletin: Trading Basics · checked 4 October 2026
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Educational content, not financial advice. Written by hand and checked against the source named above. Something wrong? Tell us and we reply within two business days.