We are pleased to introduce trailing stop orders, now available on all spot and futures markets through the Kraken Pro web interface.
This new conditional order type seeks to secure maximum upside without the need to repeatedly re-adjust orders manually. Trailing stop orders allow you to remain dynamic and lock in profits at a specific level if the price rally reverses against your preferred direction.
What is a trailing stop order?
A tracking stop order is a type of conditional stop order that automatically adjusts as the market price of an asset changes. Traders use this when they want to protect their current profits in a trade. This allows you to keep your trades open as long as you continue to earn additional profits. Positions are liquidated only after a certain retracement loss amount (percentage or notional price) has been incurred.
A tracking stop in Kraken Pro can be triggered at the last price, index or mark price of the applicable spot or futures market.
How do stop tracking orders work in Kraken Pro?
To use the Stop Tracking order in Kraken Pro, you need to set two key parameters:
- Trailing Offset: This is an offset against the reference price (index or final price) at which the dynamic market order is executed. This can be entered as a set percentage or as a nominal quote currency (e.g. USD) offset.
- Order Quantity: This is your order total, the amount you actually want to buy or sell.
Swing Trader Examples and Use Cases
Imagine you are a swing trader holding an active long position in BTC. The current BTC price is $28,000, and we expect the price to rise in the near term.
You open the trade at $28,000 and place a trailing stop sell order with a trailing offset of $100. If the BTC price rises to $30,000 (with no retracement above $100) during the rally, the stop order will continue to track the BTC price above $100. In this example, it’s $29,900 up and $100 below $30,000.
If the price falls from $30,000 to $29,900, a market sell at $29,900 will trigger a trailing stop order, locking in a +$1,900 price change from the initial $28,000 entry price.
In this example, a trailing stop order allows the swing trader to capitalize.
About short-term price movements in moving markets.
Potential Benefits of Being a Swing Trader
For swing traders, Kraken Pro’s tracking orders offer a variety of strategic advantages.
- Protect your interests: By continuously rebalancing the current market, index, or last traded price, a trailing stop order locks in upside as long as the price continues to move in your favor without reversing the trailing offset amount.
- Crisis Management: A trailing stop order is executed when the price changes direction by a specified percentage or nominal amount, limiting potential losses.
- Emotion Control: Take the emotion out of trading. Set your strategic parameters when you open a trade and let your trailing stop loss run automatically.
- Market adaptability: Stop tracking orders dynamically respond to changing market conditions, giving you greater control over order execution.
These materials are provided for general information purposes only and are not investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell, stake or hold any cryptocurrency or to engage in any particular trading strategy. Kraken does not and will not seek to increase or decrease the price of any particular cryptocurrency it offers. Some cryptocurrency products and markets are unregulated and you may not be protected by government compensation and/or regulatory protection schemes. The unpredictable nature of the cryptocurrency market may result in loss of funds. Taxes may be payable on the appreciation and/or declaration of the value of your cryptocurrency assets and you should seek independent advice on your tax position. Geographic restrictions may apply.