What is a take-profit order?
A take-profit order is a conditional order that triggers an asset sale or position-closing order when the price reaches a preset favorable target. In supported crypto spot and contract markets, traders set the target and exit quantity in advance, and the system attempts execution once conditions are met. Expected profit still depends on actual prices, quantities and fees.
How does it trigger and execute?
A take-profit has a trigger condition determining when execution begins and an actual order submitted afterward. The system first monitors the selected reference price, then submits a market or limit order once the condition is met.
For spot holdings or a contract long that gains from rises and loses from falls, the target is usually above the current price and triggers a sale. A short gains from falls and loses from rises, so its target is usually below the current price and triggers a buy to close. Closing reduces or ends an existing position.
Suppose a long’s take-profit trigger is 110 USDT. USDT is the quote asset; the following settings are independent illustrations, not actual market conditions:
- Take-profit market order: once the price rises to 110, it submits a market sell against available bids. If bids fall before execution, it may fill below 110, producing adverse slippage against the trigger.
- Take-profit limit order: with both trigger and sell limit at 110, it accepts only bids of 110 or higher after triggering. Compatible bids can execute immediately; bids falling below 110 can leave it unfilled.
Reaching the target satisfies the condition but does not mean the quantity has been sold. Reference choice and order validation also affect execution; see trigger orders.
How does it differ from an ordinary limit sell?
An ordinary limit sell participates in matching after submission; a take-profit condition submits its actual order only after triggering. Quotes and quantities appear in the order book; an untriggered take-profit is not a sell quote immediately available to others.
Suppose the current price is 100 and the target sale price is 110. An ordinary limit sell can be submitted at 110 now: without bids of at least 110, a persistent order waits in the book. Later compatible buy orders may execute against it.
A take-profit triggered at 110 first monitors price and submits only afterward. The subsequent order can be a limit sell or a market sell. Even if both use 110, their submission times and execution methods can differ.
Advance allocation of funds follows product rules; trading fees depend on actual executions, not the “take-profit” label. See makers and takers for posting quotes first versus accepting existing ones immediately.
How do linked take-profit and stop-loss conditions work?
Take-profit and stop-loss set favorable and adverse exit conditions. Some products link them so that triggering one automatically cancels the other. The exact cancellation stage follows product rules.
For example, OKX entire-position TP/SL applies to the whole position and adjusts order quantity with position size. When one side triggers, it submits a market close and cancels the other simultaneously, without waiting for the entire close to execute.
Suppose a long opens at 100 USDT with take-profit 110 and stop-loss 90 under this linkage:
- The selected reference first rises to 110: take-profit triggers, submits a market close, and cancels the stop-loss.
- The reference first falls to 90: stop-loss triggers, submits a market close, and cancels the take-profit.
- The reference remains between 90 and 110: neither price condition is met and monitoring continues; voluntary closing or liquidation can still end the position.
Under these rules, the other condition is already canceled even if the triggered order is not fully filled. This differs from submitting two independent, unlinked conditions.
What happens after a partial fill?
Only executed quantity has exited. If an original long of 10 units is reduced by only 4, 6 units remain exposed to price changes. A “take-profit triggered” display therefore must be read alongside filled quantity.
Whether the unfilled order waits or cancels and whether other exit conditions remain depend on order type and linkage. See trailing stops for triggers that move with favorable prices, unlike the fixed trigger here.
Related terms
Explore stop-loss orders, limit orders and market orders, or return to the crypto glossary.
References
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