What Is Slippage in Crypto Trading? How It Happens and How to Limit It

Slippage in crypto trading is the difference between the price you expected when you placed an order and the price at which it filled. It is a normal part of trading, but it can quietly add to your costs if you do not account for it.

What Slippage Means in Practice

Say the screen shows a coin at $100 and you place a market order to buy. By the time the order fills, or as it works through several price levels, your average price comes out at $100.40. That $0.40 gap is slippage. It can also work in your favour, when the fill comes in better than expected, though that is less common on larger orders.

Why Slippage Happens

Two things drive it. The first is order book depth. An order book lists buy and sell orders at different prices, and a large market order consumes the best-priced orders first, then moves on to the next level, and the next. The thinner the book, the further the price moves as your order fills.

The second is speed. In a fast market, prices change between the moment you click and the moment your order executes, so the price you saw is no longer the price available.

When Slippage Gets Worse

• Large orders relative to the available liquidity
• Less popular trading pairs with thin order books
• Volatile moments, such as sharp moves after news
• Market orders, which accept whatever price is available

How to Limit Slippage

Use limit orders. A limit order sets the worst price you will accept, so it will not fill at a worse one. The trade-off is that it may not fill at all if the market does not reach your price. Bitval supports both market and limit orders on spot markets.

Split large orders. Breaking one large order into several smaller ones can reduce how far you push the price.

Check depth before you trade. Looking at the order book shows how much size sits near the current price, which tells you how much your order is likely to move it.

Avoid the most volatile moments. If timing is flexible, waiting for calmer conditions can narrow the gap between expected and actual prices.

Slippage Versus Fees

Fees are known in advance: on Bitval, spot fees are 0.12% maker and 0.145% taker. Slippage is not, because it depends on market conditions when the order fills. For that reason it is worth thinking about both when you estimate what a trade will cost.

You can create a Bitval account to see how market and limit orders work on a live order book.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Trading crypto carries risk, including the loss of your capital.