How to set Stop Loss for coins I already hold?

You can easily setup stop loss or take profit limits for coins you already own in your exchange without having to login to your exchange.

You can do this using your simple profibot interface under the Trade - Place Order form.

In this article i will show how simple it is to setup a stop loss for an existing coin you hold. 

I hold some BTC in my Binance exchange and i am setting a Stop Loss for a portion of my BTC held.

You have two stop loss options you can use:

1. Stop Limit
2. Stop Market

Click Trade on the left Menu.

1. Stop Limit

Select Place Order Tab and click on "SELL". Then select Stop Limit from the drop down menu.

You will be presented with a form that has the following fields

• Trigger Price
• Price
• Amount

A stop-limit order consists of Trigger Price and Limit Price. The trigger price is simply the price that triggers a limit order, and the limit price is the specific price of the limit order that triggers the stop loss to be placed on the order books. This means that once your trigger price has been reached, your limit order will be immediately placed on the order book.

Although the trigger and limit prices can be the same, this is not a recommended. In fact, it would be safer for you to set the trigger price a bit higher than the limit price (for sell orders) or a bit lower than the limit price (for buy orders). This increases the chances of your limit order getting filled after the stop-limit is triggered.

Sometimes you would face a situation where the price drops too fast, and your stop-limit order is passed over without being filled as you have set a specific limit order. If the drop was substantial and went past the price you had set without actually every reaching the exact value you entered, your limit order will not execute. For these circumstances you would be better to use "Stop Market" orders.

Please see an example Stop Limit Order below

I am setting a stop limit order for 0.5 BTC i hold. The trigger price is $38000. When the BTC USDT pair price reaches this trigger price, a sell order for the price of $37,500 will be entered into the exchange order books.

This will remain open until the Price reaches $37,500 for the stop loss to execute the sale.

The total USDT value shown $18,750 is what you will get by selling 0.5 BTC when you sell for the price of $37500 per BTC.

2. Stop Market

Select Place Order Tab and click on "SELL". Then select Stop Market from the drop down menu.

A stop-market order uses a Trigger Price as a trigger. When the trigger price is reached, it triggers a market order. 

Stop-market orders do not block the coin balance, therefore you can use them to create as many orders as you like. These orders will simply trigger a market order when the price is reached.

The main difference is when the trigger price has been reached, you immediately place the order to sell at the current market price. The price could be above or below the trigger.

This feature is not available on your traditional exchanges and is useful as it does not tie up your liquidity. 

You can use this to exit a position during a market crash.

Below example shows a stop Market order with trigger price of $38000 for selling 0.5 BTC. When the trigger price is reached an immediate market sell order will be executed.