In the fast-evolving world of cryptocurrency trading, understanding platform-specific rules is essential for maximizing efficiency and minimizing risk. Bybit has implemented a comprehensive set of spot trading rules designed to prevent market manipulation, ensure fair execution, and protect traders' interests. These regulations govern everything from price limits and order quotas to single trade restrictions, creating a safer and more transparent trading environment.
Whether you're new to digital asset trading or an experienced investor, knowing how these mechanisms work can significantly impact your strategy and outcomes. This guide breaks down Bybit’s spot trading framework with clear explanations, practical examples, and actionable insights—so you can trade confidently within the defined parameters.
Price Limits: Safeguarding Fair Market Execution
Price limits are a critical component of Bybit's risk management system. They help prevent extreme price swings caused by large or aggressive orders, especially during volatile periods such as new token listings.
How Price Limits Apply to Different Order Types
- Market Orders:
When placing a buy (or sell) market order, if the expected execution price exceeds the allowed price limit, the超出 portion will be canceled. As a result, the order may be partially filled or rejected entirely. Additionally, market orders support up to 10,000 individual trades—any excess volume beyond this threshold will not be processed. - Limit Orders:
For limit orders, if the specified price goes above (for buys) or below (for sells) the permitted price boundary, the entire order will be rejected. This ensures no trades occur outside predefined safe zones. - Other Order Types:
During the first 5 minutes after a new token launches on Bybit, certain advanced order types—including conditional orders, take-profit/stop-loss orders, OCO orders, and strategy orders—are temporarily disabled. After this initial period, standard price limit rules apply.
Price Limit Calculation Over Time
The calculation of acceptable price ranges varies depending on whether it's within the first 5 minutes of a new listing or afterward:
First 5 Minutes After Launch:
- Maximum buy price: Opening price × 100
- Minimum sell price: Latest trade price × (1 – 5%)
After 5 Minutes:
- Maximum buy price:
Min[Max(Index Price, Index Price × (1 + x%) + Average Premium over Past 2 Minutes), Index Price × (1 + y%)] - Minimum sell price:
Max[Min(Index Price, Index Price × (1 – x%) + Average Premium over Past 2 Minutes), Index Price × (1 – y%)]
- Maximum buy price:
Note: The values of x% and y% vary by trading pair and can be found on Bybit’s official Spot Trading Rules page. The index price is derived from external market data to reflect true market value.
Understanding the Average Premium
The "average premium" accounts for short-term deviations between spot prices and index values. It's calculated as follows:
- Collect spot and index prices over the past two minutes.
- Compute the mid-price every second:
(Best Ask + Best Bid) / 2 - Subtract the index price from each mid-price to get the basis (premium or discount).
- Average all 120 data points from the past two minutes.
API users can retrieve real-time priceLimitRatioX and priceLimitRatioY via the GET /v5/market/instruments-info endpoint with category=spot.
Single Trade Restrictions: Managing Order Size
To maintain market stability and prevent oversized trades from disrupting liquidity, Bybit enforces single trade limits on both order size and value.
Each trading pair has:
- A minimum order value (e.g., 1 USDT for BTC/USDT)
- A maximum order value (e.g., 8,000,000 USDT for BTC/USDT)
- A maximum order quantity (e.g., 71.73 BTC)
These thresholds ensure that no single transaction overwhelms the market while still accommodating high-volume traders. Importantly, these limits are dynamic and subject to change based on Bybit’s risk assessment protocols.
Order Quotas: Controlling Exposure to High-Risk Assets
Order quotas limit the total value of specific tokens a user can hold in their spot portfolio. This measure primarily applies to assets listed in Bybit’s Innovation Zone and Adventure Zone, which feature newer or more volatile cryptocurrencies.
How Order Quotas Work
The available quota for a given token is calculated using this formula:
Available Quota = Total Allowed Value – (Current Holdings × Latest Price) – Open Buy Orders
Once the quota is reached:
- No further buy orders are permitted.
- Only sell orders can be placed.
- Any increase in value due to price appreciation or deposits does not affect the quota.
Example: FLOKI Trading Limit
Let’s say FLOKI has an order quota of 100,000 USDT and is trading at $0.00017 per token. The maximum number of FLOKI you can purchase is:
100,000 / 0.00017 ≈ 571,428,571 FLOKI
After reaching this cap, you cannot buy more until you sell some of your holdings.
You can monitor your current quota usage directly in the spot trading interface under the order window.
How to Check Spot Price and Trade Limits
For up-to-date information on price limits, order quotas, and single trade restrictions across all supported pairs, visit Bybit’s official Spot Trading Rules page. This resource is regularly updated and includes detailed parameters for each trading pair.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Why are market orders sometimes only partially filled?
A: Market orders may be partially executed if part of the order exceeds the price limit or if they involve more than 10,000 individual trades. This protects against slippage and manipulation.
Q: Are price limits active for all tokens at all times?
A: No. During the first 5 minutes after a new token launch, special rules apply—only limit orders are accepted, and advanced order types are disabled.
Q: Can I increase my order quota for a specific token?
A: No. Order quotas are set by the platform based on risk profiles and cannot be manually adjusted by users.
Q: What happens if I exceed the single trade limit?
A: Orders exceeding the maximum quantity or value will be rejected. You can split large trades into smaller ones within the allowed limits.
Q: Where can I find real-time data on price limits via API?
A: Use the GET /v5/market/instruments-info API endpoint with category=spot to access fields like priceLimitRatioX and priceLimitRatioY.
Q: Do order quotas reset over time?
A: No. Quotas are ongoing limits tied to your holdings. They only decrease when you sell tokens or cancel open buy orders.
Understanding spot trading rules, including price limits, order quotas, and trade size restrictions, empowers traders to navigate markets more effectively and avoid unexpected rejections or exposure issues. Staying informed helps you build resilient strategies—even in fast-moving conditions.
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