Who it's for — For those who don't want to go crazy trying to guess the exact "bottom" of a crash, and prefer to dilute the entry across multiple price levels.
The Scaled Order (or "net" order) is an advanced tool found on Bybit, Binance, and pro platforms. It allows you to distribute your capital across an X number of Limit orders spread within a specified price range, with a single click.
It is the automatic equivalent of DCA (Dollar Cost Averaging) concentrated within a technical zone.
In simple terms — You want to buy Bitcoin between $58,000 and $60,000. If you place a single order at $59,000, you might miss the trade if it only drops to $59,500. If you place it at $60,000, you get filled but then regret it if it crashes to $58,000. You use a Scaled Order: you ask the system to place 10 small orders distributed every $200 between $60,000 and $58,000. Whatever the price does in that zone, you will slowly accumulate and have a perfect Average Entry Price.
Scaling Quantity (Flat vs Scaled)
The most sophisticated Scaled Order tools allow you to decide the "shape" of your grid:
- Flat: Every order has the same size (e.g., 1 BTC at each level).
- Scaled-Up: Orders become increasingly larger as the price drops. You will buy a little at $60,000, and a lot at $58,000. In this way, you forcefully shift your average entry price downwards, absorbing crashes better (also called pyramid entry).
Why use it (and why not)
It is magnificent for entering Pullbacks without emotional stress, because you want the price to drop to fill your entire net of orders.
However, it does not erase the need for a Stop Loss. Many traders use scaled entries but forget to put a global Stop Loss below the lower boundary of the net. If the market collapses beyond your area of interest, the scaled entry just becomes an elegant way to go broke accumulating a dying asset (averaging down a loser).
Summary Sheet
- Definition: An automatic grouping of Limit orders distributed in an area.
- Goal: Optimize the Average Entry Price, avoiding the FOMO of the sniper looking for the perfect millimeter.
- Danger: Averaging down a wrong position in a ruinous trend if a rigid final Stop Loss is not set.
Links
- limit-order — The building block of the Scaled Order.
- pullback — Where to place the "net" of scaled orders.
- bronze-path
Module: Module 3 — Orders and Operations
Know what happens when you click buy or sell.
