Bitget futures: How to use trailing stops

What is a trailing stop order?

A trailing stop order is an advanced trading tool offered by Bitget that lets users set dynamic buy or sell orders based on price fluctuations in the crypto market. Unlike traditional limit or market orders, a trailing stop follows market movements and is automatically triggered when certain conditions are met, helping users capture better opportunities in volatile markets.

Trailing stops are especially useful in the following scenarios:

• Locking in profits: Automatically sell after the price rises to a certain level.

• Buying the dip: Automatically buy when the price falls to a target low.

• Volatile markets: Use dynamic tracking to avoid missing out during high volatility.

Key parameters of a trailing stop order

When placing a trailing stop order on Bitget, you'll need to set the following key parameters:

1. Trigger price: The price at which the trailing stop order becomes active.

2. Callback rate: The percentage difference between the trailing price and the highest or lowest market price, used to determine when the order executes. For example, if the callback rate is 2%, a sell order is triggered when the price drops 2% from the peak.

3. Quantity: The amount you want to buy or sell.

4. Direction: Choose either long or short.

How to set up a trailing stop order on Bitget?

Follow these steps to place a trailing stop order on the Bitget platform:

1. Log in to your Bitget account: Go to the Bitget website or open the mobile app and log in.

2. Go to the trading interface: Select Futures from the homepage and select the desired trading pair, such as BTCUSDT.

3. Select trailing stop: In the order panel, choose Trailing stop.

4. Set your parameters:

￮ Enter the trigger price.

￮ Set the callback rate (e.g., 1% or 2%).

￮ Enter the order quantity.

5. Confirm and submit: Review your parameters, then click Open (Long/Short) or Close (Long/Short) to place the order. The system will automatically activate it when the market price reaches your trigger condition.

6. Monitor your order: Check the status under Open orders or Trigger orders. You can adjust or cancel untriggered orders at any time.

Benefits of trailing stops

• Automated trading: No need to constantly monitor the market; orders are triggered automatically.

• Dynamic adjustment: The callback rate allows your order to adapt to price swings, making it effective in different market conditions.

• Risk control: Predefined conditions help reduce emotional trading.

• Flexibility: Supports both limit and market orders to match different strategies.

Real-world examples

Example 1: Open long on pullback (trailing stop buy order)

Scenario:
BTCUSDT is currently trading at 60,000 USDT. The trader is bullish but prefers to open long after a pullback to avoid buying at the top.

Action:

1. Set a trailing buy order (open long on pullback):

￮ Reference price: 60,000 USDT (current price)

￮ Callback rate: 5% (trigger the order when the price pulls back 5% from the high)

￮ Trigger price: automatically calculated as: Highest price × (1 - 5%)

￮ Order size: 1 BTC (market order)

Market movement:

• Price climbs from 60,000 to 62,000 USDT (order not triggered).

• Continues rising to 65,000 USDT (new high). The system begins tracking the pullback.

• When the price drops to 61,750 USDT, the system automatically triggers a buy order to open a long position for 1 BTC.

Key takeaway:

• Avoid chasing the price: Only enter after a pullback, reducing entry costs.

• Dynamic adjustment: Each new high recalculates the trigger price, always maintaining the 5% pullback condition.

Example 2: Open short on rebound (trailing stop sell order)

Scenario:
ETHUSDT is currently trading at 3200 USDT. The trader is bearish but prefers to open short after a rebound to avoid panic selling.

Action:

1. Set a trailing sell order (short on rebound):

￮ Reference price: 3200 USDT (current price)

￮ Rebound rate: 4% (trigger the order when the price rebounds 4% from the low)

￮ Trigger price: Automatically calculated as: Lowest price × (1 + 4%)

￮ Order size: 10 ETH (market or limit order)

Market movement:

• Price drops from 3200 to 3000 USDT (order not triggered).

• Continues to fall to 2800 USDT (new low). The system begins tracking the rebound: Trigger price = 2800 × (1 + 4%) = 2912 USDT.

• When the price rises to 2912 USDT, the system automatically triggers a short sell order for 10 ETH.

Key takeaway:

• Avoid panic selling: Enters on rebound for a better short entry.

• Dynamic adjustment: Each new low recalculates the trigger price, always keeping the 4% rebound condition.

Conclusion

Bitget's trailing stop orders give traders a powerful way to automate and optimize their strategies in volatile crypto markets. By carefully setting trigger prices and callback rates, users can better manage risk and maximize potential returns.