Bitcoin Forum

Im new to coin base pro heres my question:

 I have a limit order say for 1BTC at 16,500 and BTC is currently worth 16,300 at the moment. Will I still earn BTC while the funds are tied up in that order? IE BTC goes from 16300 to 16400 the next day but doesnt hit 16500, will I profit 100$ as if I had that 1 BTC sitting around in my account idling or is the BTC thats tied up in the order in "limbo" not able to gain or lose value while the funds are tied up in that limit order?

You only profit or lose money if you execute the order. The BTC price behaves like any other market.

If you have 1 BTC at 16,300, you have 1 BTC, which is worth $16,300.

If the BTC price increases to $16,500, well, you still have 1 BTC, but it is now worth $16,500. Your assets are worth more in USD, but nothing really changed (you still have the same 1 BTC).

You only realize the profit (+$200) if you sell the 1 BTC (e.g if the limit order is executed). Now you will have $16,500 in cash and 0 BTC. The limit order is just an instruction saying that you want to sell at X price, if it ever reaches that price.

Say I placed the limit order when BTC was worth 16000, and  the price never goes to 16500 but goes to 16450 the next day. even though my 1 btc is tied up in an order: when I put the order in BTC was worth 16000, will it still gain in value to 16450: IE I cancel the limit order when market price is 16450 will my 1 btc be worth 16450 or is it worth the original value of 16000 when I placed the order?

Of couse. You still own that 1 BTC.

The order is just an instruction, like saying "automatically sell/buy if it hits X".

1. BTC is at $16,000. You put an order to sell your 1 BTC at $16,500.
2. BTC goes to $16,450. Nothing happened. You still own 1 BTC, now worth $16,450.

You can:

a) cancel the order, you still own that 1 BTC, worth whatever is the price at any moment (so $16,450).
b) let the order execute (if the price hits your price spot), you sell the 1 BTC and you get the amount in USD.
c) market sell for the current price, so you sell for $16,450. You get that amount in cash.

If you just leave the order there and BTC goes to $16,500, your order is executed and you sell your 1 BTC for $16,500.

As long you own it already, the 1 Bitcoin you have is equivalent to the price in that day you visit the exchange.  sell it or not it's your decision but the price is the same the day you check it. You will have profit in USD when the price increase you will lose if it's decrease . There is no way the price will be the same after you bought it since it's volatile .

You need to learn more about Bitcoin before buying read many guides  article in the web that you can read to add more knowledge of how the price of Bitcoin wokrs.

Here is the sample https://www.investopedia.com/tech/what-determines-value-1-bitcoin/ .

I don't want to be rude but things I must say is dude, learn the basic, I mean very basic or ABC of trading. This is very normal things which everyone should know before they even plan to trade.
As long as, your order isn’t filled, you realized no profit/loss but your BTC value changes.

Crypto market is not a heaven place and not an easy market to enjoy. Newbies can make it easier and safer by invest not by trade. As simple as that, invest bitcoin brings you profits. Trade bitcoin and trade with leverage will kill you.

Know what you are doing and take care of your orders.

His question might not be that dumb if we consider some exchanges offer margin trading. If you open a margin trade at 16000 with a 16500 limit, and the price goes up but not to 16500, then if you close your trade, you will indeed earn money !

Margin trading is very confusing if you're a bit unsure of what you're doing, and a quick way to lose money.

I would certainly not try such a trade right now, BTC is very high, it's more probably going down than up in the near future. Only buy BTC for the long term right now, and be ready to hodl while the price crashes. Keep money to buy when it does crashes.

I think you have set your bitcoin to be sold at 16500 right? currently, these are set for you not to monitor the price from time to time, then you can set to sell also automatic to avoid losses, I am a bit confused with the statement, but I think, yes you can profit even it does not reach the price I'm sure you can cancel that setting then get the profit, then setup it again, hope this help

I took your advice and sold all my BTC to USD except for a 0.05BTC Limit order of 16500. For me I get addicted to watching those charts and seeing my money go up. I day traded back when BTC went from 10k to 18k but what I thought was skill trading was just a bull market and a lot of luck.

At one point I had an account with twofactor that I kept the keys in my real wallet. Someone stole my wallet when I was in a nursing home and I lost all those coins which were only worth about 1000$ at the time. I was pissed but even more pissed when I realized that was going to be worth 18k in a few years. The guy that stole my wallet had alzheimers so he could buy a pizza. His pizza cost me 18 grand.

You are fully entitled to hold bitcoin for longer or sell them when you see a profit. In fact, you don't really make a profit if you haven't sold your bitcoin for USD even though you've seen the estimated value go up. Crypto trading is very difficult to predict due to price volatility and we can still lose in USD if the asset price dump. The price can still go down suddenly and it can also go up suddenly. But if you still want to keep it, go for it and accept all the consequences. Good luck.