ORDER TYPES · EXECUTION

What is a scale order?

A scale order (also called a ladder or grid entry) splits one order into several limit orders spread between a start price and an end price. Instead of guessing the exact bottom or top, you get filled progressively as price moves through the range, and your average entry improves the further it goes.

Size the range on the liquidation map
Best forEntering across a zone, not a point
Trade-offPartial fills if price turns early
ControlsFrom / to price, order count, price skew, size skew
Fee sideMaker for resting orders

How a scale order works

You set the total size, a price range, and the number of orders. The terminal places that many limit orders across the range. With no skew the prices are evenly spaced and every order is the same size. Price skew bunches the orders towards one end of the range; size skew puts more size on the orders further from the current price, so the average entry moves faster in your favour as the market reaches deeper levels.

The orders rest as ordinary limit orders and fill independently. If price only reaches the first three rungs you hold a smaller position at a worse average than planned, and the remaining rungs stay open until you cancel them or price comes back.

When to use one

Scale orders fit a view about a zone rather than a level: buying a pullback into a support band, selling into a resistance band, or adding to a funding trade as the spread widens. They replace the habit of placing one limit order, watching price miss it by a few dollars, and chasing.

They also pair naturally with the liquidation map. Long liquidation clusters below the price mark where forced sellers will appear; a ladder spread across that band is positioned to buy from them. The main risk is a fill on the whole ladder followed by more downside. Size the total for the case where every rung fills, and use reduce-only ladders to exit a position in stages.

Example: buying a BTC pullback across $75,000 to $73,000

WORKED EXAMPLE

BTC trades at $77,300. The liquidation map shows $1.1B of long liquidations between $75,000 and $73,000, so a trader wants to be a buyer through that band.

Total size
2 BTC
Range
$75,000 to $73,000
Orders
5, every $500
Size skew
Heavier at the bottom: 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6 BTC
If price reaches $74,000
0.9 BTC filled, average $74,389
If the whole ladder fills
2 BTC, average $73,750

A single 2 BTC bid at $74,000 would have filled entirely or not at all. The ladder builds the position at a pace set by the market and improves the average on every additional rung.

EXECUTION IN TERMINAL

Run it on every exchange
from one order form.

Proliquid places scale ladders with price and size skew on Hyperliquid and every connected exchange, and draws every rung on the chart.

  • Same order form on seven exchanges
  • Live fills and remaining size per order
  • No subscription; your keys stay with you
Open the terminalFree to use. Connect your exchange to trade.
ORDER TYPES

Scale order: common questions

Short answers to the questions traders ask most about this term. For the rest of the glossary, start from the Learn index.

All glossary terms Size the range on the liquidation map
Why not just place several limit orders by hand?

You can. A scale order does the arithmetic for spacing and size skew, submits every rung at once, and lets you cancel the set together. It matters most when you ladder often or with many rungs.

What do price skew and size skew do?

Price skew moves the rungs closer to one end of the range instead of spacing them evenly. Size skew changes how much size each rung carries; a positive skew puts more size on the rungs furthest from the current price so the average entry improves faster when they fill.

What if only part of the ladder fills?

You hold the filled rungs as a position and the rest stay open as limit orders. Cancel them if the thesis changes, or leave them if you still want to add on a deeper move.

Can I use a scale order to take profit?

Yes. A reduce-only ladder above a long position sells it in stages into strength, which is the usual way to exit without picking one target.