> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ownit.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Order book

> Bids, asks, spread, and depth, and how to read them when placing a limit order.

The order book lists resting buy orders (**bids**) and sell orders (**asks**) by price, with the size at each level. The gap between the best bid and the best ask is the **spread**. It is Hyperliquid's book, live.

Size at a level is resting interest. It can be pulled before the price gets there.

![OWNIT trading terminal with the BTC order book highlighted: asks in red, bids in green, the spread, and size totals.](https://mintcdn.com/ftmo/lfI4g2mbLznLASzk/images/order-book.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=lfI4g2mbLznLASzk\&q=85\&s=9200ce1694fa3e5a0fa55287d725bc52)

## Using the order book

1. Read the best bid and best ask.
2. Compare the size at nearby levels.
3. Pick a price for a limit order.
4. Watch how the levels change as price moves.

The order book is informative only, and does not represent a forecast for the price. A market order walks through the levels it needs to fill; a thin order book will absorb less volume per level, which could cause slippage.

## Limit orders and the order book

A limit order rests at your price until it fills. It sits in **Orders** while it waits, becomes a **Position** when it fills, and a closed trade in **Trade History** after.

> [card] [Order types](https://docs.ownit.xyz/trading/order-types.md)
>
> Market and limit orders, how each one fills, and the fee each one pays.

## Why the order book matters

The book tells you more than the last traded price:

* **Liquidity:** how much size is resting to buy and sell.
* **Spread:** the gap between the best bid and the best ask.
* **Market depth:** how size changes across price levels.
* **Execution context:** where your limit price sits against the market.

Most useful when placing limit orders, or in markets where size is uneven across levels.

## Order book vs. chart

The chart and the order book describe the same market from two sides. The chart shows how price has moved over time. The book shows who is waiting to buy and sell right now. Read both: one for where price has been, one for the conditions it meets next.


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