This article addresses our Global Derivatives offering, which is currently only available to eligible customers in supported regions outside of the U.S. Learn more about Coinbase's Derivatives products.
A limit options order lets you buy or sell an options contract at a specific price. Your order stays in the order book until it's filled or canceled. A limit order guarantees the limit price or better, but does not guarantee that the order will ever fill. Some features described below are only available on Coinbase Advanced.
You can set your limit price in USDC or as an implied volatility (IV) percentage. The USDC price of an IV order updates about every second to track your target IV. IV orders are canceled automatically 15 minutes before the option expires.
To place a limit options order on Coinbase Simple:
Sign in to your Coinbase account or access the Coinbase app.
Open the asset page for the crypto you want to trade options on.
Select Trade, then choose Trade Options.
Select an expiration date.
Select Buy to open a long position or Sell to open a short position, then select Call or Put.
Select the contract you want to trade.
Review the contract details, then select Buy to Open or Sell to Open.
Enter the number of contracts in the Contract Amount field. The field shows the minimum amount.
Enter your price in the Limit Price field. The current Bid and Ask are shown for reference.
Review the order estimates. Orders use your available USDC balance.
Buy: Review Est. PnL and Est. Total, which includes the premium and fees.
Sell: Review Est. PnL, Est. Proceeds, and Margin Required. Short options are settled in USDC, and the margin required is used as collateral to cover any potential losses.
Select Review.
On the Review Order screen, check the order details, including Session and Est. Total (buy) or Est. Total Proceeds (sell). Orders in Simple use a Good for Day time in force (TIF).
Swipe Place Order to submit your order.
When Order Received appears, select Done.
To place a limit options order on Coinbase Advanced:
Sign in to your Coinbase account or access the Coinbase mobile app.
Select the Advanced toggle.
Select Options from the side navigation.
Select the underlying asset from the menu at the top left, for example BTC Options.
In the options chain, select an expiry date, then select the Bid or Ask of the contract you want to trade. The contract appears at the top of the order form, for example BTC 14-Oct 83K Call.
Use the toggle next to the contract name to choose Buy or Sell.
Select the Limit tab.
Enter your price in the Limit Price field. Prices are in USDC by default. To set your price by implied volatility instead, change the unit from USDC to %, then enter your target IV. The order form shows the equivalent price in the other unit.
Enter the number of contracts in the Quantity (Contracts) field. The order form shows the approximate value in USDC.Select a Time in Force (TIF):
Good Till Cancel (GTC): Default. The order remains open until it's filled, canceled, or the instrument expires.
Good Till Day (GTD): The order is canceled automatically at the end of the current daily session (08:00 UTC) if it hasn't already filled or been canceled.
Immediate or Cancel (IOC): Any portion of the order that can't fill immediately is canceled.
Fill or Kill (FOK): The order either fills immediately and completely, or not at all.
(Optional) Select Reduce only or Post only. Post only isn't available for IV orders.
Review Premium (est.), Fee (est.), and Cashflow (est.). Cashflow shows whether you pay or receive USDC.
Select Buy or Sell to submit your order.