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Order book

In one line: The live list of all waiting buy and sell orders at each price.

Think of a queue at every price. Buyers' limit ordersBuy or sell only at your price or better. stack up below the current price, sellers' above. The best of each side make the Bid, ask and spread.

A Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) is one big order book for a whole market. Orders are matched by price, and then by who was first.

Related

Sources & studies

  1. CFTC Glossary

Trading termsBid, ask and spreadLimit order

Last checked: 2026-11-04 · Educational, not financial advice.

Education only, not financial advice. No signals. Backtests are hypothetical: real trading can be worse. Past results don't predict future results.