OKX's Chase Order (officially called "Chase Limit Order") is a limit order that moves by itself. It watches the best bid or ask price on the order book and updates its quote once every second until it is filled, you cancel it manually, or the price moves beyond your set "max chase distance." This "max chase distance" is the only stop boundary you can set. Once the order is placed, the price, quantity, and chase distance cannot be changed, so you need to think carefully about the parameters before clicking confirm.
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What Does a Chase Order Actually Chase?
A regular limit order stays fixed once placed. If the market moves away, you can only wait or manually change the price. A Chase Order works differently: when you place it, the system creates an initial quote based on the current best bid or ask price, then checks the order book every second and moves your order price toward the current best price. A buy order chases the best ask price upward, and a sell order chases the best bid price downward.
According to the official documentation, a Chase Order always remains post-only, meaning it only acts as a maker and will not actively take liquidity from the opposite side. This means it will not be filled immediately as a taker, which is usually friendlier on fees. The trade-off is that whether it gets filled depends on whether a counterparty is willing to accept your resting order. On liquid mainstream trading pairs, this mechanism lets your quote move close to the order book, increasing the chance of passive fills. On thin order books, it may keep chasing and never get filled.
Max Chase Distance: The Only But Critical Stop Condition
When placing the order, you need to fill in three parameters: chase price, quantity, and max chase distance. The first two are the usual buy/sell direction and position size. The third is what makes a Chase Order different from a regular limit order.
The official definition is: when the distance between the initial order price and the latest best bid or ask price reaches your set max chase distance, the system automatically cancels the order. The key to understanding this is the "initial order price." It is not a moving stop line. It is a fixed boundary based on the price at the moment you placed the order.
For example (hypothetical numbers): You place a buy order on BTC/USDT when the best ask price is 100,000, chasing the best ask price, with a max chase distance of 500 USDT. If the best ask price rises from 100,000 all the way to 100,500, your order quote follows it to around 100,500. When the best ask price touches 100,500, the gap between the initial price of 100,000 and the current best price reaches 500, triggering the max chase distance, and the system cancels the order. If the best ask price starts falling back at 100,300, the order continues to chase the new best price and will not be canceled.
This design prevents the order from chasing prices indefinitely in a one-sided market. Without it, a Chase Order would drag its quote further and further away when the price keeps running in one direction, and the fill price could seriously deviate from your expectation at the time of order placement. But it does not protect you from price reversals after the fill. Once a Chase Order is filled at a certain price, you hold a position at that price. The risk of subsequent adverse price movement is the same as with any regular limit order fill, and you need separate stop-loss measures to manage it.
Things You Must Confirm Before Placing the Order
A Chase Order is even more irreversible than a regular limit order. If you make a mistake with a regular limit order, you can cancel it. A Chase Order can also be canceled, but after placing it, you cannot modify the price settings, order quantity, or max chase distance. If you enter a wrong number, you can only cancel and start over.
To use it, go to the order type menu on the trading page and select "Chase Limit." Set the chase price (chase the best bid/ask, or chase at a distance from the best bid/ask), quantity, and max chase distance. After a second confirmation, submit the order. After submission, go to the "Current Orders" page. The order will have a "Chase" tag so you can easily distinguish it from regular limit orders.
One thing to watch out for is the Reduce Only setting. In Buy/Sell mode (one-way position mode), you can manually toggle the Reduce Only option. In Open/Close mode (hedge mode), opening orders are not Reduce Only by default and cannot be manually enabled, while closing orders are Reduce Only by default and cannot be turned off. If you use a Chase Order to close a position in futures, this default setting will affect the order's behavior. Check your current mode before placing the order.
A Chase Order Does Not Solve "When to Stop"
Max chase distance handles the price running too far, not being wrong about the direction. After a Chase Order is filled, you hold a position filled at a dynamic order book price. If the market then reverses, the loss unfolds just like with any market or limit order fill. A Chase Order does not come with an attached stop-loss, and setting a chase distance does not automatically protect you after the fill.
If what you need is "close the position when the price reverses to a certain degree after the fill," that is the job of a Trailing Stop. The two names sound similar but the mechanisms are completely different. A Trailing Stop is a take-profit/stop-loss type order. Based on a callback percentage or fixed amount you set, it triggers a market close when the market reverses. A Chase Order solves "how to place an order for a better chance of getting filled," while a Trailing Stop solves "how to exit after getting filled." Using a Chase Order as an automatic stop-loss is the most common misunderstanding when setting parameters.
My assessment is this: a Chase Order is suitable for scenarios where you are willing to accept passive post-only fills and can accept the order disappearing automatically when the price runs too far. If you need "get filled no matter where the price goes," a market order or a regular limit order that you can manually adjust is more appropriate. If you need "manage my exit after the fill," you should set up a separate trailing stop or fixed stop-loss after the position is established, rather than expecting the Chase Order parameters to do that for you.
A leading global cryptocurrency platform,suitable for both beginners and experienced traders.
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References
- OKX·How to Use Chase Limit Order?, 2026-11-01
- OKX·How to Use Chase Limit Order?, 2026-11-01
- OKX·How do I place a trailing stop order?, 2026-11-01
