What does each instruction control?
A limit order specifies the worst acceptable price: a buy can execute at its limit or lower; a sell at its limit or higher. It can remain unfilled. A market order seeks available execution immediately, subject to the exchange’s liquidity, protection rules and account checks. The last price on a chart is not a promised market fill.
| Question | Limit order | Market order |
|---|---|---|
| Can I set a price boundary? | Yes, through the limit price. | Venue protection may bound execution, but the chart price is not guaranteed. |
| Must it wait in the book? | No. A crossing limit can execute immediately. | It attempts immediate execution. |
| Can it fill only partly? | Yes, depending on liquidity and time in force. | Yes, or be cancelled when protection or liquidity prevents completion. |
These instructions express different requirements. Neither label establishes that an order will complete, that it will have a particular fee, or that it is appropriate for a particular trade.
Work through a 0.020 BTC buy.
Consider this fictional BTC/USDT ask book. The best bid is 49,990 USDT. Quantities are BTC; prices are USDT per BTC. Assume these orders remain available, no other instruction arrives first, and all quantities meet the instrument’s rules. Fees are excluded.
| Ask price | Available BTC | Cost of that entire level |
|---|---|---|
| 50,000 | 0.010 | 500.00 USDT |
| 50,010 | 0.015 | 750.15 USDT |
| 50,030 | 0.020 | 1,000.60 USDT |
A market buy of 0.020 BTC would use 0.010 BTC at 50,000 and another 0.010 BTC at 50,010. Its cost is 1,000.10 USDT, giving an average of 50,005 USDT per BTC. That is 0.01% above the original best ask, before fees. In a changing market, the result can differ because the displayed book is only a snapshot.
The same quantity with a 50,000 limit.
A regular limit buy for 0.020 BTC at 50,000 could immediately buy the available 0.010 BTC at that price. With Good Till Cancelled, its remaining 0.010 BTC can rest at the limit. It cannot buy the 50,010 ask under that price instruction.
This explains why placing a limit near the current market may execute right away. To require a resting maker order, a supported post-only instruction adds another condition. A limit price by itself does not do that.
What happens to the remainder?
Time in force controls the unfilled portion. GTC can leave it working; IOC cancels the part that cannot execute immediately; FOK requires the entire quantity immediately or cancels the order. Exchange-specific rules still apply.
Bybit documents that its market instructions use IOC and have price-protection constraints. A market order can therefore fail to complete. Check actual fills and remaining quantity rather than treating “Market” as a completion guarantee.
Check the instruction in the terminal.
- Select the intended account and instrument.
- Confirm whether Size is base quantity or quote notional.
- Choose Limit or Market and inspect any Post or time-in-force setting.
- For a limit, verify the submitted price against the current bid and ask.
- After submission, inspect orders and fills; an acknowledgement is a separate state.
Combined Bybit Spot uses available balances without borrowing and supports Limit and Market. Its derivatives-only controls are excluded. Read Spot and shared-wallet Risk for the account-level consequences.