As a trusted crypto exchange our priority is to build features that enhance transparency and help us create the best markets. Starting today, when we launch new assets on the Coinbase Exchange we will be using a price auction to help price discovery and create a healthier market when trading starts.
How price auctions work
In our price auctions, limit orders are collected over a minimum of 10 minutes for price discovery. While orders are placed on the book, the Pro and Exchange applications along with the API and data feeds will show an indicative price — a price that may be used to match orders when the auction is opened. Using this indicative price as a signal of the eventual open price, users can cancel and resubmit orders while the auction takes place. Upon completion of the auction, orders crossing the final opening price will be matched and the book will move to full trading or limit only.
For orders matched on completion of the auction, both sides are charged taker fees. Orders that remain on the book during full trading are charged standard rates. For more information about price auctions and how to get a data feed containing the indicative price, please refer to our API docs.
Coinbase Exchange will now use price auctions when we launch a new order book or when we restart an order book that was previously paused. These auctions can be canceled without matching any orders.
About Coinbase Exchange
Coinbase Exchange helps a wide variety of clients access one of the deepest pools of liquidity of any regulated crypto spot exchange using high throughput APIs and an advanced trading interface.
While Coinbase intends to use the price auction for every listing possible, there may be some instances where, for operational or market health reasons, we may use other methods of launching a new book including using Limit and Post Only modes to start new markets.
was originally published in The Coinbase Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
