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Enrico Rubboli edited this page Apr 10, 2026 · 1 revision

Guide: Trading with Orders

Mintlayer has a native on-chain order book. Orders allow you to offer one currency (coins or tokens) in exchange for another at a fixed rate, without a centralised exchange or counterparty trust.

This guide covers the full flow for both sides of a trade: creating an order (maker) and filling one (taker).

Concepts

Maker: Creates an order by locking a "give" amount on-chain. Sets the exchange rate by specifying how much they ask in return.

Taker: Fills an existing order by providing the asked currency and receiving the given currency.

Exchange rate: Determined by the ratio give_amount / ask_amount. For example, if you give 1000 ML and ask for 100 MYTKN, the rate is 10 ML per MYTKN.

Partial fills: An order does not need to be filled in one transaction. Takers can fill any portion of the remaining ask amount.

Conclude key: The address that can freeze or conclude the order at any time. Only the maker holds this key.

Part 1: Making an Order (Selling)

Step 1: Check what orders already exist

Before creating a new order, see what is already on the market:

order-list-all-active

Filter by currency if needed:

# See all orders giving ML coins
order-list-all-active --give-currency coin

# See all orders for a specific token
order-list-all-active --ask-currency <token_id>

Warning: Token tickers are not unique. Always verify the token id, not just the ticker.

Step 2: Create the order

order-create <ASK_CURRENCY> <ASK_AMOUNT> <GIVE_CURRENCY> <GIVE_AMOUNT> <CONCLUDE_ADDRESS>

The full give amount is locked on-chain immediately. The conclude_address should be an address you control — it is the only key that can conclude or freeze the order.

Examples:

# Offer 1000 ML, asking for 100 units of a token (rate: 10 ML per token)
order-create <token_id> 100 coin 1000 <my_address>

# Offer 500 units of a token, asking for 50 ML (rate: 10 ML per token)
order-create coin 50 <token_id> 500 <my_address>

Note the order id from the output — you will need it to manage the order later.

Step 3: Monitor your orders

order-list-own

This shows all orders where the conclude key belongs to the current account, along with remaining balances.

Step 4: Conclude the order

When you are done (fully filled, or you want to cancel), conclude the order to withdraw:

  • All accumulated asked currency received from fills
  • Any remaining given currency that was not filled
order-conclude <order_id>

# Or specify where to receive the funds
order-conclude <order_id> <my_address>

Step 4 (alternative): Freeze then conclude

If the order is being actively filled and your conclude transaction conflicts, freeze it first:

order-freeze <order_id>

Wait for the freeze to be confirmed in a block, then conclude:

order-conclude <order_id> <my_address>

Part 2: Taking an Order (Buying)

Step 1: Find an order to fill

order-list-all-active

The output shows each order's id, give currency, remaining give balance, ask currency, remaining ask balance, and the give/ask ratio.

Example output:

Id: mordr1rkj..., Given: ML [left: 1000], Asked: MYTKN [left: 100], Give/Ask: 10

This means: for every 1 MYTKN you provide, you receive 10 ML.

Step 2: Fill the order

Provide the amount of the asked currency you want to spend:

order-fill <order_id> <ask_amount>

# Or receive to a specific address
order-fill <order_id> <ask_amount> <destination_address>

Example: Fill the order above partially — buy 50 ML by providing 5 MYTKN:

order-fill mordr1rkj... 5

You will receive 50 ML (at the 10 ML/MYTKN rate) at a new receive address, or at the address you specify.

Part 3: Full Trade Example

Alice has 1000 ML and wants MYTKN. Bob has MYTKN and wants ML.

Alice creates the order:

order-create <mytkn_token_id> 100 coin 1000 <alice_address>

Alice locks 1000 ML on-chain. The order is now visible to everyone.

Bob sees the order and fills it:

order-list-all-active --give-currency coin
order-fill <order_id> 100 <bob_address>

Bob provides 100 MYTKN and receives 1000 ML at Bob's address.

Alice concludes the order:

order-conclude <order_id> <alice_address>

Alice receives her 100 MYTKN.

Notes

  • Fees are paid in ML coins on both sides.
  • Partial fills are supported — a taker can fill any portion of the remaining ask amount.
  • An order can be filled by multiple takers over time.
  • Once concluded, an order is closed permanently. There is no way to reopen it.
  • A frozen order can no longer be filled, but can still be concluded by the maker.

Quick Reference

Task Command
List all active orders order-list-all-active
Filter by currency order-list-all-active --ask-currency coin
List your own orders order-list-own
Create an order order-create <ask_currency> <ask_amount> <give_currency> <give_amount> <conclude_address>
Fill an order order-fill <order_id> <ask_amount>
Freeze an order order-freeze <order_id>
Conclude an order order-conclude <order_id>

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