Iceberg Order
Glossary · Market Structure
An iceberg order is a large limit order that shows only a small slice in the order book and refills the visible slice each time it fills, hiding the true size. It lets a large buyer or seller work a level without telling the market how much is behind it — the visible depth understates what is really there.
"The book shows 20 BTC on the bid; it keeps getting hit and never goes away. That is not 20 BTC, that is someone with 500 who does not want you to know."
You cannot see an iceberg, but you can see its footprint: a level that absorbs far more volume than the displayed size and refreshes at the same quantity, prints on the tape at one price that keep coming, and the price refusing to move through despite heavy taker flow. Exchange tape data makes this visible after the fact — our whale tape records prints by venue, and a wall of same-size fills at one price on one venue is the shape.
The trade implication is the same as absorption: someone with size is defending the level, and the market usually either breaks it violently once they are done or reverses hard because the other side gave up first. Do not fade an iceberg by shorting into it because the book looks thin; the book is lying. Wait for the level to either hold on declining pressure or fail on a close through it.
Related jargon
Questions
- What is Iceberg Order in crypto trading?
- An iceberg order is a large limit order that shows only a small slice in the order book and refills the visible slice each time it fills, hiding the true size. It lets a large buyer or seller work a level without telling the market how much is behind it — the visible depth understates what is really there.
- How would a trader say it?
- The book shows 20 BTC on the bid; it keeps getting hit and never goes away. That is not 20 BTC, that is someone with 500 who does not want you to know.
Part of the Crypto Jargon glossary — every term, decoded the way a trader would say it.
Crypto Jargon
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