A central limit order book (CLOB) is a digital platform or system that facilitates trading financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, commodities or cryptocurrencies. It is a critical component of modern electronic trading and is used by financial exchanges, marketplaces, and trading venues to compare buy and sell orders from various market participants.
A CLOB is a database that organizes and manages incoming buy and sell orders, aggregating orders from different market participants. These orders are time-sequenced, creating an order book reflecting the market’s current supply and demand dynamics.
The CLOB operates based on a continuous trading model, where orders can be submitted and matched in real-time as new orders are received. The CLOB typically supports multiple order types, including limit orders, market orders, stop orders and more, allowing traders to specify their desired price, quantity and time of execution.
When an order is submitted to the CLOB, it is stored in the order book according to its price level and time of submission. A trade occurs if the order matches another existing one, and the transaction details are recorded. The CLOB ensures that the best available prices are displayed to market participants, as it aggregates and sorts orders based on price and time of submission.
One key feature of a CLOB is that it provides transparency to the market. It allows traders to see the market’s current supply and demand levels, including the quantity and prices of buy and sell orders at different price levels. This transparency enables market participants to make informed trading decisions and assess the liquidity of a particular instrument.
Another important aspect of a CLOB is its ability to handle large
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