How to Set Stop-Loss and Take-Profit Orders on dYdX

A stop or take-profit order on dYdX can trigger off either the oracle price or the last traded price, and if your position has already partially closed by the time it fires, a reduce-only order resizes itself automatically rather than overshooting.

This guide is part of TradeOnDEX’s dYdX how-to series within Perpetual Futures, building on the first-trade guide.

Disclosure: TradeOnDEX may earn a commission from links to dYdX on this page, at no extra cost to you. Full details at the end of this article.

How stop-loss orders work on dYdX

A Stop Market order closes your position automatically once either the oracle price or the last traded price crosses your specified trigger price. For a long position, the trigger sits below the current market price; for a short, above it. This means for you, concretely: your stop can fire off either of two distinct price references, so understand which one you’re setting against, since brief discrepancies between oracle and traded price can occasionally trigger a stop earlier or later than the raw chart price alone would suggest.

How take-profit orders work

A Take Profit Limit order closes your position at a specified target price to lock in gains. For a long position, the trigger sits above the current market price; for a short, below it, the mirror image of a stop-loss.

How to set both, step by step

1. Open your position and go to the Positions tab, which lists all open positions with real-time P&L.
2. Use the Trade Management Panel on your open position to set a stop-loss trigger price.
3. Use the same panel to set a take-profit target price.
4. Confirm both, dYdX allows setting these directly from position management, without needing to place a separate manual order each time.

The reduce-only mechanic worth understanding

You can set a reduce-only stop or take-profit order for any size, including a size larger than your current position. This means for you, concretely: if your position has already been partially closed (through a partial manual close, for instance) by the time your stop or take-profit triggers, the order automatically resizes to match your remaining position size before filling, it won’t attempt to over-close or flip your position into the opposite direction by mistake.

Risk: what to watch for with trigger-based orders

Oracle price and last-traded price can diverge briefly, especially during volatile moves. Since your stop can trigger off either reference depending on configuration, a sudden but brief price spike on one measure could trigger a stop that a calmer measure wouldn’t have, understand which price reference your specific order uses.

A triggered order isn’t always guaranteed to fill at your exact trigger price. As with trigger-based orders on other platforms covered in this series, the trigger price and the actual execution price can differ, particularly during fast-moving conditions with reduced liquidity.

Setting a stop-loss doesn’t eliminate liquidation risk on its own. A stop-loss is a tool you set voluntarily; it can fail to execute in extreme conditions (insufficient liquidity, a gap move past your trigger) in ways that differ from the platform’s own automatic liquidation mechanism, which activates independently of whether you’ve set a stop.

Reduce-only orders are specifically designed to prevent overshoot, but only if configured as reduce-only. A standard stop or take-profit order not marked reduce-only could behave differently if your position size has changed. Confirm this setting matches your intent, especially if you’ve been actively managing the position size manually.

Stop-loss vs. take-profit, at a glance

See it for yourself

Set both a stop-loss and take-profit on your next position from the Trade Management Panel, and check which price reference each is using before relying on either during a volatile market move. You can review current order types at dydx.trade.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between oracle price and last traded price for a trigger order?

Oracle price reflects an external reference feed; last traded price reflects the most recent trade on the platform itself, these can diverge briefly, especially during volatile conditions, which can affect exactly when a trigger fires.

Does a stop-loss guarantee I won’t be liquidated?

No, a stop-loss is a voluntary order that can fail to execute in extreme conditions; the platform’s own liquidation mechanism operates independently and activates regardless of whether you’ve set a stop.

What happens if my reduce-only stop-loss is larger than my remaining position?

It automatically resizes to match your actual remaining position size before filling, rather than over-closing or flipping your position direction.

Can I set a stop-loss and take-profit at the same time on the same position?

Yes, both can be set from the same Trade Management Panel on an open position.

Affiliate disclosure

TradeOnDEX may earn a commission if you sign up or trade through a link on this page, at no extra cost to you. dYdX’s own affiliate/referral terms are still being confirmed for this site, so links here are direct and untracked for now. This article is educational and is not financial advice. See our disclaimer for the full risk warning.