Stop-loss order
A stop-loss order is a sell instruction that activates once the price falls to a trigger level you choose. It aims to cap a loss, but it does not guarantee your exit price, and a fast drop can fill well below the trigger.
How it works
FINRA describes a sell stop order as one that can limit a loss or protect a gain by triggering a sale once the price falls to the stop price. Once triggered, a plain stop becomes a market order, so the fill depends on what the market offers at that moment.
The gap risk
FINRA's guidance on volatile markets warns that stop orders have their own risks, and notes that a stop-limit order gives more price certainty but may never execute, because it will not sell below its limit. That is the core trade-off: certainty of exit versus certainty of price.
Jupiter's trigger documentation shows how this looks onchain. Its stop-loss orders default to 20% slippage, and it states that output is not guaranteed and the pool price at execution may differ from the trigger. A stop in an illiquid memecoin pool can therefore still realize a large loss.
What to check
Find out whether the stop is held by the venue, a bot or your own wallet's program, and whether it keeps working when your device is off. Check the default slippage, what happens if the order expires, and where unfilled funds go. A stop is a risk-management tool, not a safety guarantee, and this page is not advice on where to place one.
Common mistakes
Placing stops at obvious round numbers is common, and obvious levels tend to be where many orders cluster. Another mistake is assuming a stop protects you while the app is closed. Whether it does depends on where the order lives, which is why it is worth reading how a venue stores and triggers orders.
Remember too that a stop only limits loss if it fills. In a market with little liquidity, there may be no buyers near your trigger. Combine position sizing with any stop rather than relying on the stop alone.
Where this shows up
- Jupiter — Solana traders who want aggregated routing across DEXes with low or zero fees on major and stable pairs.
- Hyperliquid — Perps traders outside the US who want onchain order-book trading from their own wallet, with fees that drop by volume and HYPE staking.
- dYdX — Non-US, non-UK, non-Canadian traders who want an open-source, order-book perps venue with volume-tiered fees.
- GMGN — Multichain memecoin traders who want smart-money tracking and copy trading across a web terminal and Telegram bots.
- Drift — Former Drift users and Solana perps traders evaluating Velocity, the post-exploit relaunch of Drift.
Sources
Last checked . Fees and terms change often; the venue's own page wins if it disagrees with ours.
- Stop Orders: Factors to Consider During Volatile Markets (FINRA) — checked 2026-10-17
- Trigger API (Jupiter Developers) — checked 2026-10-17