Order lifetime

Order lifetime is the elapsed time between an order being placed and being cancelled or filled. Genuine order flow produces a long-tailed distribution of lifetimes; a spoofing strategy produces a sharp spike in the first few hundred milliseconds and almost nothing after.

market microstructure · updated 2026-09-08

Where does order lifetime come up?

This term is used in the following manipulation techniques, each explained in full on its own page.

• Spoofing — Spoofing is placing orders a trader intends to cancel before execution, to create a false impression of supply or demand and move the price toward a smaller genuine order on the other side.
• Layering — Layering is placing multiple orders at several consecutive price levels with no intention of trading them, building an apparent wall of depth that pushes the price toward a genuine order on the other side.

Enforcement actions involving these techniques

See also

• Cancellation rate — The cancellation rate is the share of a participant's orders that are cancelled rather than executed. In modern electronic markets…
• Surveillance — Surveillance, in a market context, is the automated monitoring of order and trade data for patterns that suggest abuse. Exchanges,…

Terms that refer here

Cancellation rate · Fill

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