Range orders allow traders to buy or sell progressively across a custom price range. However, most existing methods require users to create a series of separate limit orders or use a concentrated liquidity position that can reverse when the market changes direction.
This article gives a high-level overview of current range order mechanisms, their tradeoffs, and Carbon DeFi’s solution for range orders that are:
fully onchain
one-directional
irreversible on execution
Let’s first explore the two methods commonly used to execute a trade across multiple prices: multiple limit orders and concentrated liquidity AMMs (CLAMMs).
Multiple Limit Orders
The traditional way to scale into or out of a position is to divide the total budget across several limit orders.
For example, a trader who wants to buy $1,000 of ETH between $2,000 and $1,800 might create five separate $200 orders at $2,000, $1,950, $1,900, $1,850 and $1,800.
This works, but it turns one trading decision into a series of individual orders. Each price and budget must be entered separately. Changing the range may require cancelling and rebuilding the entire ladder. If the trader wants more gradual execution, even more orders are needed.
A ladder of limit orders only provides liquidity at the individual prices selected. It approximates a range by adding more price points, but leaves gaps between them.
The limitations of this approach highlight the need for a Range Order that treats the full price range and total budget as one position.
CLAMMs to the Rescue (Sort of)
Some concentrated liquidity AMMs use the term “range order” to describe a single-sided liquidity position placed outside the current market price.
As the market price moves through the selected range, the position progressively converts from one token into the other. When the price has crossed the full range, the position holds the acquired token.
But the conversion is not final until the liquidity is removed.
If the market retraces through the range before the user withdraws, the position becomes active again and begins converting back into the original token.
A partially filled position also holds both tokens rather than producing a clean, one-directional result.
This happens because the position remains part of a two-sided AMM pool. The same pricing curve executes trades in both directions. What appears to be a range order is therefore still a concentrated liquidity position that must be monitored and manually withdrawn to prevent reversal.
CLAMM positions are also restricted by the pool’s available token pair, fee tier and tick spacing. The user chooses a range within the structure of an existing pool rather than publishing an independent order with its own direction, budget and prices.
Carbon DeFi’s Native Onchain Range Orders
Carbon introduces a native range order that allows a user to buy or sell one token progressively across a custom price range.
The user defines:
the token to buy or sell
the total budget
the lowest price
the highest price
Carbon DeFi then distributes the order across that range. As takers trade against it, the order fills progressively rather than executing the entire budget at one price.
Unlike a CLAMM position, a Carbon range order is one-directional. Tokens acquired through a fill are moved out of the active order and are not automatically offered back to the market if the price reverses. Each completed trade is irreversible.
This functionality is native to the protocol. It does not require the user to monitor the market, withdraw at the end of the range or rely on a hook, keeper or other external service to prevent the order from reversing.
Carbon DeFi’s design enables range orders that are:
Fully onchain: The order, its available liquidity and its execution remain visible onchain throughout its lifecycle.
One-directional: A range buy only buys, and a range sell only sells.
Irreversible: Executed trades do not reverse when the market moves back through the range.
Customizable: Users define the exact lowest and highest prices without being restricted by an existing pool’s tick spacing.
Maker liquidity: Range orders add executable liquidity for other traders instead of competing to take liquidity from a pool.
Zero trading fees: Makers pay zero trading fees when their orders are filled.
Adjustable: Prices and budgets can be updated onchain without withdrawing the position and creating a new one.
Partially fillable: Any portion of the order can execute as the market moves through the range. The market does not need to cross the entire range.
Immune to MEV sandwich attacks: Makers receive the prices defined by their order, while takers receive the amount quoted with zero slippage.
Carbon DeFi’s built-in solver system also helps orders get discovered and filled using liquidity from major DEXs across the chain. The range order is not limited to waiting for another Carbon user to take the other side.
A single-use range order can be created by selecting a range order in the Carbon DeFi app. Users who want the acquired tokens to fund a separate order in the opposite direction can instead link two Limit or Range Orders with a custom spread in a Recurring Strategy.
Conclusion
Existing methods for trading across a range require either a ladder of separate limit orders or a concentrated liquidity position that can reverse unless it is withdrawn at the right time.
Carbon DeFi combines the full budget and price range into one adjustable onchain order. It fills progressively, remains one-directional and makes every completed trade irreversible.
Instead of managing multiple orders or racing to withdraw from a liquidity position, mimicking a range, traders can create a true DEX Range Order on Carbon DeFi.
Get started → app.CarbonDeFi.xyz
Recommended read → True DEX Limit Orders: Carbon DeFi vs. Existing Solutions
