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Trading rules

Version: 1.0

Review: Annual

Date: July 2025

  1. Introduction 
    1. These Trading Rules apply to clients engaging in trading activities on Pepperstone  Digital Pty Limited’s (ACN: 683 263 836) (‘Pepperstone Crypto’) exchange.
    2. For the avoidance of doubt, these Rules are subject to Pepperstone Crypto’s Terms of Service. In case of any inconsistencies, Pepperstone Crypto’s Terms of Service shall prevail over these Rules.
    3. The information in these Rules may be updated from time to time. If there are any material changes, we will let you know in writing. You can also get a copy of the latest version of the Rules on our  www.pcrypto.com 
    4. Our contact details are:

Pepperstone Digital Pty Limited

Level 16, Tower 1

727 Collins Street

Melbourne, Vic, 3008.

Email: support@pcrypto.com 

  1. Pepperstone Crypto Exchange Trading 

Pepperstone Crypto acts as the counterparty to each client trade in its capacity as principal, with the operational support of a trading platform that features a central limit order book and a matching engine for trading and settlement of crypto assets, as well as fiat currency trading pairs. Clients have no legal right to trade with any party other than Pepperstone Crypto on its trading platform.

  1. Hours of Operation 

Except for scheduled or unscheduled downtime, the platform operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

  1. Access to Pepperstone Crypto Exchange 

Access to the platform is provided via web interfaces and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). 

  1. Order Submission 
    • Clients must have a funded account with sufficient balance in the relevant asset to place an order, covering the order amount and associated fees. 
    • No fees are charged for submitting orders. 
    • If an order is not immediately filled upon submission, the relevant amount is placed on hold and unavailable until the order is executed or cancelled. 
    • Clients may cancel unfilled orders at any time without incurring fees. 
    • Clients can amend orders after submission; if the limit price is modified, the order is placed at the end of the new price queue. 

  1. Order Matching 
    • For the avoidance of doubt, this section only explains how Pepperstone Crypto’s trading platform matches orders at an operational level, and does not negate the fact that Pepperstone Crypto acts as the counterparty to each client trade in its capacity as principal. Clients have no legal right to trade with any party other than Pepperstone Crypto on its trading platform.
    • Matching Priority: A single order queue is used, with matching based on a price-time priority mechanism: 
      • Orders with the best price are matched first. 
      • For orders with the same price, priority is given to the earliest submitted order. 
      • Conditional orders, once triggered, are added to the end of the order queue. 
    • Trade Settlement and Confirmation: 
      • Upon trade execution, the platform updates the client’s account balance and provides trade confirmation. 
      • Settlement of filled orders occurs immediately via debiting and crediting of client accounts for the relevant crypto assets. 
      • Clients can withdraw crypto assets immediately, subject to withdrawal limits. 
      • All executed trades are final and binding. 
  2. Trading Fees 

The platform employs a maker-taker fee structure: 

  • Maker Order Fee: Applies to orders that are not immediately matched with existing orders, adding liquidity (e.g., limit orders). 
  • Taker Order Fee: Applies to orders that are immediately matched, removing liquidity (e.g., market orders). 
  • Fees are included in the order cost, and a client’s available balance must cover the order amount and associated fees. 
  • Order Types 

The platform supports various order types, including the following conditional orders: 

  1. Market Orders 
  2. Market orders buy or sell immediately at the best available price. 
  3. Due to order size and liquidity, market orders may execute at different prices. 
  4. Market orders may experience slippage depending on market conditions. 
  5. Market orders have no time-in-force options. 
  6. Limit Orders 
  7. Limit orders allow clients to buy or sell a set quantity of an asset at a specified price (limit price), executing only at that price or better. 
  8. Limit orders can have a time-in-force of “good till cancelled,” “immediate or cancel,” or “good till date.” 
  9. By setting “post-only,” clients ensure a maker fee is applied. If the limit price immediately matches the buy or sell side of the order book, the order is cancelled. 
  10. Buy limit orders above the current market price or sell limit orders below it will execute immediately. 
  11. Limit orders can have a time-in-force of “good till cancelled,” “immediate or cancel,” or “good till date.” 
  12. Additional Order Types 
  13. Stop Loss Orders: Trigger a market order when the reference price reaches the stop price (from an unfavourable direction). 
  14. Stop Loss Limit Orders: Trigger a limit order when the reference price reaches the stop price (from an unfavourable direction). 
  15. Take Profit Orders: Trigger a market order when the reference price reaches the take-profit price (from a favourable direction). 
  16. Take Profit Limit Orders: Trigger a limit order when the reference price reaches the take-profit price (from a favourable direction). 
  17. Trailing Stop Orders: Trigger a market order when the reference price reverts a specified distance from the peak price since order entry. 
  18. Trailing Stop Limit Orders: Trigger a limit order when the reference price reverts a specified distance from the peak price, with the limit price relative to the triggered price. 
  19. Order Minimums 

All orders must meet the minimum order size requirements for each asset. 

  1. Trading Controls 
  2. Market Price Protection (MPP): In low-liquidity or volatile markets, MPP prevents market orders from being rejected due to price slippage. Market orders are rejected when the bid/ask spread is wide (typically 300% of the market price, depending on the currency pair). 
  3. To avoid MPP rejections during volatile periods, clients can submit limit orders with a limit price to control slippage. 
  4. Self-Trade Prevention (STP): Prevents clients from intentionally or unintentionally matching their own orders. STP applies to all orders, and in case of a self-match, client order parameters determine whether the newest, oldest, or both orders are cancelled. 
  5. Pepperstone Crypto reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel orders or prohibit client trading due to market abuse, technical reasons, or legal requirements. 
  6. Asset Custody (Fiat and Crypto) 

Assets held in custody are subject to local legal and regulatory requirements as specified in the Terms of Service. Pepperstone Crypto is committed to transparency, and the latest proof of reserves is accessible on the exchange interface. 

  1. Exchange Availability and Interruptions 

Pepperstone Crypto may, at its sole discretion, suspend trading or access to maintain market integrity in cases including, but not limited to: 

  • System disruptions; 
  • Disorderly market conditions; 
  • Network, hosting, cloud computing, database, or software errors; 
  • Adverse market events; 
  • On-chain events (e.g., chain splits or soft/hard forks); 
  • Excessive volatility or significant price movements that are not suspended could harm clients or the exchange’s orderly operation. 
  • Pepperstone Crypto API Connectivity 

API access is subject to rate limits to prevent malicious use and order book manipulation.  In some instances, clients’ ability to place orders may be affected, degrading platform performance. Pepperstone Crypto may then apply one of the following modes: 

  • Maintenance Mode: Trading is paused, no orders or trades occur, and cancellations are unavailable. 
  • Cancel-Only Mode: Clients can cancel existing orders but cannot place new orders or execute trades. 
  • Post-Only Mode: Only limit orders marked “post-only” are accepted, with no immediate trades. 
  • Limit-Only Mode: New orders are restricted to limit orders, with market orders rejected. 
  • The Pepperstone Crypto Exchange does not use automated circuit breakers to halt trading. 
  • Exchange Maintenance and Scheduled Downtime 

Pepperstone Crypto may experience downtime due to planned maintenance and system updates. Upcoming maintenance events will be announced on the official website. 

  1. Market Integrity and Abuse 

Clients are prohibited from engaging in market abuse or manipulation, such as wash trading, layering, or spoofing. Market abuse is defined as activity that: 

  • Gives or is likely to give false or misleading signals regarding the supply, demand, or price of a crypto asset; 
  • Secures or is likely to secure the price of one or more crypto assets at an abnormal or artificial level. 

Trading on the platform using inside information is prohibited. 

All trading activity is subject to continuous surveillance to detect potential abusive or manipulative patterns. Any abnormal trading behaviours flagged by the surveillance system must be promptly reviewed to determine if further investigation or escalation is required.

  1. Market Data and Pre/Post-Trade Transparency 
  2. Pepperstone Crypto will publicly disclose bid and ask prices and the depth of trading interest, available continuously during trading hours, free of charge, and accessible on a non-discriminatory basis. 
  3. Pepperstone Crypto will disclose the price, volume, and time of executed transactions for crypto assets    traded on the platform. 
  4. All trading activity is subject to pre-trade risk controls to ensure market integrity. Before orders are accepted, the system performs balance validation and applies limits to prevent erroneous trades.
  5. Definitions 

The terms used in these Trading Rules have the following meanings: 

  • Available Balance: The client’s balance in crypto assets and fiat currency available for placing orders. 
  • Clients: Users holding accounts and placing orders on the platform. 
  • Crypto Asset: A digital representation of value or rights, transferable and stored using distributed ledger (or similar) technology, representing assets listed on the platform. 
  • Downtime: Any period when significant platform functionality is impaired. 
  • Fiat Currency: Government-issued currency, such as AUD. 
  • Inside Information: Trading or attempting to trade a crypto asset or related instrument based on non-public information about the asset or instrument. 
  • Limit Price: The price at which a client wishes an order to be executed, or better. 
  • Market Abuse: Behaviour constituting or potentially constituting market abuse, manipulation, insider trading, or other prohibited conduct under applicable law. 
  • Market Price: The lowest current ask price (for buy orders) or the highest current bid price (for sell orders), representing the best offer on the order book. 
  • Order: A firm offer by a client to buy or sell a crypto asset on the platform, resulting in a transaction if executed. 
  • Order Book: The central limit order book for a specific crypto asset, containing bid and ask orders. 
  • Order Matching Process: The process of matching bid and ask orders for the same crypto asset based on price-time priority, resulting in a transaction. 
  • Settlement: The completion of a transaction on the platform, fulfilling all trade obligations with no further adjustments or claims. 
  • Trading Pairs: Pairs available on the platform for client transactions, e.g., BTC/AUD. 

 

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