Bona fide order

A bona fide order is one placed with a genuine intention to trade if the market reaches it. The concept does most of the work in spoofing law: an order placed with the intention to cancel it before execution is not bona fide, and is therefore not a real offer at all.

market microstructure · updated 2026-10-16

Where does bona fide order 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

• Spoofing — Spoofing is placing orders with the intention of cancelling them before execution, so that other participants misread the order bo…
• Scienter — Scienter is the mental state of intending to deceive, manipulate or defraud. It is a required element of a Rule 10b-5 claim, and i…

Terms that refer here

Bucket shop · Deception · Iceberg order · Intent · Phantom liquidity · Spoofing

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