Trading Rules

Summary

PLEASE READ THESE TRADING RULES CAREFULLY.  These Trading Rules govern the activities and actions performed on the LVL Exchange and other Services, as defined in User Agreement.  All LVL Exchange Transactions will occur within the LVL Exchange.  LVL will not access order books on other exchanges or otherwise go outside of the LVL Exchange to satisfy an Order.  Capitalized terms not defined in these Trading Rules are defined in the User Agreement.  These Trading Rules form part of the LVL User Agreement to which each Trader (as defined below) must also be a party.

 

1.   Definitions

In addition to the terms defined in the User Agreement, the following terms are defined as indicated and have particular relevance to these Trading Rules:

• Account– is the User account with LVL used to access the Services, as more fully defined in the body of the User Agreement.
• Asset– an asset (i) indicated as supported by the Services, such as they may be from time to time; and (ii) that is held in an Hosted Wallet or a User DDA.  Digital Assets are Assets held in your LVL Hosted Wallet.  Fiat is an Asset that is held in your User DDA at the DDA Bank.
• Automated Market Maker (AMM)– an Automated Strategy that provides liquidity on LVL by quoting buy and sell Limit Orders at a spread below and above the LVL Exchange market price, respectively.
• Automated Strategy– an LVL Service that automatically creates and submits Orders based on LVL Exchange market data and Account settings.
• Available Balance– the Balance, less applicable Holds.
• Balance– the amount of Asset resulting from applied Transfers.
• Base Asset– the Asset being traded on the Market Pair.
• Digital Asset– means an Asset that is a decentralized virtual currency, such as, for example, Bitcoin or Ethereum.
• Downtime– a temporary outage of Service.
  • Scheduled– planned Downtime according to a LVL-set schedule.
  • Unscheduled– unplanned Downtime.
• Fill, Filled or Filling – one or more Transfers affected by the Service resulting from a match between Orders.
• Hold– restriction on the Transfer of Assets due to an active Order or Transfer or as otherwise contemplated in the User Agreement.
• Hosted Wallet - means the LVL-hosted custodial service allowing the User to deposit with LVL, store with LVL, transfer or withdraw Digital Assets, via the Account, as further defined and discussed in the body of the User Agreement.
• Limit Order– an Order to buy or sell an amount of Base Asset at a price in Quote Asset
• Market Order– an Order to buy or sell an amount of Base Asset at the best price available on the Order Book
• Market Pair– a Base Asset/Quote Asset trading pair and associated trading rules; for example in a BTC to USDC trade, the BTC is the Base Asset and USDC is the Quote Asset
• Order– an order by User through the Account or an Other User to buy or sell Assets on a LVL Exchange listed Market Pair:
  • Received Order – an Order provided to LVL but not yet posted to the Order Book;
  • Open Order– an Order posted by LVL to the Order Book but not yet Filled;
  • Done Order– an Order that has been fully Filled; and
  • Canceled Order– an Order that was canceled before being fully Filled. Note only the un-Filled portion of the Order may be cancelled.
• Order Book– the Order queue on the LVL Exchange upon which Orders are placed within a Market Pair.
• Price-Time Priority – LVL Exchange policy prioritizing early Orders over later Orders.
• Quote Asset – the Asset in which trading is denominated on the Market Pair.
• Spot Price– the average price of the lowest-priced sell and highest-priced buy Limit Orders available on the Order Book.
• Trade – means a single instance of Trading.
• Trader – means User or an Other User.
• Trading – placing Orders, waiting for them to be Filled or cancelling them.
• Transfer – (i) credit or debit of Assets in a Hosted Wallet; or (ii) instructions to DDA Bank to debit or credit User DDA for Fiat. Examples are deposit, withdrawal, and complete or partial Fill.

2.   Trading on LVL

LVL hosts and operates an in-house Digital Asset exchange comprising Order Books on multiple Market Pairs.  Available Market Pairs vary by Account and geography.  The Market Pairs available to a User are posted in the Account and may change from time to time at the sole discretion of LVL.

2.1  ORDERS

To place an Order on a Market Pair, the Account must have sufficient Available Balance to cover the value of the Order.  LVL does not charge trading Fees.  For buy Orders, the Available Balance of Quote Asset is considered.  For sell Orders, the Available Balance of Base Asset is considered.

A new Order acquires a Hold on the relevant Asset, reducing the Available Balance of that Asset while the Order is in effect.

Open Orders can be canceled at any time prior to being Filled.  Open Orders may be cancelled in the Account by selecting the Order and clicking Cancel.  It is possible to cancel the un-Filled portion of a partially filled Order.  Cancels are processed sequentially with Order matching with cancels occurring first in the match engine cycle.

2.2  Limit Orders

A Limit Order is an Order to buy or sell an amount of Base Asset at a price in Quote.

A Limit Order will only Fill at the specified price or a better price.  For buy Limit Orders, a better price is lower than specified. For sell Limit Orders, a better price is higher than specified.

To the extent that a Limit Order is posted to the Order Book and does not immediately Fill from one or more existing Orders, the Limit Order will remain open on the Order Book until:

• It is canceled; or
• It is completely Filled by one or more Orders.

If a User closes their Account, all open and un-Filled Orders of the User will be automatically cancelled.

2.3  Market Orders

A Market Order is an Order to buy or sell an amount of Base Asset at the best available price.

There is no guarantee that a Market Order will execute at either the price or cost specified.  A Market Order will Fill at one or more prices based on the price and size of Other User Limit Orders available on the Order Book.

Depending on the size, quantity, and price of Limit Orders on the Order Book, a Market Order may execute at a price less favorable than the Spot Price or prices of other recent trades.  This is referred to as “slippage.” Market Order buys on the LVL Exchange will not match at any price 2% or more greater than the Spot Price at the time the Market Order was received.  Market Order sells on the LVL Exchange will not match at any price 2% or more less than the Spot Price at the time the Market Order was received.

A Market Order may partially Fill, or not Fill at all, based on aggregate size of Limit Orders within 2% of the Spot Price on the Order Book. Partially-Filled Market Orders are canceled and do not remain on the Order Book.

2.4 Order Posting

If an Order is posted to the Order Book at the same or a discounted price as one or more Orders already on the Order book, it will result in one or more immediate Fill.

All Orders posted to the Order Book are subject to a minimum size in Base.  The minimum size is determined at LVL’s sole discretion, and any attempt to post an Order smaller than the minimum size will result in an error.

All Orders posted to the Order Book are subject to a maximum size in Base.  The maximum size is determined at LVL’s sole discretion, and any attempt to post an Order larger than the maximum size will result in an error

2.5 Matching Engine And Order Priority

The LVL Exchange Service Fills Orders against the Order Book according to Price-Time Priority.

All trading on individual Market Pairs is subject to the same Price-Time Priority.

Any Order may be matched against multiple Orders at the same price.

Posted Orders are matched at the best available price of Orders on the Order Book.

2.6 Fills And Settlement

When an Order is matched against an Order on the Order Book, those Orders are Filled. An Order may be matched with and Filled by one or more Orders at the same price.

All Fills are settled immediately by debiting and crediting the balances of Assets in the Hosted Wallets and User DDA’s of the Traders whose Orders are matched.

Assets in an Account are subject to deposit, withdrawal and other restrictions, as detailed in the User Agreement.

2.7 Trading Fees

LVL charges no Trading Fees.  LVL Trading is only available to Users who pay the Fees as described in the User Agreement and comply with all other terms of the User Agreement.

2.8 All Trades Are Final

All Fills are final and will not be reversed unless:

• LVL is compelled to do so by any Applicable Law or Regulator; or
• Due to a technical error, Orders or Fills do not occur as specified in these Trading Rules.

2.9 Trading Limits

Traders shall each be subject to limits on their respective Accounts as discussed more fully in the body of the User Agreement.

Without prior consent of or notice to User, LVL may, in its sole discretion, cancel Orders in the following circumstances:

• LVL determines, in its sole discretion, that a Trader has engaged in abusive use of the LVL Exchange through, for example purposes only, market manipulation;
• Orders which, in LVL’s sole discretion, involve an error with respect to price, quantity, or other parameters;
• If required by any Applicable Law or Regulator, including specifically where LVL is required to suspend or terminate a a Trader or Account;
• LVL has elected to cease providing the LVL Exchange Service;
• The Order is inconsistent with a Hold or other limitation placed on the Account;
• If required for technical reasons; or
• As otherwise permitted by LVL pursuant to the User Agreement.

2.10 Equal Access

All Traders shall have equal access to the LVL Exchange, subject to applicable limits.

LVL has the authority to take any action deemed appropriate to preserve market integrity of the LVL Exchange. Such actions include, but are not limited to, the halting of trading, modifying risk-mitigation parameters, restricting trader access to the LVL Exchange, restricting Order types, canceling Orders, or any other actions deemed to be in the best interest of market integrity.

2.11 No Self-Trading

Traders are not able to place an Order which would result in self-execution, i.e., where User has placed both the buy and sell Orders of a match.

If two Orders of the same quantity would result in self-execution, both Orders are canceled.

If two Orders of different quantities would result in self-execution, the smaller Order is canceled, and the larger Order is decremented by an amount equivalent to the smaller quantity. The remainder of the larger Order continues to match or remains Open.

2.12 No Market Manipulation

Traders are prohibited from engaging in market manipulation. Market manipulation is defined as actions taken by any User or Other User acting in concert with a User which are intended to:

• Deceive or mislead LVL or Other Users;
• Artificially control or manipulate the price or trading volume of an Asset; or
• Aid, abet, enable, finance, support, or endorse either of the above. This may include actions on the LVL Exchange or outside the LVL Exchange.

Market manipulation includes, without limitation: front-running, wash trading, spoofing, layering, churning, and quote-stuffing.  LVL shall determine, in its sole discretion, whether a User has engaged in market manipulation.

2.13 Information

All Traders have full and equal access to LVL Exchange market data. Market data is made available through the LVL interface. Market data comprises:

• Limit Orders placed on the Order Book (price and quantity); and
• Fills (price, quantity, and time).

Market data does not include:

• Any information about which trader placed or canceled any Order.

Market data does not reflect the market price of Assets on third party exchanges or elsewhere.  User sale of an Asset on the LVL Exchange may be above or below prices on other exchanges or elsewhere.

2.14 Digital Assets v. Fiat Trades

Where an Order involves only Digital Assets, the Filling of the Trade shall automatically result in (i) a debit to User’s Hosted Wallet of the Digital Asset sold and a credit to User’s Hosted Wallet of the Digital Asset purchased; and (ii) corresponding credits and debits to the Other User’s hosted wallet for the corresponding Digital Assets.

Where an Order involves a Digital Asset and Fiat:

(i) if User is selling Fiat and purchasing a Digital Asset, then Filling of the Order automatically results in (A) LVL sending instructions to the DDA Bank for DDA Bank to debit the User DDA and credit the Other User, who is party to the Trade, for the Fiat amount contemplated in the Trade; and (B) debiting of the Other User’s hosted wallet for the Digital Asset purchased and the crediting of User’s Hosted Wallet for that same Digital Asset.

(ii) if the User is selling a Digital Asset in exchange for Fiat, then Filling of the Order automatically results in (C) debiting of the Digital Asset sold from the User’s Hosted Wallet and crediting the Other User’s hosted wallet for the same Digital Asset; and (D) LVL sending instructions to the DDA Bank for DDA Bank to debit the Other User’s account with the DDA Bank the amount of Fiat contemplated in the Order and to credit the User DDA with the same amount.

At no time does LVL take possession of any Fiat with respect to any Order.  LVL shall post a given Fiat Transfer as complete when DDA Bank informs LVL of the same.  User’s rights in Fiat are set out in the User DDA Agreement.

3.   Automated Strategies

LVL provides Automated Strategies, including Automated Market Making (AMM).  Automated Strategies, including Automated Market Making (AMM), operate as trading bots that trade Assets automatically on your behalf, based on settings you select. 

You shall have sole responsibility for allocating, or not allocating, any part of your Assets to the Automated Strategies and choosing the Automated Strategy Settings therein.  All investments, allocations and transactions effected or facilitated by the Automated Strategies for you shall be solely at your risk based on Automated Strategy Settings that you input into your Account.

LVL MAKES NO REPRESENTATION AS TO THE PROFITABILITY OF ANY AUTOMATED STRATEGY OR OTHERWISE WITH RESPECT TO TRADES.  USER ASSUMES ALL RISKS OF ALL TRADES.

3.1  Execution

Automated Strategies execute Orders on the LVL Order Book.  Automated Strategies do not execute Orders on the order book of any other exchange.

3.2  Risk

Holding, investing and trading in Assets involves significant risk, and there is always the potential for losing some or all Assets when engaging in any of these activities.  The risk of loss may be increased by using any Automated Strategy.

Before subscribing to an Automated Strategy, User must consider their investment objectives and review information on Automated Strategy provided by LVL in its User Agreement, on its website and blogpost, in LVL’s white paper and at github (collectively and with User Settings in the Account applicable to them, the “Automation Specifications”):

• https://support.lvl.co/hc/en-us/articles/360030800111-User-Agreement
• https://support.lvl.co/hc/en-us/articles/360030467112-Strategy-AMM
• https://blog.lvl.co/introducing-amm/
• https://s3.amazonaws.com/bitsea-static/media/AMM.pdf
• https://github.com/chriscslaughter/amm

The Automation Specifications describe Automated Strategy and Automated Market Making strategy and set out the precise logic thereof.

4.   Market Operations

The LVL Exchange is a Service of Samsa Technologies, Inc., a company headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

4.1 Interruptions

If technical reasons prevent or degrade Traders’ ability to place or cancel Orders, or prevent or degrade access to the LVL Exchange, or affect the operation of Order Books or matching engines, then LVL may, in its sole discretion, take one or more of the following actions in respect of one or more Order Books:

• Temporarily disable depositing or withdrawing Assets;
• Cancel Open Orders;
• Disable the ability to place new Orders;
• Disable sign-in; or
• Cease operation of the LVL Exchange Service.

5. Amendments

LVL reserves the right to modify these Trading Rules at any time, in its sole discretion.  Amendments to these Trading Rules are made pursuant to the amendments provision of the User Agreement. 

LVL strongly recommends that User frequently reviews the Trading Rules to ensure that they understand them, and how the Trading Rules apply to User access to and use of the Services, with specific relevance to the LVL Exchange Service.

6. Trader Acknowledgement

By creating an Account and utilizing the LVL Exchange in any manner, User acknowledges and agrees that they have read and fully understand all of the foregoing Trading Rules. If User has elected to use Automated Strategy including, without limitation, Automated Market Maker, User acknowledges and agrees they have reviewed and understood all the Automation Specifications. Further, User agrees that they are accepting the risk of total loss that can result when User elects to hold, invest and Trade in Assets, including but not limited to the risk of loss that can result from use of any Automated Strategy including Automated Market Maker.  If User is unwilling to accept this risk of loss that is inherent in holding, investing and/or trading in Assets, User must not open an Account or utilize the LVL Exchange Service in any manner.

 

Last Updated

27 February 2020