# Placing a Market Trade Order
On the Kana Perps platform, traders can place Market or Limit orders to open either Long or Short positions on supported assets. Order size can be specified in USDT or in units of the underlying asset, depending on user preference. Traders can go long if they anticipate that the price of an asset will rise, or go short if they expect the price to fall. To place an order in terms of asset value (APT/BTC/ETH), divide your order value by the current market price of the selected asset.
For those new to Perpetual Futures trading, it’s crucial to understand how leverage influences the investment amount. Kana Perps offers leverage up to 20x. For example, with an order value of 100 USDT and 20x leverage, only 5 USDT is debited from the trading balance as margin. At 10x leverage, the margin is 10 USDT, and at 5x, it rises to 20 USDT. Higher leverage results in a lower margin requirement, while lower leverage increases it.
It's important to note that if you place a trade order of 100 USDT with 20x leverage, you’re trading for that same value, not for 2000 USDT. To avoid liquidation, traders must maintain additional funds in their trading account to be used as margin when needed, approximately 2.5% of the position’s notional value, in their accounts, especially when multiple trades are open.
A Market Order is used when a trader wants to execute a trade immediately at the best available price in the orderbook. In this example, we’ll open a short position using a market order on the APT-PERP trading pair.
### Step-by-Step Guide -
**Step 1** - In the Order Placement section, ensure the "Open" tab is selected. By default, the "Market" order type is active. Next, select your preferred leverage from the dropdown menu on the right of the order type selector. Kana Perps allows leverage from 1x (no leverage) up to 20x.
**Step 2** - Enter your order amount in the input box. You can toggle between USDT or APT as the base unit. Based on the toggle selection, the platform will display the notional value, along with the estimated liquidation price, initial margin required and slippage all of which are shown within the same order placement panel. The left-side toggle corresponds to a long position, and the right-side toggle corresponds to a short position. Click the "Short" button to open a Short position.
**Step 3**— After confirming the order, a “Order Placed Successfully” pop-up will appear.
**Step 4** - Because this is a market order, the trade is executed instantly and will be reflected under the “Positions” tab, where all active positions are tracked.
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