Which is better, order book or AMM?

Neither is universally better. Order books are better for large trades and precise pricing. AMMs are better for guaranteed liquidity and simplicity. Flashnet combines both, routing each trade to the best execution venue automatically.

Can I use both order book and AMM?

On Flashnet, yes. The platform's smart router evaluates both the order book and AMM for each trade and finds the optimal execution path.

Is an AMM safer than an order book?

Both have different risk profiles. AMMs have smart contract risk but no counterparty risk. Order books on centralized exchanges have counterparty risk. On Flashnet, both systems are non-custodial.

Which has lower fees, order book or AMM?

Fees are usually similar (0.1-0.3%), but total costs differ. Order books have lower slippage for large trades. AMMs have more predictable execution for small trades. The total cost (fees + slippage) is what matters.

Should I switch from AMM to order book trading?

If you regularly trade more than $10K per transaction, using an order book (or a hybrid like Flashnet) will likely save you significant slippage costs. For smaller trades under $1K, the difference is negligible.

Bitcoin Order Book vs AMM: How They Compare

Order books provide precise pricing and better execution for large trades, while AMMs offer guaranteed liquidity and simplicity. The best Bitcoin trading platforms combine both to give traders the advantages of each.

Flashnet Team|February 11, 2026

What Is an Order Book?

An order book is a list of buy and sell orders organized by price. When you place a limit order to buy BTC at $95,000, it sits in the book until someone is willing to sell at that price. This model gives you exact control over your execution price.

Order books excel at large trades because professional market makers provide deep liquidity at specific price levels. A $500K trade on a well-made order book might have 0.01% slippage. The same trade on an AMM could have 2-5% slippage.

An Automated Market Maker (AMM) replaces the order book with a mathematical formula — typically x * y = k (the constant product formula). Traders swap against a liquidity pool rather than matching with individual counterparties. AMMs guarantee that you can always trade, but every trade moves the price, and larger trades move it more.

How They Compare in Practice

For small trades under $1,000, both systems perform similarly. The AMM provides instant execution with negligible slippage, and the order book does the same.

For medium trades ($1K-$50K), the order book starts to win. Professional market makers maintain tight spreads and depth, meaning less slippage per dollar traded. AMMs start showing noticeable price impact.

For large trades above $50K, order books significantly outperform. A well-stocked order book can absorb $500K with minimal slippage, while an AMM of equivalent total liquidity would show 2-5% price impact.

Flashnet: Both, Not Either/Or

Flashnet runs both an order book and an AMM on Bitcoin's layer-2. The router automatically finds the best execution path for your trade — order book when depth is available, AMM when not, or a combination of both.

Try non-custodial trading with the best of both worlds on the Flashnet trading platform. See how execution quality differs using the Slippage Calculator.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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