risk-mgmt

Your first DEX stop-loss (protect WETH against a 10% drop)

Chainlink-triggered, signed once, fires gas-free at the trigger

15 min · beginner

What you'll have when finished

  • Have one armed stop-loss watching a Chainlink price feed
  • Know what the "near trigger" badge means and how to react
  • Understand why Chainlink may fire 30-60 sec after spot DEX price crosses

Before you start

  • Stop-loss MUST be BELOW current price (the page warns you if not) — read the amber warning
  • Chainlink feeds are sticky for manipulation resistance — they can lag DEX spot by 30-60 sec
  • Setting a too-tight slippage (under 1%) on a volatile pair = order may not fill at trigger time

Walkthrough

  1. Have WETH on Base + tiny ETH for gas

    You need ≥ 0.005 WETH on Base AND ≥ $0.50 of native ETH on Base for the approval gas. Same as the limit order setup — Stop Orders share the same approval; if you already approved WETH for Limit Orders on Base + CoW, no new approval is needed here.

    Success criteria: MetaMask shows ≥ 0.005 WETH AND some native ETH on Base

  2. Open DEX Stop Orders + connect wallet

    DEX Trade → DEX Stop Orders. Click Connect Wallet → MetaMask. Confirm. Address shows in green Connected banner.

    Success criteria: Green Connected banner visible

  3. Pick Stop-loss + CoW + Base + WETH → USDC

    Direction = Stop-loss (red, down arrow). Protocol = CoW. Network = Base. Sell = WETH. Buy = USDC. Switch wallet to Base if prompted.

    Success criteria: All five pickers match the values above with no chain-mismatch warning

  4. Set trigger 10% below current ETH price

    Look up current ETH price (DEX Swap or any price source). Multiply by 0.90. Example: ETH at $3,000 → trigger = 2700. Set sell amount = 0.005. Set trigger price = 2700. The page shows the distance % to trigger; if it shows "would fire immediately" amber warning, your trigger is wrong — recheck the multiplication.

    Success criteria: Distance to trigger shows roughly -10% (current is 10% above trigger)

  5. Leave slippage at 1%, watch for = 30 days

    Slippage 1% is the right default for ETH (blue chip). For longer-term insurance, 30 days gives the trigger more chance to fire if the market actually drops that far. Shorter durations are fine for tactical "drop today" hedges.

    Success criteria: Slippage = 1, Watch for = 30 days selected

  6. Arm + sign in MetaMask

    Click Arm stop-loss. If this is your first WETH approval on Base + CoW: Approval tx (gas). Then EIP-712 signature (no gas). Backend stores it. Toast: "Stop-loss armed — Chainlink watcher will fire at $2700 for WETH".

    Success criteria: Toast confirms armed status with your trigger price

  7. Read the row + understand the near-trigger badge

    Order list shows your row with status Armed and current price vs trigger distance %. If ETH ever drops within 2% of your trigger, a pulsing amber "near trigger" badge appears — this is your alert. When Chainlink crosses 2700, the watcher submits the signed order to CoW within ~3 seconds. Status flips to Triggered, then Filled within 10-30 seconds typically.

    Success criteria: You can articulate what the "near trigger" badge means and what happens after Chainlink crosses

What's next

You have downside protection on 0.005 WETH for 30 days. If ETH never drops 10%, the stop expires automatically — no action needed. If it does drop, you wake up to 13.50+ USDC in your wallet (instead of WETH worth $13.50 at the lower price). For take-profit (lock in gains), repeat this guide but pick Take-profit and set the trigger ABOVE current price.