What Is the Trade-off between “Firmness” and the Size of the Quoted Trade?

There is an inverse relationship: as the requested trade size increases, the Liquidity Provider (LP) is less likely to offer a fully firm quote. A larger size increases the LP's inventory risk and the market impact of their necessary hedge, making them cautious.

For very large orders, LPs may only offer indicative (non-firm) quotes or break the order into smaller, firm-quoted pieces.