OKX Perpetual Futures Guide

Crypto-margined perpetual futures

OKX’s crypto-margined perpetual futures are crypto derivatives products settled in cryptocurrencies like BTC, with a contract size of 100 USD. Traders can take long or short positions on cryptocurrencies with leverage of up to 100x to profit from price movements. Example: BTCUSD Perpetual futures specifications

USDT-margined perpetual futures

OKX’s USDT-margined perpetual futures are derivatives products settled in USDT. Traders can take long or short positions on cryptocurrencies with leverage of up to 100x to profit from price movements. Example: BTCUSDT Perpetual futures specifications

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Key features

• Settlement currency: Crypto-margined perpetual futures settle in cryptocurrencies, providing exposure to various crypto assets for easier hedging and risk management. USDT-margined perpetual futures settle in USDT, allowing you to trade without holding the underlying asset.

• Expiration date: Unlike traditional futures, perpetual futures do not have an expiration date.

• Index price: USDT-margined futures use the underlying’s USDT index, while crypto-margined futures use the underlying’s USD index. To align index prices with the spot market, OKX takes the prices from at least three major exchanges and employs a special mechanism to maintain normal price fluctuation when a single exchange’s price deviates significantly.

• Price range adjustment: OKX dynamically adjusts the price range for new orders based on the price in the spot market and the previous minute’s price to prevent malicious market disruption.

• Mark price: During extreme price fluctuations, OKX uses the mark price as a reference to prevent liquidation resulting from a single abnormal trade.

• Tiered maintenance margin requirement: OKX employs a tiered maintenance margin requirement mechanism. If you have larger positions, you will have a higher maintenance margin requirement, thereby lowering the maximum leverage and improving position stability. When your margin drops below the maintenance margin requirement plus the trading fees, your positions will be reduced or liquidated.

• Funding rate: As perpetual futures do not settle in the traditional sense, OKX applies the funding rate mechanism to ensure the futures’ prices and index prices converge periodically. Funding fees are settled every 8 hours at 12:00 am, 8:00 am, and 4:00 pm UTC. You will only be charged if you hold positions in perpetual futures. You may close a position before funding fee settlement time to avoid funding fee charges.

• One-way and hedge mode: In One-way mode, users can only hold positions in one direction under the same margin mode and instrument. For example, if a user holds a long position of 10 contracts in BTCUSDT Perpetual and places an order to sell 5 contracts, the position shall become 5 contracts after the order has been filled. In Hedge mode, users can hold both long and short positions under the same margin mode and instrument at the same time. For example, if a user holds a long position of 10 contracts in BTCUSDT Perpetual and places an order to sell 5 contracts, the user will have a long position of 10 contracts and a short position of 5 contracts after the order has been filled.