BitMEX offers Linear Futures Contracts in cryptocurrency. This allows exposure to the price of an asset, without needing to hold the asset directly as it only requires Bitcoin or Tether as margin.
Linear Futures Contracts
The following information assumes usage of the “COINXBT” futures contract and “COINUSDT” futures contract as examples. Information is generalisable to all Linear Futures, but some may have different multipliers. Please check the contract specifications directly for that information.
How Are Linear Futures Contracts Quoted?
COIN futures’ underlying is the COINXBT or COINUSDT exchange rate as recorded in the underlying Index.
The COINXBT futures are quoted in Bitcoin and all margin and PNL calculations are denominated in Bitcoin.
| Contract Calculations | |
|---|---|
| Multiplier | 0.00000001 XBT |
| XBT Value | COINXBT Futures Price * Multiplier |
| USD Value | XBT Value * .BXBT Spot Price |
| PnL Calculation | # Contracts * Multiplier * (Exit Price - Entry Price) |
The COINUSDT futures are quoted in Tether and all margin and PNL calculations are denominated in Tether.
| Contract Calculations | |
|---|---|
| Multiplier | 0.000001 USDT |
| USDT Value | COINUSDT Futures Price * Multiplier |
| USD Value | USDT Value * .BUSDT Spot Price |
| PnL Calculation | # Contracts * Multiplier * (Exit Price - Entry Price) |
Margin and Leverage
COINXBT futures margin is posted in Bitcoin and COINUSDT futures margin is posted in Tether, which means traders can go long or short contracts using only Bitcoin or Tether. Most Linear Futures feature a leverage between 20x and 100x.
Settlement
Futures contracts settle on a 30 minute Time Weighted Average Price (“TWAP”) on the underlying Index . Settlement will occur on the last Friday of the Settlement Month, subject to the Early Settlement
COINXBT Futures Contract Example
A trader wants to go long 1 XBT of COINXBT futures contracts, which trades at 0.01 XBT. As the leverage is 20x, the trader only needs 0.05 XBT of margin for this trade.
The trader must buy 10,000,000,000 contracts:1 XBT / (0.01 XBT * 0.00000001).
A few days later, the price rises to 0.015 XBT and the trader sells all their contracts.
The trader’s profit will be:10,000,000,000 * 0.00000001 * (0.015 - 0.01) = 0.5 XBT
COINUSDT Futures Contract Example
A trader wants to go long 1,000,000 USDT of COINUSDT futures contracts, which trades at 5,000.00 USDT. As the leverage is 50x, the trader only needs 20,000 USDT of margin for this trade.
The trader must buy 200,000,000 contracts:1,000,000 USDT / (5,000 USDT * 0.000001).
A few days later, the price rises to 6,000 USDT and the trader sells all their contracts.The trader’s profit will be:
200,000,000 * 0.000001 * (6,000 - 5,000) = 200,000 USDT