A futures contract is a derivative product that creates an agreement between 2 parties to buy or sell an asset at a future date, for a set price. This allows traders to speculate on the future value of an asset, in this case Ethereum.
For instance, if you think the price of Ethereum is going to be worth more in a month's time, you can open a futures contract and go long. Whereas if you think the price will be less in a month from now, you can open a contract and go short. You can also hold a perpetual futures contract, which does not have a set end date, and can be held open as long as you like – but you will have to pay periodic fees to do so (known as the funding rate).
Futures can also be used to hedge against unwanted price movements of the underlying asset (ETH) to help minimise any losses that would arise from holding that asset in your portfolio.
If you want to trade futures you will need to learn about things like reference price and leverage, as well as the risks involved which are discussed below, plus a list of exchanges you can trade Ethereum futures on.
Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific
provider, service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade.
Trade Ethereum futures on these exchanges
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A closer look at Ethereum futures contracts
Ethereum futures are financial instruments that allow you to take a long or short position regarding the price of ETH at a future date. So for example, if you go long on ETH and the market closes at or above the price dictated in the futures contract, you will make a profit. Alternatively, if you take a short position on ETH you can profit from a fall in the price.
Ethereum futures contracts get their value from their underlying asset, ETH, and are thus affected by changes in the price of ETH.
For some, futures trading is a good alternative to simply buying and selling digital currencies (spot trading) since the latter only allows users to accrue profits during bull markets, when the market is rising. On the other hand, futures contracts allow investors to speculate on an asset's negative price action as well, thus allowing for profits to be made during bear cycles.
Finder survey: How many Australians own cryptocurrency?
Response
No
68.98%
Yes - For long-term growth
21.8%
Yes - for short-term growth
8.23%
Yes - for day trading
3.57%
Yes - to use it with blockchain application
1.39%
Yes - as a hedge against AUD or central bank currencies
1.29%
Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1009 Australians, December 2023
How do Ethereum futures work?
As pointed out earlier, a futures contract is one where a buyer agrees to purchase, and the seller agrees to sell, an underlying asset (in this case, Ether) for a predetermined price on a date that has been set beforehand.
Alternatively, some futures contracts will track the price of ETH but be settled in dollars. In this case, instead of providing the buyer with ETH on the date of settlement, the seller has to pay the dollar difference between the contract price and the settlement price.
Similarly, if the settlement price in question is lower than the original contract price, the buyer is obliged to cover the difference and pay the seller for the same.
How is the value of a contract determined?
Though futures contracts are fairly simple in terms of their core design, a question that may arise in the minds of many is, how exactly is the value of these contracts tracked? The simple answer to this is, different platforms make use of different reference data sets.
For example, the Chicago Mercantile Group (CME), one of the largest derivatives exchanges in the world, makes use of real-time Ether price points aggregated from a wide range of prominent trading platforms such as Kraken, Coinbase and Bitstamp.
The value of ETH collected from these different exchanges undergoes a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) standardisation every 24 hours following which the final value is used for settling all contracts.
As such, you should understand where the reference price comes from for a given contract or exchange to make sure it is a reputable and stable source. For instance, exchanges that are known to have flash crashes may cause your contract to get liquidated early.
What is leverage?
A common feature of futures contracts is leverage, which is sometimes referred to as margin.
Leverage allows traders to borrow funds in order to trade more assets than they actually have. For instance, trading with 10x amplifies your purchasing power by a factor of 10. Using leverage allows you to amplify your gains relative to your account size, but also carries with it a much higher risk if the market moves against you.
Michael has $100 in his trading account and is willing to use 50x leverage. What this means is that Michael has the ability to buy Ethereum futures worth $5,000 (50 times his actual buying power). Assuming that Michael had acquired 200 lots (taking the contract size as 1 ETH) of Ethereum futures at $25 and the price of the contract rose to $27.50, Michael stands to make a $500 profit, even though he originally had just $100 in his account.
Even though the option of leverage can be seen as one of the biggest advantages of the futures trading market, it can be a trap for novice users as it allows them to take positions that are well beyond their financial means (40-50 times over their actual balance) which can end up with their position, or entire account, being liquidated.
Furthermore, since Ether futures contracts, by and large, are driven by a high degree of speculation, it is possible for individuals to sustain heavy losses that can sometimes far outweigh their original capital. And even though the contracts in and of themselves are not risky, the danger lies in their design and utility.
Thus for individuals looking to deal with such massive leverage margins, it could be beneficial for them to learn financial management techniques such as stop-loss orders to curtail their potential losses.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and involve significant risks – they are highly
volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of
future performance. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information.
You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory
requirements) and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may
have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Joelle Grubb as part of our fact-checking process.
Shiraz Jagati was the cryptocurrency writer at Finder, covering all things crypto and the blockchain. Over his career, he has written for Cointelegraph, CryptoSlate, CryptoMode and Bitcoin Insider. Shiraz has a passion for exploring the emerging blockchain ecosystem. See full bio
There’s much to gain and lose in the volatile cryptocurrency market. If you want to make the best decisions, then you need to understand how to do a technical analysis. This guide from finder will tell you everything you need to know.
Find out what exactly bitcoin futures trading is, where to get started and how to pick the right trading site.
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