How does futures spread trading work on OKX Liquid Marketplace?

Spread trading involves taking two futures positions in opposite directions: one long, one short. The idea is to make money off the price difference between the two futures – which are also called the two legs of the strategy. The profit a trader makes from this trade comes from the price difference, or spread, between those two contracts. That’s why this strategy is called market neutral; the underlying asset’s price direction does not influence its profitability. In other words, futures spread traders can profit when the market trends go up or down, or remain flat over the terms of the traded contracts. In crypto, future spread traders usually target either the Calendar spread or the InterCoins spread:

Calendar spread: the spread between two contracts with the same underlying asset, the same notional quantity, but different expiry dates and opposite directions.

Checklist

1. How futures spreads are traded in crypto?
2. Calendar spread: the spread between two contracts with the same underlying asset, the same notional quantity, but different expiry dates and opposite directions.
3. InterCoins spread: the spread between two different and highly correlated futures underlyings.
4. What are the challenges of futures spread trading?
5. Since trading futures spread is market neutral and requires two legs, crypto traders often face several issues:
6. Customization: futures spread trading is often only available on a limited number of instruments.

Notes

InterCoins spread: the spread between two different and highly correlated futures underlyings.

What are the challenges of futures spread trading?

Since trading futures spread is market neutral and requires two legs, crypto traders often face several issues:

Execution risk: trading multiple-leg strategies in the order book requires entering one leg of the trade after the other. The executed price of the second leg can differ from the desired price, particularly in times of high volatility.

Details follow the official OKX help article; this page is a learning checklist, not an official mirror.