On Deribit, settlement refers to the routine daily mark-to-market process that occurs every day at 08:00 UTC for futures and perpetual contracts . This is distinct from a contract’s final expiration/delivery – in daily settlement, open positions are not closed, but any profit or loss accumulated since the last settlement is realized and transferred to your account’s cash balance. In other words, Deribit divides trading into 24-hour sessions (08:00–08:00 UTC), and at the end of each session a settlement event happens to update balances and reset the “session” P&L counters for the new day.
Notice
Fees and payments
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Settlement does not incur any fees.
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Settlement does not trigger any external payments or transfers. It only realizes PnL internally to your account balance.
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Delivery fees are separate and follow their own rules. See below for more details.
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Trading and withdrawals: Trading continues until settlement. Realized and unrealized session profits are credited in real time but are only available for withdrawal after the 08:00 UTC settlement.
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No user intervention required: All settlement and risk adjustments are handled automatically by the platform; users do not need to take any action.
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Daily settlement at 08:00 UTC: Every day at 08:00 UTC, Deribit runs the official settlement process for all instruments.
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Brief trading pause: Trading is paused briefly during settlement while prices are finalized and accounts are updated. Order matching is halted, and any orders submitted during this window are rejected with a “settlement in progress” message.
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Order handling during settlement: No new/cancel/edit/mass quote is accepted, and API will give error
settlement_in_progress -
PnL realization and balance update:
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The system realizes all session PnL (profits and losses) on open futures and perpetuals, transferring them to your available balance.
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Profits are credited and losses deducted from your cash balance at this time.
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Contract expiry and final settlement: If a contract expires at 08:00 UTC, it is delivered at the official delivery price. The position is closed and PnL is cash-settled—no physical delivery occurs.
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Insurance fund and socialized loss: The insurance fund covers negative balances from bankrupt accounts. If the fund is ever insufficient, a socialized loss adjustment may apply, distributing losses pro-rata to profitable traders for that session.
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No user intervention required: All settlement and risk adjustments are handled automatically by the platform; users do not need to take any action.
Tip
Avoid making any trade or withdrawal activity; wait until settlement completes to prevent rejections.
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Trading resumes promptly once the 08:00 UTC settlement event completes.
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Order book operation returns to normal:
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Any orders canceled prior to 08:00 can be re-submitted.
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New orders are accepted and matched as usual once settlement is finished.
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Session P&L statistics reset:
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For non-expiring positions, your “Session” Unrealized/Realized P&L (UPL/RPL) resets to zero at the start of the new 24-hour session after 08:00 UTC.
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The Deribit interface displays session P&L from zero for the new session, while your total P&L for each position (since opening) remains unchanged.
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Daily settlement and realized profits:
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The daily settlement does not affect your overall trade profit; it simply books the portion earned up to that point as realized and adds it to your available balance.
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Example: If you had $100 profit yesterday and $50 more today, after today’s 08:00 settlement, your session P&L resets to $0, $50 is credited to your balance, and your total position P&L is $150.
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Profits become available:
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Derivatives: Profits credited in real time are immediately usable as margin for new or existing derivatives positions.
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Spot, transfers, withdrawals: Available only after the daily settlement completes.
Note
Until settlement completes, session profits are not withdrawable or transferable between subaccounts, but they do count toward derivatives margin.
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"Delivery" refers to the final cash settlement of an expiring contract, where the position is closed and the resulting profit or loss is transferred to your account balance. Customers do not need to take any action for delivery —everything is handled automatically by the platform.
The distinction between Delivery and Settlement:
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Settlement is the daily process of realizing P&L and updating balances.
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Delivery is the final cash settlement at contract expiry, with no physical transfer of assets.
Delivery overview:
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No Physical Delivery: Deribit contracts (futures, options, and perpetuals) are cash-settled only. There is no physical delivery of the underlying asset (e.g., BTC or ETH) at expiry or settlement. All profits and losses are settled in cash (BTC, ETH, or USDC, depending on the contract type).
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Risk controls near delivery: As delivery approaches, risk controls adjust automatically. The delta of expiring options and futures decays linearly to zero over the last 30 minutes before expiry, reducing risk from sudden price moves. These adjustments require no action from users, but Greeks and margin requirements may shift as 08:00 UTC approaches on expiry days. See Delta decay during settlement for more details.
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Official delivery price computation: In the minutes before 08:00 UTC, Deribit computes an official delivery price for each instrument.
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Non-expiry days: The prevailing index price around 08:00 UTC is used for daily settlements of perpetuals and futures.
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Final expiry days: For instruments expiring at 08:00 UTC, the delivery price is the 30-minute time-weighted average price (TWAP) of the relevant Deribit Index, calculated from 07:30 to 08:00 UTC. A snapshot is taken every 4 seconds during this period. The use of a 30-minute TWAP and multiple independent index constituents is designed to reduce the risk of price manipulation at settlement. The calculated delivery price is used for final PnL calculation.
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How Delivery Works for Each Product:
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Futures: At expiry (usually Friday 08:00 UTC), the contract is cash-settled at the official delivery price (30-minute TWAP of the index). No BTC or ETH is delivered; only P&L is transferred.
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Options: European-style, cash-settled at expiry. If in-the-money, the option is automatically exercised and the profit is paid in cash. No asset is delivered.
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Perpetuals: No expiry, so no delivery event. P&L is realized daily at settlement, but there is never a physical delivery.
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Spot: Not applicable
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Delivery Fees at Expiry: For some contracts, a delivery fee may apply at final expiry (not during daily settlement).
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Futures and options deliveries may be charged a settlement fee at expiry, but daily options and weekly futures are typically exempt. The fee is capped and cannot exceed a set percentage of the contract value. All applicable fees are transparently listed on the Fees page.
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Expired instruments: If an instrument expired and settled, your position in that instrument is removed from your portfolio after 08:00.