Linear Futures on Deribit are cash settled in USDC. At expiration, there will only be a transfer of the profits/losses (in USDC) between the two opposing sides of the trade. When the contract expires, the expiration price is calculated as the 30 minute time weighted average price (TWAP) of the relevant index.
Options Settlement
A linear future is listed for every linear option expiry date. These futures are listed at the same time as the first option contracts for that expiry and serve as the settlement vehicle for linear options.
When a linear option expires in the money (ITM), it is first physically settled into the relevant linear futures contract at the option's strike price. That futures position then cash settles into USDC in the normal way. Traders holding a position on an expiry future should be aware of the following:
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Any existing position on the expiry future nets off against the position generated by the option's physical settlement just before delivery. If the net futures position is smaller as a result, the delivery fee on the future will be correspondingly lower — or zero if the position reverses direction.
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A futures position created purely by the physical settlement of an ITM option does not incur an additional delivery fee beyond the fee already paid on the option itself.
For full detail on the options settlement process, including worked examples, see the Linear USDC Options article.
Contract specs
|
Linear Futures |
Underlying Asset / Ticker |
Contract size |
Minimum order size |
Minimum tick size (USDC) |
Minimum block size (USDC) |
Minimum block tick size (USDC) |
NMax (Coins) |
|
BTC_USDC |
Deribit BTC-USDC Index* |
0.0001 BTC |
0.0001 BTC |
2.5 |
200,000 |
1 |
1,000 |
|
ETH_USDC |
Deribit ETH-USDC Index* |
0.001 ETH |
0.001 ETH |
0.25 |
100,000 |
0.1 |
17,500 |
|
AVAX_USDC |
Deribit AVAX-USDC Index |
0.1 AVAX |
0.1 AVAX |
0.005 |
50,000 |
0.002 |
600,000 |
|
HYPE_USDC |
Deribit HYPE-USDC Index |
0.1 HYPE |
0.1 HYPE |
0.005 |
50,000 |
0.001 |
65,000 |
|
SOL_USDC |
Deribit SOL-USDC Index |
0.01 SOL |
0.01 SOL |
0.05 |
50,000 |
0.02 |
225,000 |
|
TRX_USDC |
Deribit TRX-USDC Index |
2 TRX |
2 TRX |
0.00005 |
50,000 |
0.00002 |
15,000,000 |
|
XRP_USDC |
Deribit XRP-USDC Index |
1 XRP |
1 XRP |
0.0005 |
50,000 |
0.0002 |
14,000,000 |
Addition specifications that apply to all linear futures:
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The symbol for each linear future is in the form: UnderlyingAsset_QuotedCurrency-DDMMMYY For example: BTC_USDC-DDMMMYY Where the dates are displayed as a 2 numbered date, 3 letters of the month, and 2 numbers of the year, so DDMMMYY
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Type: Linear
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Category: Future
-
Trading hours: 24/7
-
Quote currency: USDC
-
Settlement currency: USDC
-
Naming convention: The dates are displayed as a 2 numbered date, 3 letters of the month, 2 numbers of the year, so DDMMMYY
-
Daily settlement is at 08:00 UTC
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The delivery price is calculated as a time-weighted average (TWAP) of the relevant Deribit index, as measured between 07:30 and 08:00 UTC
-
The settlement method is cash settled in USDC
Note
* As of the 15th of July 2025, the BTC-USDC index is pegged to the BTC-USD index, and the ETH-USDC index is pegged to the ETH-USD index. This means that for the purposes of delivery and settlement of derivatives that use these two indexes, parity between USD and USDC is assumed. For the valuation of collateral in X:SM and X:PM accounts though, the USDC/USD exchange rate is still used to calculate equities and margin balances in USD terms.
Mark Price
When calculating unrealized profits and losses of open futures positions, it is the mark price of the instrument that is used, rather than the last traded price.
To calculate the mark price, first, we must calculate the EMA (exponential moving average) of the difference between the bounded (around best bid and best ask) mid price and the Deribit Index.
The mark price is calculated as:
Index Price + EMA of the difference between bounded mid price and index price
Mark prices are determined by a mark-to-market model. When liquidity is low, the mark price is determined by the term structure. We bound the mark price around the index to prevent large swings.
Asymmetric bandwidths
The mark price is constrained to not deviate beyond a certain percentage from the Deribit Index to prevent extreme fluctuations that could lead to liquidations. Normally, futures trade at a premium above the index. To manage this, we set bounds around this premium. For instance, if a future typically trades 2% above the index and we aim to restrict its movement to within 5% above or below, the effective bounds would be +7% (allowing for an increase) and -3% (limiting the decrease) relative to the index. In scenarios demanding higher premiums or discounts—such as during volatile periods or times of pronounced contango or backwardation—the bandwidth can be adjusted by the Deribit risk team accordingly.
Allowed Trading Bandwidth
Futures trades are limited by fixed trading bandwidth:
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Maximum Buy Price: The upper limit for buy orders is calculated as (1+fixed trading bandwidth) × MarkPrice. For example, with a fixed trading bandwidth of 3%, the maximum buy price would be set at 103% of the mark price.
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Minimum Sell Price: The lower limit for sell orders is determined as (1−fixed trading bandwidth) × MarkPrice. Using the same fixed trading bandwidth of 3%, the minimum sell price would be 97% of the mark price.
If market circumstances require so, bandwidth parameters could be adjusted at the sole discretion of Deribit.
Limit orders (in the wrong direction) beyond the bandwidth will be rejected. Market orders will be adjusted to limit orders with the minimum or maximum price allowed at that moment.
Mis-Trade Rules
Due to various reasons, there can be a situation when futures contracts are traded at prices caused by an abnormal non-orderly market, with a high chance that one side of the trade has been done unwillingly. If a mistrade occurs at a price more than 2.5% away from the mark price, Deribit may adjust the prices or reverse the trades.
Please refer to Section 12 of the Exchange Rulebook for additional information.