Perpetual Futures are a type of Futures contract that have no expiration date and have an auto-rolling feature every 4 hours. These contracts feature a funding rate, which is a user-to-user payment designed to keep the price of the perpetual futures contract aligned to its underlying asset’s index price (i.e. the spot price of the underlying asset). If the premium is above zero, then the long positions payout to short positions, and if the premium is below zero, then the short positions pay out to the long positions. Therefore, traders will either pay or receive funding depending on the market movements. The price divergence is calculated every 4 hours and payments are done periodically.
Below is a detailed table of characteristics of the contract and its unique funding rate, followed by multiple examples to demonstrate the mechanics of the contract. All multi-collateral futures use the multi-collateral wallet for margining.
Note: Some Linear contracts are currently in post-only mode, meaning no trades can be executed. When sufficient liquidity has been established, post-only will be removed on a contract by contract basis.
Symbol | Status | Base Currency | Quote Currency | Contract lot size | Minimum order size | Tick Size | Price quotation | Max Position Size (Base units) | Impact Mid | Margin Category |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PF_ETHUSD | Active | Ethereum (ETH) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Ethereum (ETH) | 0.001 | 0.1 | USD per 1 ETH | 8,000 | 0.05 ETH | Class A |
PF_XBTUSD* | Active | Bitcoin (BTC) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Bitcoin (BTC*) | 0.0001 | 1 | USD per 1 BTC | 600 | 0.0025 BTC | Class A |
PF_ATOMUSD | Active | Cosmos (ATOM) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Cosmos (ATOM) | 0.1 | 0.001 | USD per 1 ATOM | 300,000 | 5 ATOM | Class B |
PF_DOTUSD | Active | Polkadot (DOT) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Polkadot (DOT) | 0.1 | 0.001 | USD per 1 DOT | 500,000 | 5 DOT | Class B |
PF_LINKUSD | Active | Chainlink (LINK) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Chainlink (LINK) | 0.1 | 0.001 | USD per 1 LINK | 700,000 | 10 LINK | Class B |
PF_LTCUSD | Active | Litecoin (LTC) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Litecoin (LTC) | 0.01 | 0.01 | USD per 1 LTC | 100,000 | 1 LTC | Class B |
PF_MATICUSD | Active | Polygon (MATIC) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Polygon (MATIC) | 1 | 0.0001 | USD per 1 MATIC | 7,000,000 | 75 MATIC | Class B |
PF_SOLUSD | Active | Solana (SOL) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Solana (SOL) | 0.01 | 0.01 | USD per 1 SOL | 120,000 | 1.25 SOL | Class B |
PF_XMRUSD | Active | Monero (XMR) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Monero (XMR) | 0.01 | 0.01 | USD per 1 XMR | 30,000 | 0.5 XMR | Class C |
PF_ADAUSD | Active | Cardano (ADA) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Cardano (ADA) | 1 | 0.00001 | USD per 1 ADA | 10,000,000 | 125 ADA | Class C |
PF_BCHUSD | Active | Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | 0.01 | 0.01 | USD per 1 BCH | 30,000 | 0.25 BCH | Class C |
PF_EOSUSD | Active | EOS (EOS) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 EOS (EOS) | 1 | 0.0001 | USD per 1 EOS | 3,000,000 | 50 EOS | Class C |
PF_FILUSD | Active | Filecoin (FIL) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Filecoin (FIL) | 0.1 | 0.001 | USD per 1 FIL | 500,000 | 5 FIL | Class C |
PF_UNIUSD | Active | Uniswap (UNI) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Uniswap (UNI) | 0.1 | 0.001 | USD per 1 UNI | 1,000,000 | 10 UNI | Class C |
PF_XRPUSD | Active | Ripple (XRP) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Ripple (XRP) | 1 | 0.00001 | USD per 1 XRP | 10,000,000 | 125 XRP | Class C |
PF_AVAXUSD | Active | Avalanche (AVAX) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Avalanche (AVAX) | 0.01 | 0.01 | USD per 1 AVAX | 120,000 | 1.5 AVAX | Class C |
PF_GMTUSD | Active | STEPN (GMT) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 STEPN (GMT) | 1 | 0.0001 | USD per 1 GMT | 5,000,000 | 75 GMT |
Class C |
PF_WAVESUSD | Active | Waves (WAVES) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Waves (WAVES) | 1 | 0.0001 | USD per 1 WAVES | 1,000,000 | 50 WAVES |
Class C |
PF_NEARUSD | Active | Near Protocol (NEAR) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Near Protocol (NEAR) | 1 | 0.0001 | USD per 1 NEAR | 1,250,000 | 50 NEAR |
Class C |
PF_DOGEUSD | Active | Dogecoin (DOGE) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Dogecoin (DOGE) | 1 | 0.000001 | USD per 1 DOGE | 150,000,000 | 2000 DOGE |
Class C |
PF_MANAUSD | Active | Decentraland (MANA) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Decentraland (MANA) | 1 | 0.0001 | USD per 1 MANA | 7,500,000 | 150 MANA |
Class C |
PF_FTMUSD | Active | Fantom (FTM) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | Fantom (FTM) | 1 | 0.00001 | USD per 1 FTM | 25,000,000 | 500 FTM |
Class D |
PF_TRXUSD | Active | Tron (TRX) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Tron (TRX) | 1 | 0.000001 | USD per 1 TRX | 75,000,000 | 2000 TRX |
Class D |
PF_APEUSD | Active | ApeCoin (APE) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 ApeCoin (APE) | 1 | 0.0001 | USD per 1 APE | 1,250,000 | 50 APE |
Class D |
PF_OPUSD | Active | Optimism (OP) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Optimism (OP) | 1 | 0.0001 | USD per 1 OP | 4,000,000 | 100 OP | Class D |
PF_DEFIUSD | Active | DeFi Composite Index (DEFI) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 DeFi Composite Index (DEFI) | 0.01 | 0.01 | USD per 1 DEFI | 10,000 | 0.25 DEFI | Class D |
PF_AAVEUSD | Active | Aave (AAVE) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Aave (AAVE) | 0.01 | 0.01 | USD per 1 AAVE | 50,000 | 150 AAVE | Class D |
PF_CRVUSD | Active | Curve (CRV) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Curve (CRV) | 1 | 0.0001 | USD per 1 CRV | 5,000,000 | 150 CRV | Class D |
PF_LUNA2USD | Active | Terra 2.0 (LUNA2) | U.S. Dollar (USD) | 1 Terra 2.0 (LUNA2) | 0.1 | 0.001 | USD per 1 LUNA2 | 150,000 | 25 LUNA2 | Class E |
*BTC is used on the platform UI. XBT is used on the API and account logs. Both refer to Bitcoin (BTC).
Additional Information | |
---|---|
Auto-Roll Period | Every 4-Hours on 12 UTC, 16 UTC, 20 UTC, 24 UTC, 4 UTC, 8 UTC |
Rate-setting Calculation Window | Rate for next period is calculated over current 4-hour period (e.g., rate for 12-16 UTC period is calculated in window between 8-12 UTC) |
Funding Rate |
Between start and end of Rate-setting Period the Funding Rate is computed as the time-weighted average premium, and standardised to a per-hour basis. Permissible range per 1 hours: [-0.1%, +0.1%] (i.e., 80 basis point magnitude for 8-hour realisation period) |
Payout Frequency |
Continuously based on Funding Rate set at the end of the prior Funding Period. Positions will immediately and continuously receive or send funding while open in the perpetual contracts. The funding accumulates as UPL and settles every hour at end of Funding Period, or when user changes net open position (whichever occurs first). |
Funding Rate Multiplier |
n = 8 This is the coefficient used in the calculation of the funding rate. A value of 1/n means that, ceteris paribus, it will take n hours to realise the Average Premium. Example: if the Average Premium is 0.32% for the 4-hour period, then Funding Rate is equal to 0.04%, meaning that over the course of 8 hours, this 0.32% total will be realised. |
Funding Rate Calculation |
In a given 4-hour Funding Period, Premium values calculated from minutely perpetual contract prices (240 observations) using an Impact Mid are recorded versus the Real Time Platform Ticker. The Impact Mid is the median of the average entry price market-selling x value of contracts and market-buying x value of contracts. See table above for contract-specific values. The Average Premium is calculated as the average of the mid 120 values recorded from the above 240 observations. Finally, this value is weighted by the Funding Rate Multiplier. If Average Premium is greater than 0 for the 4 hour period, those in Long positions will continuously pay out to Short positions, which pushes the price closer to Index. If Average Premium is less than 0 for the 4 hour period, those in Short positions will continuously pay out to Long positions, which pushes the price closer to Index. |
Trading Hours | 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year (excluding maintenance) |
P&L Settlement Method |
Cash settled in USD with optional payout in any of the collateral currencies (profit only, losses are always realised in USD) |
Fee Structure |
Kraken Futures uses a maker-taker fee structure. Fees are calculated as a percentage of the notional order value for a matched trade. No fees are charged on auto-roll or funding payouts -- these occur strictly between counterparties. |
Contract Expiration |
The perpetual futures are non-expiring, which means that positions in the contract are never “expired” or “matured”, however there is a settlement process every hour that applies funding to anchor the spot value to the Index. See Last Trading for more information. |
Settlement time |
Every 4 Hours on 12 UTC, 16 UTC, 20 UTC, 24 UTC, 4 UTC, 8 UTC: The accumulated unrealised funding is settled and new rate set based on TWAP premium to index in prior rate period. |
Last Trading |
This contract remains trading perpetually and would only expire in an emergency situation if Kraken Futures deems necessary to settle/expire the contract. Kraken Futures reserve the right to set any contract to post-only, suspended, or settle any contract at any time and without warning due to either adverse market conditions or regulatory risk. |
First Trading | March 23, 2022 |
Initial Margin | As low as 2% |
Maintenance Margin | Half of Initial Margin |
Maximum Initial Leverage | Up to 50x |
Mark Price |
Mid Price of Order Book bounded by a range defined by index with anti-manipulation coefficient. The Mark Price is calculated using the impact mid price and is bound to the underlying index price. The premium for perpetual contracts is capped at 1%. Note: in the extremely rare circumstance that the Index Price is unavailable for whatever reason, the above caps may not apply and the Mark Price will be equal to the Impact Mid Price. |
Margin & Settlement Currency | USD, but with full collateral options of BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, EUR, and GBP, adjusted for haircut (see Futures Collateral Currencies) |
Last updated 12-May-2022
Note on Funding Rate
The funding rate for a given perpetual contract is represented in two different ways:
- absolute rate: The amount of funding an account will receive by maintaining a 1 contract unit short position for 1 hour. This is more useful for account log purposes.
-
absolute funding payout = # of contracts * absolute funding rate * time elapsed within funding period without position alteration
-
- relative rate: The absolute funding rate relative to the spot price at the time of funding rate calculation. This is an intermediate value in the calculation of the absolute funding rate and is the number we display in the front end (as a %) as the 'funding rate'.
-
relative funding payout = # of contracts * (relative funding rate*spot price) * time elapsed within funding period without position alteration
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Examples
In order to get a complete understanding the funding rate dynamics of the Perpetual Contract, we present examples to demonstrate the key features.
Click the example titles to expand:
Example Funding Rate 1: (8-hour rate realisation length)
Assume time is 12 UTC and that the price of BTC is $37,000 (via bitcoin-dollar real-time index) and the Perpetual trades at $37,100 the whole time until 16 UTC. The average premium is computed as 0.27027% for the 4-hour period (100/37,000). This leads to a funding rate of 0.27027 / 8 = 0.03378% per hour.
Now assume that you are in a short position of 2 BTC. If you hold this position from 16 to 24 UTC, and the premium in 16-20 UTC period remains as 0.27027%, then you will earn interest of 199.99 USD for the eight-hour period [(2*0.0027027)*37000]
Example Funding Rate 2: (Maximum rate)
Assume time is 12 UTC and that price of BTC is $37,000 and the Perpetual trades at $37,500 until 16 UTC. The average premium is computed as 1.3514% for the 4-hour period. This leads to a funding rate of 1.3514 / 8 = 0.1689% per hour.
The maximum funding rate per hour in any given period is 0.1%. The minimum is -0.1%.
As a result, this 0.1689% hourly rate is floored to 0.1% per hour, so that the maximum 8-hour realisation will not exceed 0.80%.
Note that there is no "dampening" of rates done in this model: if a four-hour computed rate is near 0, then it will pay out non-0 value even if it is de minimis.
Example Funding Rate 3: (Absolute vs. relative rate)
Assume time is 12 UTC and that the index spot price of BTCUSD is $37,000, and the relative rate set for the four-hour period is 0.05% per hour.
Now assume the time is 14 UTC and the Perpetual trades at $38,000 and you enter a Short position of 4 BTC at this price.
You will immediately begin receiving funding at an absolute rate of 0.05%/$37,000 = 0.00000001354 USD per hour per unit.
In your available balance you will then see this rate applying in your unrealised PnL through continuous funding payout equal to:
- 0.00000001354 * 4 BTC = $74.15 per hour
- $1.24 per minute
This will pay out continuously until 16 UTC where the relative funding rate will change based on the market activity between 12-16 UTC.
Assume this new relative funding rate is now 0.03% and the real-time spot index is $37,900 for BTCUSD at 16 UTC.
In your 4 BTC short position at the end of the 2 hour period you will have $148.3 applied in your account log at 16 UTC.
From 16 UTC to 20 UTC a new absolute funding rate will begin applying of 0.03%/$37,900=$0.000000007916 per hour per unit.
Example Funding Rate 4: (Variable inter-period rate)
Assume time is 14 UTC and you enter a position long 2 BTC on BTCUSD at 37,000. Assume that the funding rate for the four-hour period (12-16 UTC) is set as -0.04% per hour.
At 16 UTC, after you have held this position for two full hours, you will have earned 29.6 per hour [(0.0004*2 BTC)*37,000]. This is 29.6*2= $59.2, which credits continuously throughout the two hour period you hold it.
However, during this period, the price was at a premium and so the new four-hour rate set for 16 - 20 UTC is 0.04% per hour. After two hours of holding the position, you have paid $59.2 and you close at 18 UTC, two hours later.
Your funding for the four hour period you held the position is thus $59.2 for the last two hours of the first period then $-59.2 for the first two hours of the second period and your net flows are 0 for this.
Example Funding Rate 5: (Fixed intra-period rate)
Assume time is 14 UTC and you enter a position long 7 BTC on BTCUSD with spot index at $37,000. Assume that the funding rate for the four-hour period (12-16 UTC) is set as 0.033% per hour.
At 16 UTC, after you have held this position for two full hours, you will have paid 85.47 per hour [(7*0.00033)*37,000]. For two hours this costs 85.47*2=$170.94, which debits from your position continuously throughout the two hour period you hold it, in the form of Unrealised Profit/Loss (UPL).
Example Funding Rate 6: (Booking of unrealised funding)
Assume it's 12 UTC you are in a 5 BTC long position on BTCUSD with spot index at $37,000 and the rate in the funding period is -0.08%. This earns you funding of:
- 0.0008 * 5 = 0.004 BTC
- 0.004*37,000 = $148 per hour
- $2.4666667 per minute
- $0.04111111 per second
- $0.00004111111 per millisecond
This credits and debits every millisecond to every user with an open position. It credits first as "UPL" which is "unrealised" profit and loss, but you have the funds available right away to use in further positions or transfer into your Cash account.
The funding accumulates as UPL and is booked into your account log and realised when one of the following events occur:
- You adjust your open position up or down by any amount
- You hold until the end of the Funding Period, at which point it is booked (occurs every four hours
Example Funding Rate 7: (Funding rate realisation in non-USD currency)
Assume it's 12 UTC you are in a 3 BTC long position on PF_BTCUSD with spot index at $37,000 and the rate in the funding period is -0.05%. Assume that you have set your profit currency as ETH and you hold this position until the end of the funding period at 16 UTC.
0.0005 * 3 = 0.0015 BTC
0.0015*37,000 = $55.5 per hour ($222 for the whole period)
At the end of the period at 16 UTC, assume that the price of ETH is 2,500 (from the ether-dollar real-time index)
The conversion can be calculated using the following:
= Amount in USD to be converted / (Target currency index * (1 - 0.25%))
= 222 USD / (2,500 ETHUSD * .9975)
= 0.089 ETH
An example of what this would look like in the account logs:
Sequence |
Timestamp |
Wallet |
Type |
Symbol |
Change |
136 |
16:00:00 |
MC |
Funding Rate Change |
USD |
222.00 |
137 |
16:00:00 |
MC |
Conversion |
USD |
-222.00 |
138 |
16:00:00 |
MC |
Conversion |
ETH |
0.089 |