Un contrat à terme sur crypto-monnaie est un accord entre un acheteur et un vendeur qui représente des points de vue opposés sur la valeur future d’une crypto-monnaie. Kraken Futures propose des contrats sur plus de 40 crypto-monnaies différentes.

Un acheteur réalise des bénéfices si l’actif sous-jacent d’un contrat (tel que BTC, ETH ou une autre crypto-monnaie) augmente, tandis qu’un vendeur réalise des bénéfices s’il baisse.

Sur un marché au comptant, un actif est acheté et vendu au prix actuel du marché. Les traders échangent un actif, tel que l’USDT, contre un autre actif, tel que le BTC.

Dans Kraken Futures, l’actif sous-jacent d’un contrat n’est jamais détenu par l’acheteur ou le vendeur. Chaque trader prenant le revers d’une transaction en fonction de l’évolution estimée du prix d’une crypto-monnaie, la perte d’un trader constitue le gain de l’autre trader.

Le marché des contrats à terme sur crypto représente une part importante de l’économie mondiale des crypto-monnaies et se développe à mesure que les investisseurs institutionnels s’impliquent. Dans l’ensemble, les volumes de crypto-monnaies et dérivés représentent régulièrement plus de la moitié du trading de crypto, ce qui équivaut à des milliards de dollars de valeur transférés chaque jour.

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• Les contrats à terme sur crypto permettent aux traders d’obtenir une exposition aux fluctuations de prix d’une crypto-monnaie sans avoir la garde de l’actif lui-même.
• Le trading de contrats à terme constitue une grande partie du volume de trading du marché des crypto-monnaies.
• Le marché des contrats à terme offre plusieurs avantages par rapport au marché au comptant, notamment des frais réduits, l’accès aux fonds empruntés et la capacité à couvrir plus efficacement les positions existantes.

Kraken Futures matches the buyer with the seller of each futures contract, meaning the trading platform itself is not a counterparty to any trade.

When a trader buys a futures contract, he or she profits when the contract’s price rises (which happens when the underlying cryptoasset’s price rises).

When a trader sells a futures contract, he or she profits when the contract's price falls (which happens when the underlying cryptoasset’s price falls). 

Futures trading is a zero sum game, meaning one party must incur losses for the other to realize gains. Because a futures contract is an agreement directly between traders, both buyer and seller need to agree upon the details of the contract before it is brokered. 

A cryptocurrency futures contract consists of three main components:

1. Expiration date

The expiration date is the date on which a contract will close and value will be transacted. The expiration date is agreed upon when futures traders enter into the contract at the previously agreed upon price. Some platforms, including Kraken Pro, also offer perpetual contracts. These are a type of futures contract that have no expiration date. Instead, they use a funding rate that helps to keep the futures price inline with the spot market value of the asset.

2. Contract lot size

Contract lot size defines the amount of the underlying asset that a futures contract represents. A single contract can be priced in terms of its underlying asset (1 contract = 1 BTC) or a currency (1 contract = $1 worth of BTC).

Futures traders can also use fractional trading. For example, even though a contract's unit size is 1 BTC, a trader can buy or sell a lot size as small as 0.0001 BTC.

3. Leverage

Traders often can trade futures contracts with leverage. Leverage simply means a trader can take control of a high-value contract with a comparatively small deposit.

For example, a person buying a Bitcoin Futures contract worth 5 BTC/notional value $150,000 might only need to pay a 10% deposit ($15,000). This increases their trade size by a factor of 10x. Depending on the asset and amount traded, different leverage (or margin) rates apply. 

The method of settlement can also vary. Most platforms allow traders to settle their contracts in cash. This means the person who "loses" the bet pays the "winner" in a fiat currency like the US dollar. This process is known as cash settlement. However, in some circumstances, platforms may allow traders to settle in the underlying asset. The financial markets call this physical delivery. In this instance, the seller must hold digital currency and sell it directly to the buyer at the agreed settlement price.

The difference in price between the contract settlement price and the current spot price determines how much profit the winner makes.

Crypto futures trading exchanges require collateral margin (crypto, cash, or stablecoin) to open a futures position. If the market price of an asset drops far enough that the assets held as collateral are not enough to cover a trader's open position, the crypto exchange may automatically liquidate the trader's position. Liquidation is a common form of risk management on many futures trading platforms.

Exchanges may issue a notice to traders known as a margin call before liquidation occurs. Margin calls inform traders of the need to top up their maintenance margin if their funds run low (to avoid liquidation).

Because a futures contract is an agreement directly between traders, both buyer and seller need to agree upon the details of the contract beforehand.

Despite their complexity, futures offer a variety of benefits over the spot market that some traders may need. They can choose to use these depending on their expertise in the markets, trading strategies, and risk appetite.

• Speculation: Futures allow traders to speculate on the future prices of specific cryptoassets and take advantage of price swings in either direction. Opening a short position on a futures contract is one of the easiest ways to profit as its underlying cryptoasset's price falls.
• No asset ownership: Futures are a financial contract that provides exposure to cryptoasset prices without having to take ownership of the cryptoasset itself. Traders can buy a contract and recognize their profit without ever having owned, transacted, or held the underlying cryptocurrency. This convenience has been an attractive feature for professional investors who wish to engage with crypto assets, but may be unfamiliar with navigating crypto exchanges or managing crypto wallets.
• Fees: Futures trading fees are generally much lower than spot trading fees. Kraken Futures offers one of the most competitive fee structures in the crypto futures market, with fees as low as 0.01%.
• Leverage: Futures traders can take advantage of leverage. Platforms build leverage into futures contracts. This feature allows for increased capital-efficiency when trading. However, it’s important to note that exchanges can liquidate leveraged positions.
• Hedging: If a trader owns a cryptoasset, they can enter into a short futures position which reduces their exposure to (or "hedges" against) falling prices. This strategy can be effective to protect spot market positions against downward price movements without having to sell them.
• Arbitrage opportunities: Arbitrage trading futures can allow traders to take advantage of pricing discrepancies across multiple futures exchanges. In some instances, a trader can profit by shorting and longing the same underlying asset on two different futures exchanges. This situation is usually only possible if two futures contracts on two different exchanges track prices similarly, offer the same leverage, share a similar settlement date, and settle in the same currency. The arbitrage trader holds both contracts open until the two contract prices converge and makes a profit.

How are futures markets different from spot markets?

In a spot market, a single asset is bought and sold at current market prices. Traders exchange one asset, like USDT, for another asset, like BTC. This settlement method is known as immediate delivery because assets transfer at the point of sale.

Futures traders, on the other hand, agree to settle their contractual agreements at a predetermined date in the future.

Additionally, futures give crypto exchange clients access to leverage. This leverage means futures traders can open larger positions using a comparatively small initial deposit (known as initial margin).

Leverage causes significantly increased profits from winning trades, but amplified losses from losing futures trades. It is for this reason that many platforms advise beginner traders to avoid trading futures until they're more experienced.

The main difference between spot and futures is exposure. With spot trading, crypto traders become directly exposed to the crypto market by holding the underlying asset(s) in their crypto wallet. Trading in crypto futures, however, allows exchange clients to gain indirect exposure to the price fluctuations of a cryptocurrency without needing to hold or self-custody that cryptocurrency itself.

How are crypto futures different from traditional futures contracts?

The underlying assets of standard futures contracts are often commodities such as crude oil or copper. Banks initially created these contracts to allow farmers to lock in prices for their produce at a future date. With crypto futures, however, contracts track digital asset prices such as Solana (SOL) or Chainlink (LINK).

Traditional commodity futures offer lower leverage when compared to crypto futures.

CME Group, for example, offers 10x leverage on their Micro WTI crude oil futures contract. Historically, some cryptocurrency trading platforms have offered as high as 100x leverage. This leverage means a crypto trader could have opened a futures contract worth $100,000 with an initial deposit of $1,000. It also meant that a trader could have doubled their $1,000 with a 1% price move in their direction – or lost the entire $1,000 with a 1% move against it.

It's worth noting that many digital currency platforms no longer offer these levels of leverage.