Trading Derivatives

Prime offers US derivatives through Coinbase Derivatives Exchange (CDE) and global derivatives through Deribit. Available products depend on your eligibility and portfolio.

US derivatives: Coinbase Derivatives Exchange

CDE offers dated futures and perpetual-style futures. Use the contract metadata and exchange terms to understand expiry and settlement.

Contract family	Example product ID
Dated futures	`BTI-28AUG26-CDE`
Perpetual-style futures	`BIP-20DEC30-CDE`

Margin modes

Margin mode	How margin is calculated
Derivatives Limit	Margin is calculated on your net CDE positions across all portfolios in your entity. Requirements follow clearinghouse initial margin plus a CFM multiplier. If your requirement exceeds your CFM balance, a margin call is issued and is due the next day. Your Derivatives Limit is underwritten during onboarding and checked on every order submission.
Cross Margin (XM)	Eligible CDE futures and eligible spot assets in your Prime trading balance are margined together. Offsetting or correlated exposure, such as long BTC spot and short BTC futures, can lower your total requirement. If your entity has enough equity, USD can be lent automatically to meet clearinghouse margin requirements.

Global derivatives: Deribit

Deribit offers dated futures, perpetual futures, and inverse and linear options.

Contract family	Example product ID
Inverse dated futures	`BTC-25DEC26-DRB`
Linear dated futures	`BTC_USDC-25DEC26-DRB`
Inverse perpetual futures	`BTC-PERPETUAL-DRB`
Linear perpetual futures	`BTC_USDC-PERPETUAL-DRB`
Inverse options	`BTC-30OCT26-70000-C-DRB`
Linear options	`AVAX_USDC-25DEC26-15-P-DRB`

Examples show the product ID format and may not be currently listed. Use the product ID returned by the List Portfolio Products API for creating orders.

Margin modes

Margin mode	How margin is calculated
Segregated Standard Margin (S:SM), the default	Each position is margined separately. Requirements are added together for each settlement currency.
Segregated Portfolio Margin (S:PM)	Positions in the same settlement currency are stress-tested together across price and volatility scenarios. Positions that hedge each other can receive margin offsets.

In both modes, collateral is segregated by settlement currency. For example, BTC supports BTC-settled contracts and USDC supports USDC-settled contracts. Under S:PM, a portfolio of only long options can still be liquidated.

Before you trade

Use a portfolio enabled for the derivatives you want to trade and API credentials with the required permissions.

Supported API surfaces

✓ = supported; — = not supported. Availability depends on the venue and product.

Function	REST	FIX 5.0	WebSocket
Pre-trade
Instrument list / trading session details	✓	—	✓
L1 market data	✓	✓	—
L2 market data	—	✓	✓
Trade
Create order	✓	✓	—
Edit order	✓	✓	—
Cancel order	✓	✓	—
Order details	✓	✓	✓
Post-trade
Position management	✓	—	—
Margin management	✓	—	—

Derivatives are only supported on FIX 5.0, not FIX 4.2. Order-entry support does not imply FIX market-data availability for every derivative. FIX Market Data is in beta, and CDE futures are not yet supported there.

What differs from spot

Concept	Spot	Derivatives
Product selection	Select an asset pair	Product IDs are venue specific: `CDE` for US derivatives and `DRB` for global derivatives. Option products specify a strike and call/put type
Quantity	Base-asset or quote sizing, subject to order rules	Interpret `base_size` together with `contract_size`; do not assume one unit always means one contract
Price	Price in the pair’s quote currency	Price is per contract. Use the product’s documented currency; options prices use settlement currency
Constraints	Product size and price rules	Contract-specific lot sizes, increments, and any price-dependent tick rules
Lifecycle	No contract expiry	Dated futures and options expire; Deribit perpetuals have no fixed expiry. For CDE perpetual-style futures, consult the contract terms. Order TIF does not determine contract expiry

Trading workflow

Follow these steps to discover a contract, submit an order, and monitor its status. The workflow uses the same order-entry and update APIs as spot, with derivative-specific product metadata and sizing.

1. Select a contract and read its metadata

Call List Portfolio Products for your portfolio:

GET /v1/portfolios/{portfolio_id}/products?product_type=FUTURE
GET /v1/portfolios/{portfolio_id}/products?product_type=OPTION

For perpetual futures, add contract_expiry_type=CONTRACT_EXPIRY_TYPE_PERPETUAL to the FUTURE query. Select the returned product ID. Its metadata identifies the venue, expiry, settlement currency, contract size, lot size, and price increments. Options also include strike and call/put type.

Contract size: contract_size gives the number of contracts represented by one unit of submitted base_size. Contract count = base_size × contract_size. For example, base_size 1 with contract_size 10 represents 10 contracts.
Order sizing: Submit size as base_quantity on REST and as OrderQty on FIX. Follow the product’s lot-size and price-increment rules. Quote sizing is not available for derivatives at this time.
Price: Price is per contract. Options use settlement currency: BTC or ETH for inverse options, USDC for linear options.

2. Submit an order

The table compares a Buy Limit/GTC order through REST and FIX 5.0, using the illustrative linear-options identifier XRP_USDC-30OCT26-2d2-P-DRB. For a live order, use a currently available product from discovery.

Field	REST	FIX 5.0
Operation	`POST /v1/portfolios/{portfolio_id}/order`	`35=D` (NewOrderSingle)
Account	Portfolio ID in the request path	`1=<portfolio-id>`
Client order ID	`client_order_id`: unique UUID	`11` (ClOrdID): unique client ID
Instrument	`product_id: "XRP_USDC-30OCT26-2d2-P-DRB"`	`55=XRP_USDC-30OCT26-2d2-P-DRB`
Product type	Identified by product ID	`167=OPT`
Side	`side: "BUY"`	`54=1`
Order type	`type: "LIMIT"`	`40=2`
Quantity	`base_quantity: "1"`	`38` (OrderQty): size in the documented FIX unit
Limit price	`limit_price`: valid per-contract price	`44` (Price): valid per-contract price
Time in force	`time_in_force: "GOOD_UNTIL_CANCELLED"`	`59=1`
Submission time	Handled by the request	`60` (TransactTime): UTC timestamp

This example is a linear (USDC-settled) XRP put. Set the per-contract limit price in USDC. Quote sizing is unsupported for derivatives in both REST and FIX. See REST Create Order and FIX Order Entry for complete request and message definitions.

3. Monitor the order

Use the existing order-status and fill interfaces. Derivatives do not introduce a separate order-update workflow.

Surface	Order status and fills
REST	Get Order, List Portfolio Orders, and List Order Fills
FIX 5.0	`ExecutionReport (8)` for updates and fills; `OrderStatusRequest (H)` to query status; `OrderCancelReject (9)` for cancel/replace rejections
WebSocket	`orders` channel for portfolio order updates

For order-book snapshots and updates, use WebSocket l2_data. See the channel reference for subscriptions and recovery. Execution reports describe your orders and fills, not the order book.

Order compatibility

REST and FIX 5.0 support the same order types, subject to the product restrictions below. ✓ = modifier supported; — = modifier not supported.

Order type	Time in force	Post-only	Iceberg
Market	IOC, Day	—	—
Limit	GTC, GTD, Day	✓	✓
Limit	IOC, FOK	—	—
Stop Limit	GTC, GTD, Day	✓	✓
TWAP (CDE only)	GTC, GTD	—	—
Block RFQ (Deribit options only)	N/A	—	—

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US derivatives: Coinbase Derivatives Exchange

Margin modes

Global derivatives: Deribit

Margin modes

Before you trade

Supported API surfaces

What differs from spot

Trading workflow

1. Select a contract and read its metadata

2. Submit an order

3. Monitor the order

Order compatibility

What to read next

​US derivatives: Coinbase Derivatives Exchange

​Margin modes

​Global derivatives: Deribit

​Margin modes

​Before you trade

​Supported API surfaces

​What differs from spot

​Trading workflow

​1. Select a contract and read its metadata

​2. Submit an order

​3. Monitor the order

​Order compatibility

​What to read next

US derivatives: Coinbase Derivatives Exchange

Margin modes

Global derivatives: Deribit

Margin modes

Before you trade

Supported API surfaces

What differs from spot

Trading workflow

1. Select a contract and read its metadata

2. Submit an order

3. Monitor the order

Order compatibility

What to read next