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Generate profit in Bitcoin Futures

Sep 29, 2021 06:12

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Futures have been around in the world of investment for centuries, but they only entered the cryptocurrency sphere at the end of 2017. The futures of Bitcoin are available in a number of regulated exchanges that were eager to start Bitcoin futures trading, offering people new ways to invest in crypto.

Many people still do not understand the concept of the future of Bitcoin. This article will provide insights into the future idea of ​​BTC. How can they trade, and what exchanges can Bitcoin use to trade in the future? Before explaining Bitcoin’s concept of the future, let us first explain the meaning of the future.

What are Futures?

A futures contract is defined as an agreement to sell or buy an asset at a fixed price on a specific date. After both parties sign futures agreements, they must buy or sell the property at an agreed price regardless of the price of the property. The future is being used as a tool to protect prices in a fixed amount to mitigate the conditions of falling prices. It is also used as a vehicle for speculation.

How does Bitcoin Future Works

When futures have Bitcoin as the primary asset type, then they are known as Bitcoin futures. Bitcoin futures enable investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin (BTCUSD) without having to hold the underlying cryptocurrency. What this means is that the futures contract is based on the speculative price of Bitcoin. They are similar to a futures contract for a commodity or stock index in that they allow investors to speculate on the cryptocurrency’s future price. Bitcoin futures may be used as a tool to hedge Bitcoin and to mitigate the risk of losing your investment.

A futures exchange or smart contract facilitates the transaction.

  • Long position: Buying an asset when the contract expires.
  • Short position: Selling an asset when a contract expires.

Types of Future Contracts

Futures are classified into two major types, which include cash-settled and deliverable.

 Deliverable Futures Contract

In the case of a deliverable, a buyer buys a physical asset as part of the contract. A tangible asset may range from crude oil, Bitcoin, shares in Apple, etc. The asset has to be purchased at the end of a contract.

 Cash Settled Futures Contract

The cash-settled type of future is very different from the deliverable. In this case, there is no physical purchase of an asset. Since you are not required to deliver any tangible asset, the speculation of the value of an asset is used in this regard to negotiating futures.

What to know before YOU start trading Bitcoin

The first thing to know about how to trade bitcoin futures is that no bitcoins are involved. In other words, since the futures are contracts that settle financially in cash, no bitcoin actually changes hands. As in other futures contracts, you speculate on the price of bitcoin and not buying or selling the underlying cryptocurrency asset itself.

No cryptocurrency trading platform or wallet is needed. This is because futures contracts either settle financially on the delivery date or are offset by traders reversing out of their positions as the delivery date approaches. If the buyer or seller of a bitcoin futures contract holds the position and shows a profit on the delivery date, then the difference between the purchase price and the settlement price is paid out to the holder of the futures contract.

Growth of the bitcoin futures market has paralleled that of the cryptocurrency’s spot market. Cryptocurrency exchanges were the first venues to offer bitcoin futures trading capability. Some traders might wonder why they should have to trade futures when buying or trading physical assets is very much possible. Since the idea of bitcoin futures is similar to trading, which involves buying at a lower price and selling when the price may have increased. However, trading on Bitcoin futures have several advantages over trading physical assets which include the following

The rules and setup for bitcoin futures is the same as that for regular futures trading.

  • Set up an account with the brokerage or exchange to begin trading. Once your account is approved, you can begin trading.
  • Futures trading makes heavy use of leverage to execute trades. In the unregulated Wild West of cryptocurrencies, the leverage amount can vary wildly between exchanges. For example, Binance offered leverage of up to 125 percent of the trading amount to traders when it first launched futures trading capability for cryptocurrencies. It reduced the leverage amount to 20 percent in July 2021.
  • The main considerations for bitcoin futures accounts are margin requirements and contract details. Margins are the minimum collateral that you must have in your account to execute trades. The higher the amount of the trade, the greater the margin amount required by the broker or exchange to execute the trade.

Bitcoin is a risky and volatile asset, regulated exchanges generally require higher margin amounts compared to other assets. Some cryptocurrency exchanges allow the use of cryptocurrencies as margin.

  • Immediate exposure to Bitcoin price movements with the ability to trade Bitcoin futures long or short, without having to hold the underlying Bitcoins.
  • Bitcoin and digital assets are volatile investments. A key benefit of futures trading is that you can hedge existing spot positions without additional one – allowing you to be agile and prepared for any market environment. Easily execute both short-term and long-term trading strategies.
  • Bitcoin futures allow you to maximize your returns by utilizing the power of leverage to multiply your profits and apply advanced trading strategies. Use futures to speculate on the direction of the market and minimize risk, all while holding less crypto than on a spot exchange.
  • Some traders keep most of their coins on hard wallets. Most investors understand the benefit of maintaining the highest possible share of coins on a cold wallet because preventing internet access to tokens vastly diminishes the risk of hacks. The downside, of course, is that this position might not reach the exchange on time, especially when networks are congested. For this reason, futures contracts are the preferred instruments that traders use when they want to decrease their position during volatile markets.
  • Use margin and leverage to control Bitcoin futures positions, allowing efficient use of account equity
  • Employ stop losses, profit limit orders, and other trade management techniques on futures positions that are just not possible when simply holding Bitcoins.

Conclusion

Overall investing in Bitcoin futures can be a useful way to get in on Bitcoin without having to buy and hold tokens directly. Bitcoin is a large portion of the growing digital asset market. BTC futures provide investors with transparency, price discovery and risk management capabilities. The contract will also allow individual market participants to access the bitcoin market as well as hedge any direct exposure to bitcoin pricing. Investing in cryptocurrencies involves buying and holding for long-term gains, not trading for short term profits. Usually, Futures trading is not necessarily for beginners and can come with a lot of risk. For a newbies it’s important to do your research before dipping your toes in Futures trading.

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