10 Best Crypto Futures Platforms in 2024

Looking to trade Bitcoin futures or crypto futures safely? We've rounded up the best crypto futures trading platforms for 2024 for you to research and compare.

What are the best crypto futures trading platforms?

Looking for the best crypto futures trading platforms to research and where to trade options? We have you covered. Here are some of the most notable crypto options trading platforms to research in 2024:

Read next: Learn more about Bitcoin futures

Binance futures

Binance Futures stands out as a premier crypto futures exchange, and it's evident in the market's preference. Binance Futures consistently dominates the crypto futures market with the highest trading volume, often exceeding double that of its closest rival on any given day.

Binance Futures serves as the derivatives arm of Binance, the world's leading crypto exchange in terms of spot market activity. What sets it apart is its extensive offering of futures contracts with more than 340 derivative trading pairs available and a diverse range of cryptocurrencies. This diversity is a key advantage compared to some crypto futures platforms that focus solely on major coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum or lack perpetual futures and options.

Investors using Binance Futures enjoy the flexibility of choosing between futures contracts denominated and settled in stablecoins or those tied to their respective underlying cryptocurrencies. The platform also boasts remarkably high-leverage options. With its competitive fee structure and these appealing features, Binance Futures is a strong choice for anyone researching a crypto futures trading platform.

Bybit futures

Bybit shares similarities with Binance in terms of the cryptocurrencies listed and trading products offered. This resemblance extends to Bybit's futures offerings as well. Interestingly, Bybit initially emerged in 2018 as an exclusive futures trading platform, later incorporating spot markets into its product offering.

Despite expanding its product range over the years, futures trading remains a cornerstone of Bybit's platform. Users on Bybit have the choice of accessing futures contracts settled in either USDC or USDC stablecoins. Additionally, the exchange provides futures contracts priced and settled in the respective underlying cryptocurrencies.

Bybit offers an extensive array of futures tied to a wide range of cryptocurrencies, encompassing popular assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as more specialized altcoins. Notably, the platform boasts a high leverage limit, reaching up to 100x on select futures contracts, catering to various trading strategies.

MEXC

MEXC specializes in perpetual futures trading, eliminating the need for expiry dates and making it suitable for both short-term and long-term traders. There are two types of perpetual futures available on MEXC: those backed by USDT and those settled in the underlying cryptocurrency (COIN-M futures). 

Unlike many other futures trading platforms, MEXC offers support for a wide range of top-tier altcoins, including Polygon, Solana, Ethereum, Ripple, ApeCoin, BNB, Cosmos, and many others. This diverse selection complements its Bitcoin futures offering, which boasts the highest leverage limit of 200x. However, it's worth noting that MEXC does not support options trading for those looking for other derivatives offerings.

MEXC distinguishes itself by providing low trading fees, charging just 0.02% when trading futures, payable upon opening and closing positions. The platform also has high liquidity, particularly within its futures market.

MEXC stands out for its exceptional order-matching speed, capable of handling up to 1.4 million positions per second. The MEXC trading platform is seamlessly integrated with TradingView, providing access to advanced charts, drawing tools, and technical indicators. All this is available on the go, in the form of iOS and Android apps.

OKX futures

OKX stands as a strong contender for one of the best crypto futures platforms, overseeing daily trading volumes worth billions of dollars. OKX offers a comprehensive range of crypto contracts, including perpetual swaps, futures, and options, encompassing diverse trading products. The platform's extensive list of cryptocurrencies caters to both altcoin enthusiasts and those who prefer major coins exclusively.

A notable advantage of OKX is its highly competitive fee structure, with opportunities for further fee reductions through holdings of OKB tokens, substantial trading volumes, or a combination of both.

Another distinctive feature of OKX is its trading bot marketplace, allowing users to "follow" trading bots created by others. The creators of these bots earn a share of the profits generated by their algorithms. There are already a number of derivatives bots available on OKX, but users can also create their own trading bots for OKX if they prefer.

Bitget futures

Bitget may be a newcomer relative to some other crypto futures exchanges, but it has rapidly gained prominence through strategic decisions and substantial growth. Bitget offers an array of futures contracts, including those settled in USDC, USDT, and the underlying cryptocurrency.

Bitget elevates its futures trading platform with advanced features like trading bots and copy trading, enabling users to automatically mirror the trades of more seasoned investors.

In a bid to establish a solid presence in the fiercely competitive crypto futures trading sector, the exchange has introduced enticing bonuses for new traders and initiated the KCGI futures trading competition.

While Bitget provides a diverse range of cryptocurrencies for futures trading, it's worth noting that its selection may not be as extensive as what you'll find on exchanges like Binance, Bybit, MEXC, and OKX.

Bitfinex futures

Bitfinex has been a fixture in the cryptocurrency industry since 2012, boasting over a decade of operation. Over the years, Bitfinex has introduced a host of innovative features, cultivating a dedicated user base of traders seeking customization and advanced functionality.

One noteworthy feature is Bitfinex's capability to effortlessly create multiple limit orders within a specified price range simultaneously. Additionally, the exchange's trading interface offers extensive customization options. While Bitfinex is renowned for its robust Bitcoin futures markets, it also caters to altcoin enthusiasts, providing a substantial selection of altcoin futures.

Bitfinex's trading fees commence at 0.1% for makers and 0.2% for takers, but they drop significantly for high-volume traders. Holders of the exchange's LEO token enjoy further reductions in trading fees.

Although Bitfinex doesn’t have the largest offering for derivatives trading pairs, Bitfinex stands as a strong choice for one of the best crypto futures trading platforms, particularly appealing to advanced traders with a focus on Bitcoin futures trading.

Kraken futures

Established in 2011, Kraken is a cryptocurrency exchange that has earned a reputation as one of the most trusted entities in the crypto industry. Remarkably, despite over a decade of operation, Kraken has maintained an impeccable record of security and trust with users.

While Kraken is renowned for its spot markets, the exchange also provides a dedicated futures trading platform accessible under the Kraken Pro banner. Much like Kraken's spot markets, where a wide array of cryptocurrencies is available for trading, traders can access numerous different coins on Kraken's futures platform.

It's worth noting, however, that Kraken's crypto futures offering may not be accessible in all regions. Notably, futures trading is unavailable to clients from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain, Russia, and several other countries.

BitMEX futures

BitMEX is a trailblazer for crypto derivatives and is renowned for pioneering Bitcoin perpetual futures contracts. While its market share for Bitcoin perpetual futures has faced recent challenges, the platform remains highly favored by seasoned traders.

BitMEX has broadened its offerings to include spot trading, yet its predominant strength lies in its cryptocurrency derivatives platform, encompassing perpetual swaps and futures contracts. These contracts can be margined using BTC, USDT, or ETH.

Notably, BitMEX has introduced the BMEX token, which bears a resemblance to other exchange tokens such as BNB and OKB. Holders of the BMEX token enjoy discounts on trading fees, and substantial holders may even qualify for fee rebates, a valuable benefit for active traders.

Deribit

Deribit is a cryptocurrency derivatives platform renowned for its options products, though it also provides cryptocurrency futures.

While Deribit's options are limited to Bitcoin and Ethereum, it offers USDC-settled futures contracts for various altcoins, including Avalanche, Algorand, Uniswap, Cardano, and Polkadot. For Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, users have the choice between contracts settled in the respective cryptocurrency (BTC or ETH) or USDT.

Deribit supports up to 100x leverage on its perpetual futures, aligning with industry standards for high-leverage trading. For Bitcoin and Ethereum, traders can access not only perpetual contracts but also traditional futures contracts.

Deribit has a strong reputation within the trading community. Traders on Deribit have the option to utilize a testnet version of the platform, allowing them to test trading strategies without risking real funds.

Delta Exchange

If you're seeking to engage in crypto futures trading through your smartphone, Delta Exchange emerges as one of the top choices in the market. It offers a user-friendly mobile application compatible with both iOS and Android devices. Upon installation, users gain access to perpetual futures contracts spanning over 50 cryptocurrencies.

This comprehensive selection includes popular choices such as Bitcoin, Ripple, and Avalanche, as well as more niche options like Dogecoin, Solana, and Chainlink. Futures contracts on Delta Exchange can be settled in BTC, ETH, or USDT. Notably, all crypto futures markets on the platform feature a uniform leverage of 100x. Delta Exchange imposes a trading fee of 0.05% per slide when trading futures.

Additionally, the platform extends its support to options trading, with fees set at 0.03% per slide. It's important to note that options are limited to Bitcoin and Ethereum. The maximum expiry period for options on Delta Exchange is three months, which is shorter compared to some other platforms.

Read next: How are crypto futures taxed?

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