5 Best Crypto Futures Exchanges

Best Crypto Futures Platforms

If you're searching for the top crypto futures platforms, you’re in the right place. Our team of experts has carefully distilled their in-depth research into a simple guide, evaluating each platform’s strengths in user experience, liquidity, available assets, regulatory compliance and fees.

To get started quickly, we’ve included a table below summarizing the key attributes of the top 5 platforms based on our hands-on testing.

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1. Bybit

Bybit is the fastest-growing crypto futures platform and has become particularly popular among traders in the Crypto Twitter (now X) community. The exchange is renowned for its user-friendly interface, deep liquidity, and swift addition of new derivatives contracts for emerging assets and meme coins like WIF and PEPE. With over $50 billion in daily trading volume, Bybit's rapid adoption by both retail and institutional investors is clear.

Bybit offers an extensive range of features, supporting over 1,300 crypto assets in spot markets and 300 contracts for futures trading. Additionally, it provides access to other derivatives markets, including options and inverse perpetuals, allowing users to fund trades with assets like BTC and ETH instead of stablecoins like USDT.

• Fee Structure: Market makers benefit from fees as low as 0.01%, while market takers incur 0.06%, with spreads varying based on market conditions.
• Available Assets: Supports over 1,300 cryptocurrencies for spot trading and 300+ for futures trading.
• Deposit Methods: Offers a variety of deposit options, including bank transfers, credit/debit cards, PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.‍
• Available Leverage: Provides up to 100x leverage on perpetual futures contracts.

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2. Binance

Binance is a leader in the crypto futures market, particularly valued by institutional investors and sophisticated market participants for its unparalleled depth and liquidity. With over $65 billion in daily derivatives trading volume, Binance surpasses other major players like Bybit and OKX in order book depth. Currently, it supports over 300 assets in spot markets and more than 100 assets for futures trading.

The platform offers up to 25x leverage on futures contracts, with competitive fees starting at 0.02% for makers and 0.06% for takers. However, Binance falls short compared to Bybit due to its more limited support for new altcoins and its historical challenges with regulators. Despite these drawbacks, Binance's extensive trading options and unmatched liquidity still make it a strong contender, though it ranks second based on our testing.

• Fees: Maker fees start at 0.02% and taker fees at 0.06%. VIP discounts are applied based on 30-day volume traded.
• Available Assets: Over 100 cryptocurrency derivatives contracts and more than 300 assets for spot trading.
• Deposit Methods: Supports bank transfers, cryptocurrency deposits, credit/debit cards, WeChat Pay, and more.‍
• Available Leverage: Up to 25x leverage available on futures contracts.

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3. OKX

OKX has quickly established itself as a top-tier crypto futures exchange, boasting an impressive daily trading volume of $24 billion. Based in Hong Kong, OKX has gained the trust of investors globally by securing prominent licenses in well-regulated regions such as Hong Kong, Dubai, the Netherlands, and Australia.

Similar to Binance, OKX offers over 300 spot markets and 100 futures contracts, but it distinguishes itself with leverage limits reaching up to 100x. It also leads in cross-collateral trading, allowing users to collateralize their positions with assets like BTC, ETH, and SOL, rather than just stablecoins like USDT and USDC. Additionally, OKX provides strong institutional support with advanced APIs for enhanced execution and an OTC desk for white-glove service.

• Fees: Maker fees at 0.045%, taker fees at 0.05% with 30 day fee discounts based on trading volumes. 
• Available Assets: Over 300 crypto assets and 100 futures contracts.
• Deposit Methods: Bank transfers, cryptocurrency deposits, credit cards, debit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay and more.‍
• Available Leverage: Up to 100x on futures contracts, with cross-collateral margin options.

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4. MEXC

Founded in 2018, MEXC has quickly established itself as a go-to platform in the competitive futures market, particularly for traders seeking high leverage, offering up to 200x on futures contracts. The exchange also boasts an extensive portfolio of altcoins, with over 800 assets listed and 250 supported on their futures platform.

Although MEXC doesn't match the liquidity levels of the largest exchanges, it still maintains substantial market depth with over $4 billion in daily trading volume, ensuring tight spreads on popular trading pairs. The platform also provides a wide range of trading services, including spot, margin, futures, staking, and Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs), making it a comprehensive platform.

• Fees: Maker fees are set at 0.02%, and taker fees are 0.06%.
• Available Assets: Supports over 800 altcoins, including major assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
• Deposit Methods: Accepts deposits in USDT, BTC, USDC, and via credit card.‍
• Available Leverage: Offers up to 200x leverage on futures contracts, making it suitable for experienced traders seeking high-risk, high-reward opportunities.

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5. Gate.io

Gate.io is the top platform for futures trading on altcoins and meme coins, offering access to over 2,100 crypto assets. The platform is the fastest to list new assets, including low-liquidity options and emerging memes from the Solana ecosystem, such as POPCAT and BILLY. This agility makes Gate.io a favored choice for retail traders seeking early access to new opportunities, though it may not be the best option for more sophisticated market participants.

Although Gate.io has slightly lower liquidity than some larger exchanges, it compensates with competitive fees, with maker rates at 0.015% and taker rates at 0.05%. Coupled with its extensive asset selection, Gate.io is an excellent choice for traders seeking variety in a dynamic market. However, it's important to note that Gate.io operates out of Seychelles, which means it is outside of stricter regulatory jurisdictions, a factor users should consider.

• Fees: Maker fees at 0.015%, taker fees at 0.05%.
• Available Assets: Over 2,100 cryptocurrencies and meme coins.
• Deposit Methods: Supports bank transfers, cryptocurrency deposits, and card payments.‍
• Available Leverage: Up to 100x leverage on futures contracts.

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What is Crypto Futures Trading?

Crypto futures trading involves contracts that allow traders to buy (long) or sell (short) a cryptocurrency at a predetermined price in the future. Unlike traditional futures, most crypto futures are perpetual, meaning they have no expiration date, allowing positions to be held indefinitely as long as margin requirements are met. This approach lets traders speculate on price movements without owning the underlying assets.

Crypto futures are now the leading choice for investors seeking to hedge against market volatility or leverage their positions, with daily derivatives trading volumes exceeding $100 billion, far outpacing the $15 billion seen in spot trading.

Choosing the right platform is crucial and depends on factors like available cryptocurrencies, security measures, fee structures, and user experience. Centralized exchanges typically use stablecoins like USDT and USDC as collateral to enhance trading stability and liquidity.

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Crypto Futures Trading Fees

Understanding the fees associated with crypto futures trading is crucial for optimizing profitability. Here’s a breakdown:

• ‍Trading Fees: These are applied during trade execution. Maker fees are charged for limit orders that add liquidity by not filling immediately, while taker fees apply to orders that execute instantly, removing liquidity.‍
• Funding Rates: For perpetual futures contracts, funding rates periodically adjust to keep futures prices aligned with the spot price. It's vital to monitor these rates to manage the costs of maintaining open positions.‍
• Withdrawal Fees: Fees are charged when withdrawing funds or profits, which may be either a fixed amount or a percentage of the withdrawal.‍
• Margin Fees: In margin trading, fees are incurred when using borrowed funds. These typically include interest or borrowing costs, varying based on the borrowed amount and loan duration.

Each exchange has its own fee structure, making it essential to research and compare to optimize trading strategies.

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Are Futures Available in the USA?

Yes, crypto futures are available in the United States through regulated markets like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Products like BITO by ProShares cater primarily to institutional investors but are often more costly and less user-friendly than platforms native to the crypto space.

Due to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulations, retail investors frequently turn to decentralized platforms. For example, HyperLiquid, a leading DeFi futures exchange, enables non-custodial trading directly from wallets like MetaMask or Coinbase Wallet, offering a compliant option for trading crypto derivatives in the U.S.

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Bottom Line

In summary, choosing the right crypto futures exchange is crucial for achieving your trading objectives. Based on our hands-on testing and research, the top five platforms are Bybit, Binance, OKX, MEXC, and Gate.io.

Each offers unique strengths in areas like liquidity, leverage, and asset variety, so selecting the one that best aligns with your strategy and needs will optimize your trading experience.