Pre-market futures have become an innovative way for traders to gain early exposure to upcoming cryptocurrencies before their official launch. Designed to reflect market sentiment and anticipation, these derivative products offer unique opportunities — and risks — for informed investors. This guide dives into everything you need to know about pre-market futures on OKX, from pricing mechanics to settlement rules and API integration.
What Are Pre-Market Futures?
Pre-market futures on OKX allow users to trade futures contracts for cryptocurrencies that have not yet been officially launched. These contracts enable traders to speculate on the potential value of a new digital asset ahead of its public release, based on market expectations and project fundamentals.
All pre-market futures are settled in USDT, providing a stable and widely accepted reference point for valuation. This feature makes them accessible and practical for traders across different regions and experience levels.
These instruments are especially useful during high-anticipation events such as mainnet launches, token generation events (TGEs), or major ecosystem announcements.
👉 Discover how early trading can shape market dynamics before official listings.
How Is the Settlement Price Determined?
The settlement price of pre-market futures depends on whether the underlying cryptocurrency is successfully launched and listed on OKX’s spot market.
Scenario 1: Successful Token Launch
If the project team proceeds with the token issuance as planned and OKX lists it on the spot market:
- Index Price Composition: OKX calculates the index using prices from more than three major exchanges to ensure accuracy and reduce manipulation risk.
Final Settlement Price: The contract settles at the arithmetic average of the last traded price of the corresponding contract, taken one hour before expiration.
- If abnormal trading activity occurs during this final hour — such as extreme volatility or spoofing — OKX reserves the right to adjust the final settlement price to a fair and reasonable level based on market conditions.
This mechanism ensures a transparent and resilient pricing model aligned with real market behavior.
Scenario 2: Canceled or Delayed Launch
If the project team cancels the token launch, fails to announce a release plan within six months, or OKX decides not to list the asset due to risk management concerns:
- Tick Size Rule Applies: The actual delivery price equals the minimum tick size.
- Estimated Liquidation Price: Calculated as the average circulating index price over the last hour before listing, sampled every 200 milliseconds (i.e., each data point is the latest traded price at that moment).
- OKX may include additional exchanges in the index calculation if necessary to maintain fairness and reliability.
This dual-pricing framework protects traders from uncertainty while preserving market integrity.
When Are Pre-Market Futures Settled?
Settlement timing varies depending on the project's progress and exchange decisions.
Standard Settlement Timeline
If the new cryptocurrency is successfully issued and listed on OKX’s spot market:
- Contracts are settled three hours after the token’s official listing on the spot market.
- The exact delivery date will be announced separately via official channels.
This delay allows sufficient time for initial spot market price discovery, reducing settlement volatility.
Early Delisting Possibility
In cases where:
- The project team cancels the token launch,
- No launch timeline is communicated within six months,
- Or OKX identifies significant risks (e.g., regulatory, technical, or security issues),
the pre-market futures may be delisted early, and positions settled accordingly. Again, specific details will be published in advance.
For API Users
Developers and algorithmic traders should note:
- The
expTimefield in the instrument API indicates the current settlement timestamp. - Since this value can change due to external factors, API users must monitor
expTimeregularly through real-time or periodic polling mechanisms.
Staying updated via automated systems helps avoid unexpected position closures or miscalculations in strategy execution.
What Are the Trading Fees?
Trading fees for pre-market futures are identical to standard futures fees on OKX. This means:
- Maker and taker fee structures remain unchanged.
- Volume-based tiering applies as per your account’s 30-day trading volume.
- Fee discounts through OKX’s trading competitions or loyalty programs may also apply.
This consistency simplifies cost forecasting and encourages broader participation without hidden charges.
👉 Learn how low-latency trading can maximize returns in fast-moving pre-launch markets.
What Is the Liquidation Fee?
A 1% liquidation fee applies when positions are forcibly closed due to insufficient margin. This fee covers operational costs and discourages excessive leverage usage in volatile environments.
Important notes:
- The liquidation fee is charged only when the system auto-closes a position.
- It is deducted directly from the remaining margin balance.
- Any future adjustments to this rate will be announced in advance through official notifications.
Traders are advised to use proper risk management tools — including stop-loss orders and position sizing calculators — to avoid unnecessary liquidations.
Do Pre-Market Futures Influence Spot Listing Prices?
While pre-market futures reflect current market sentiment and speculation about a new cryptocurrency, they do not directly determine its official spot listing price.
Key insights:
- Pre-market prices are driven by supply and demand among speculative traders.
- Actual spot listing prices depend on multiple factors: order book depth, institutional participation, initial liquidity provisioning, and broader market conditions.
- There is no guaranteed correlation between pre-market futures prices and post-listing spot values.
Therefore, while pre-market activity can signal bullish or bearish sentiment, it should not be interpreted as a definitive predictor of performance after launch.
Understanding this distinction helps traders avoid emotional decision-making based solely on pre-launch momentum.
What Changes Are Introduced in OpenAPI?
To support pre-market futures functionality, OKX has enhanced its OpenAPI with new metadata fields.
New Field: ruleType
- Purpose: Identifies the trading rules applicable to a given instrument.
Values:
normal: Standard futures contractpre_market: Pre-market futures contract
This addition enables algorithmic traders and third-party platforms to automatically classify instruments and apply appropriate risk models, margin requirements, and execution logic.
Developers can use this field to:
- Filter pre-market-only portfolios
- Adjust volatility assumptions
- Trigger conditional alerts or trades based on contract type
For full documentation updates, refer to the official API changelog (internal reference only).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Can I hold a pre-market futures position beyond the settlement date?
No. All pre-market futures contracts are automatically settled at expiration. You cannot roll over positions into another cycle like with some perpetual futures.
Q: Are there leverage limits on pre-market futures?
Yes. Leverage is capped according to OKX’s risk framework for new assets. Maximum leverage may be lower than standard contracts due to higher volatility expectations.
Q: How do I know if a token will be listed after pre-market trading?
There is no guarantee. OKX evaluates each project based on technical readiness, regulatory compliance, and market demand before approving a spot listing.
Q: What happens if I have an open position when a project cancels its launch?
Your position will be settled based on the tick-size rule, and funds returned to your account. Monitor announcements closely during the pre-launch window.
Q: Can I use cross-margin mode for pre-market futures?
Yes, but required margin levels may be higher due to increased risk. Isolated margin is recommended for better control.
Q: Are pre-market futures available to all OKX users?
Yes, subject to regional regulations and account verification status. Always check local availability before trading.
👉 Start exploring pre-market opportunities with real-time data and advanced risk controls.