OKEx Launches New Bitcoin Derivative: Cryptocurrency Perpetual Swaps

Malta-based cryptocurrency exchange OKEx launched a cryptocurrency-focused Bitcoin Perpetual Swap product on December 3, 2018, during a press conference attended by CryptoSlate.

The virtual derivative product is a peer-to-peer offering that aims to empower traders with the ability to speculate the price direction of digital assets like Bitcoin and Ether to ensure exposure to the risky, yet highly-rewarding crypto market.

Trading for perpetual swaps will be officially available on the OKEx platform from December 11, 2018, at 1:00 local time.

The product is considered a huge step towards completing the company's crypto-based financial product suite and will allow users to perform swaps, futures, and spot trading with high-leverage features.

Comparable to futures contracts, swaps do not have an expiry date and settlements are executed daily.

The pricing is based on the underlying value they represent, which allows traders to guess the direction the prices may take without risking their actual assets.

Each swap contract will have a notional value of $100 USD-worth of Bitcoin, which means to gain exposure equivalent to 1 BTC in the crypto-market requires the purchase of 39 perpetual contracts, at current prices.

Users will be at liberty to choose from two strategic positions; they may take a long position that will enable them profit from the surge in a digital asset price, or a short position and profit from a drop in a digital asset price.

"The launch of perpetual swap demonstrates our continuous commitment to building a complete financial ecosystem on blockchain and crypto. With the new offering, investors and traders can select the products which best fit their trading and hedging strategies."

The new product has many additional advantages that were mentioned during the conference, such as swaps with maximum leverage of up to 100x, and partial liquidation capabilities.