There are indeed significant differences in contracts between Bitcoin futures trading platforms, mainly reflected in contract types, margin mechanisms, and trading risks.
First, regarding contract types, Bitcoin futures trading platforms such as okx and binance typically offer Bitcoin-denominated contracts and USDT-denominated contracts. Currently, aijiebot supports automated quantitative trading for Bitcoin-denominated Bitcoin contracts. The main difference between these two types of contracts lies in the margin and settlement currency. Bitcoin-denominated contracts use Bitcoin itself as the margin and settlement currency, while USDT-denominated contracts use USDT as the margin and settlement currency. This design caters to the needs of different investors, especially those who wish to avoid direct involvement with Bitcoin in their trading.
On the other hand, bitmex platform offers a unique dual-currency contract. This contract allows investors to use Bitcoin as margin to trade other cryptocurrency varieties, such as Ethereum and Litecoin. okx and binance have high thresholds for enabling cross-currency margin modes, for example, okx requires a minimum of 10,000USD,while binancere quires a minimum of 100,000USD. However, bitmex's dual-currency contract does not have such restrictions. Nevertheless, this contract poses a greater risk for short-sellers as funding fees are generally charged to the long side. This means that if the market price rises, short-sellers need to pay additional fees, thus increasing trading risks.
In addition, platforms may also differ in terms of margin mechanisms, trading fees, leverage multiples, and other aspects. When choosing a trading platform, investors need to consider their investment needs and risk tolerance. Meanwhile, due to the high volatility of the cryptocurrency market, investors should carefully assess risks and formulate reasonable trading strategies when participating in Bitcoin futures trading.