Expiry Futures

What are Expiry Futures?

In TradFi, a futures contract is an agreement that requires two parties to transact an asset at a predetermined price at a specified time in the future. This allows traders to lock in a future price of the underlying asset to hedge or speculate on price movements. Helix offers a completely decentralized form of these futures contracts—expiry futures.

Similar to perpetual futures, expiry futures on Helix are traded with margin, allowing traders to access leverage. However, unlike perpetual futures, expiry futures have expiration dates and do not require funding payments, though liquidations may still occur if the maintenance margin threshold is not met.

Upon expiration, expiry futures markets are settled using oracle prices, typically set to the spot prices of the underlying assets. As a result, the price of futures tend to converge upon the spot price as the expiration date nears.

One example of an expiry futures product is expiry crude oil. Due to the way TradFi firms price oil, a perpetual futures product does not often make sense. As a result, oil is traded as an expiry futures contract.