BitMEX is rolling out quanto futures contracts for crypto assets EOS (EOS), Chainlink (LINK), Tezos (XTZ), and Cardano (ADA) to give traders a new way to bet on the altcoins.
In a blog post published on Friday, BitMEX reveals it is launching the new contracts in response to user demand.
“These new altcoin/USDT contracts better reflect the underlying positions many traders are taking on spot markets. USDT pairs account for over 60% of overall Altcoin volume, and with these listings we are providing users with the trading options to better meet their needs.
LINK will be the first DeFi-linked [decentralized finance] contract available on the BitMEX platform, and together with XTZ, they represent two of the highest market-cap and heavily traded altcoins.”
Although the contracts price EOS, LINK, XTZ, and ADA against USDT (Tether), they will be settled in Bitcoin (BTC).
“As with all quanto products, they have a fixed Bitcoin multiplier regardless of the underlying Altcoin price. This allows traders to long or short each coin without needing to hold the specific coin or USDT. Traders post margin in XBT [Bitcoin], and earn or lose XBT as the future’s price changes.”
BitMex has been hard at work to expand its futures options offerings. In April, the company rolled out the ETH futures contracts with 50x leverage.
Futures trading is exceptionally risky, with the potential for big profits and devastating losses, since traders can enter positions that are larger than their account balance.