Knowing the best crypto futures trading platforms will give you a massive investment edge. The ideal platform should offer the most advantageous fees and leverage options, top security, and a great overall user experience.
Today, we’ll look into six best futures platforms, ranked based on features like fees, contracts, and leverage options, with names like Binance, MEXC, and Blofin leading the pack.
We’ll explain how futures trading works, when it makes sense, and how to fine-tune your strategy to maximize returns and reduce risk.
Let’s dive right in!
The Best Crypto Futures Platforms at a Glance
The following are the best crypto trading platforms for beginners and veteran traders, based on their overall features and ease of use:
- Binance — Earn Passive Income on 300+ Assets
- MEXC — Trade Your Way Into the Leaderboard with a Prize Pool of 920K USDT
- Blofin — Participate in Seasonal Events with Ever-Changing Rewards
- Margex — Get a 50% Fee Discount on Long and Short Trading
- PrimeXBT — Trade with Spreads as Low as 0.1 and Leverage as High as 1000x
- Bybit — Optimize Your Trades with TradeGPT
The Top Crypto Futures Trading Solutions Reviewed
Choosing the right crypto futures trading platform is crucial, especially for beginners still learning the ropes and looking to trade confidently.
Here we have compiled a list of the best, most popular, and most user-friendly trading services available. Let’s see what makes them stand out:
1. Binance – Earn Passive Income on 300+ Assets
Binance offers several ways to earn passive income on more than 300 assets. The Simple Earn feature allows you to create deposits and opt for a flexible or locked Annual Percentage Rate (APR).
There’s also an Advanced Earn for more trade-proficient users that offers three types of products with higher rewards, but equally higher risks too:
- Dual Investment: Buy low and sell high, earning rewards regardless of overall market direction. This doesn’t mean that there are no risks, though. You will lose money if the asset’s market price at your predetermined settlement date is unfavorable.
- Smart Arbitrage: Use a combination of long and short trading in different markets (spots and futures, for instance) to collect the funding fee. This is called hedging, and it works by offsetting the losses associated with one position (futures) by holding a position in another asset (spot.)
- On-Chain Yield: On-chain staking allows the user to invest in one or multiple on-chain tokens. The upside is that you don’t need to perform high-end tasks to gain rewards. The downside is that there are risks, such as smart contract vulnerabilities, market volatility, and protocol failure.
Binance charges different maker/taker fees for futures trading based on VIP levels as follows:
- Regular users: 0.1000% / 0.1000%
- VIP 1: 0.0900% / 0.1000%
- VIP 2: 0.0800% / 0.1000%
- VIP 3: 0.0400% / 0.0600%
- VIP 4: 0.0400% / 0.0520%
- VIP 5: 0.0250% / 0.0310%
- VIP 6: 0.0200% / 0.0290%
- VIP 7: 0.0190% / 0.0280%
- VIP 8: 0.160% / 0.0250%
- VIP 9: 0.0110% / 0.0230%
The platform offers USD-Margined futures contracts (perpetual or quarterly), focusing on stablecoins like USDT, and Coin-Margined contracts (also perpetual or quarterly) in $BTC.
Binance also provides investors flexible leverage of up to 125x, depending on the coin pair they opt for.
Security-wise, Binance relies on multiple security measures to ensure user safety and privacy.
These include non-custodial cold storage for assets, real-time monitoring for suspicious activity like unusual password use or changes to 2FA and email, and advanced organizational security through Multisig and Threshold Signature Schemes.
Binance has no deposit fees for crypto coins but charges withdrawal fees based on the coin and its chain (e.g., $BTC withdrawal fees vary between $BTC 0.000001 and 0.001).
The platform currently allows crypto and fiat deposits and withdrawals (credit card, bank transfer, Revolut).
The same system applies to fiat deposits and withdrawals. Regarding currencies supported, Binance has various options, depending on your location and payment method, including USD, EUR, NZD, and DKK.
Key Features Overview:
|
Leverage
|
125x
|
|---|---|
|
Derivative Trading Pairs
|
536
|
|
KYC
|
✅
|
|
Trading Fee
|
0.0200% – 0.0500% (maker/taker) for regular users (fees vary for VIPs based on their level; 1-9)
|
|
Cryptocurrencies Supported
|
>403
|
|
Supported Locations
|
Over 100 countries (Chile, UAB, Egypt, Israel, etc.)
|
|
Restricted Locations
|
US, Canada, Netherlands, Cuba, Iran, Syria, Crimea, and North Korea
|
2. Mexc – Trade Your Way Into the Leaderboard with a Prize Pool of 920K USDT
Mexc attracts traders with hefty prizes based on their trading achievements. The platform offers daily, weekly, and monthly events, during which traders rank based on their Profit-and-Loss (P&L) for a chance to win big.
The current daily event offers a 20,000 USDT reward, which will go to the first 200 leaderboard spots.
Mexc offers several other rewards to both veteran traders and newcomers. The task system has users completing various tasks (e.g., signing up, downloading, logging in to the app, and reaching specific trading milestones) for incremental USDT rewards.
Completing all tasks will stack up to 8,000 in total rewards.
Mexc currently has three types of futures contracts:
- USDT-M Futures (use USDT as collateral): The minimum order amount is 8.3296 USDT with a leverage range of 1-400.
- USDC-M Futures: The minimum order amount is 8.3312 USDC with a leverage range of 1-125.
- Coin-M Futures (use crypto as collateral): Minimum order amount is 0.00119975 $BTC and a leverage range of 1-125.
Mexc comes with a handsome fee offering. The standard fee system is split 0% / 0.020% for the maker/taker pair. But that’s not all.
As is expected, Mexc employs several security measures to safeguard your private information and assets. The platform uses a combination of cold and hot systems to ensure solid security.
Some measures include offline asset storage, off-site backups, backup private keys, and automated risk management protocols to inform of security breaches or suspicious activity.
The platform also has a Futures Insurance Fund, housing over 478M USDT to compensate for unforeseen losses.
Mexc currently allows for fiat deposits and withdrawals via SEPA Bank Transfer and crypto purchases via SEPA, Mastercard, and Visa.
If you’re interested in staking $MX, you have a 52% APY (at least 1,000 $MX) and 50% lower taker fees (when staking at least 500 $MX).
Key Features Overview:
|
Leverage
|
125x / 400x
|
|---|---|
|
Derivative Trading Pairs
|
1,117
|
|
KYC
|
✅
|
|
Trading Fee
|
0% – 0.020% (maker/taker) |
|
Cryptocurrencies Supported
|
>2800 |
|
Supported Locations
|
Over 170 countries (Japan, Brazil, Russia, Argentina, etc.) |
|
Restricted Locations
|
US, Canada, Netherlands, Cuba, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Singapore, Mainland China, Sevastopol, Hong Kong, and North Korea. |
3. Blofin – Participate in Seasonal Events with Ever-Changing Rewards
Blofin attracts users with various ever-changing events that offer different rewards upon completing preset tasks.
The duration of the events can vary between a day and more than a month, during which users can complete tasks like reaching certain trading milestones.
Futures are spread across multiple spheres, including gaming, DeFi, Memes, Web3, and AI, and attract newcomers with time-bound bonuses like 0-risk trading.
The platform offers a leverage of up to 150x and specializes in perpetual contracts primarily (buy and sell assets unconditionally at designated points in time). Perpetual contracts usually come with high leverage (typically 100x the margin), which makes them potentially highly profitable.
The standard futures contract is USDT-M, for which Blofin lists over 320 pairs.
Blofin’s fees for futures trading stand between 0.0200% for makers and 0.0600% for takers, but they also vary based on the user’s VIP level. For VIP 5 (max level), fees vary between 0% and 0.0350% for makers and takers, respectively.
You can also benefit from time-limited fee discounts, bringing fees between 0% (makers) and 0.0300% (takers). These only apply to selected pairs (MLNUSDT, FUNUSDT, and GUNUSDT).
Blofin makes it easy to jump in, letting you fund your account with credit or debit cards, SEPA bank transfers, or even via Simplex.
Key Features Overview:
|
Leverage
|
150x |
|---|---|
|
Derivative Trading Pairs
|
320
|
|
KYC
|
✅
|
|
Trading Fee
|
0.0200% – 0.0600% (maker/taker). |
|
Cryptocurrencies Supported
|
>400 |
|
Supported Locations
|
Over 150 countries (Japan, Brazil, Russia, Argentina, etc.) |
|
Restricted Locations
|
Blofin is restricted in 45 countries, including the US, Canada, Sudan, Syria, the Central African Republic, and Afghanistan. |
4. Margex – Get a 50% Fee Discount on Long and Short Trading
Margex offers multiple rewards and bonuses, including a 50% fee discount for long and short trading.
The platform can accommodate both veteran traders and beginners looking to learn the tricks of the trade.
Beginners, in particular, can use Margex’s Copy Trading as a learning crutch. The system allows you to copy more seasoned traders so that you minimize risks and learn their proven strategies along the way.
The Copy Trading feature consists of four steps:
- Choose your favorite trader based on your risk strategy and profit goals, as well as the trader’s past performance
- Click ‘Follow’ to automatically replicate all of the trader’s targeted positions
- Allocate the capital you are willing to put to work
- Confirm the data, then click ‘Follow’ again to put things in motion
More importantly, the system still allows you to remain in control regarding which trades to follow, how much capital to use, and what risk management tools to deploy based on your goals.
Margex offers a fee range of 0.019%-0.060% (makers/takers) with a maximum leverage of 100x.
The platform only supports around 30 coins, with names like Ripple, Cardano, BNB, and Polkadot missing entirely. Meme coins aren’t available, either.
To make up for it, Margex has a 0%-fee policy for currency conversions and a near-instant conversion speed, which allows users to adapt to the market’s movements on the spot.
The platform’s available payment methods are credit/debit cards, PayPal, SEPA bank transfer, Union Pay, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.
Furthermore, Margex relies on several security layers to keep the users’ funds and personal information safe:
- User account security: 2FA, SSL encryption (for data circulating between your browser and Margex), email alerts, and 24/7 customer support.
- Custodian security: Cold storage, real-time alerts for all transactions, and an access segregation system (to prevent fraudulent attempts from within the company).
- Trading infrastructure security: DDOS protection, anti-denial of service protection (mitigates/prevents order submission errors and network freezes).
- Price manipulation prevention: Deploy the MP Shield System to detect price manipulation attempts and suspicious activity (spoofing, bluffing).
Key Features Overview:
|
Leverage
|
100x |
|---|---|
|
Derivative Trading Pairs
|
45
|
|
KYC
|
✅
|
|
Trading Fee
|
0.019% – 0.060% (maker/taker). |
|
Cryptocurrencies Supported
|
>30 |
|
Supported Locations
|
Over 150 countries (Japan, Brazil, Russia, Argentina, etc.) |
|
Restricted Locations
|
12 locations, including the US, Canada, Sudan, Cuba, Iran, and North Korea |
5. PrimeXBT – Trade with Spreads as Low as 0.1 and Leverage as High as 1000x
PrimeXBT comes with leverages of up to 1000x, making it the perfect platform for more experienced traders, looking to maximize their ROI.
However, a high-leverage system isn’t ideal for beginners due to the higher risks involved, but PrimeXBT has several solutions for that as well.
The first is the free $10,000 account, where newcomers can learn the trading game without sacrificing their capital.
The second one is the Copy Trading feature that allows users to copy more experienced traders using their investing strategies. This tool is similar to what Margex is using.
PrimeXBT has an extensive leaderboard with dozens of the most successful traders you can learn from on the platform.
It also offers over 30 futures contracts, with the most well-known ones leading the pack (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Binance Coin.)
The fee system is flexible depending on the trader’s resume. The maker fee is always set at 0.01%, but the taker one varies based on the trading volume as follows:
- Below $5M monthly trade volume: 0.045% fee
- Equal to or above $5M monthly volume: 0.035% fee
- Equal to or above $20M monthly volume: 0.02% fee
With regards to overall security, PrimeXBT has a multi-layered approach, relying on tools like:
- SSL encryption
- Multisig-based cold storage (digital assets are stored offline)
- Protection against DDoS attacks
- 2FA
The team also performs continuous monitoring and tests to identify and correct security vulnerabilities.
It also offers multiple payment methods, including credit/debit cards, SEPA bank transfer, Volet, and Perfect Money.
PrimeXBT also has a Compensation Fund of up to $20,000 to protect investors in case of non-trade-related losses (e.g. the platform gets hacked.)
Key Features Overview:
|
Leverage
|
1000x |
|---|---|
|
Derivative Trading Pairs
|
<30
|
|
KYC
|
✅
|
|
Trading Fee
|
0.01% – 0.045% (maker/taker). |
|
Cryptocurrencies Supported
|
>100 |
|
Supported Locations
|
Over 150 countries (Brazil, Argentina, UK, etc.) |
|
Restricted Locations
|
19 locations, including the US, Canada, Sudan, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Japan |
6. ByBit – Optimize Your Trades with TradeGPT
ByBit uses TradeGPT to lend a hand to newcomers who want to join the trade game. The AI is based on ChatGPT 3.5 and is an invaluable asset to veterans and rookies alike.
The AI can analyze market trends and news, offer in-depth token insights, inform users of ByBit’s policies and products, and answer questions about the crypto market or the trading craft itself.
The platform offers three types of futures contracts:
- USDT perpetual (use USDT as a margin, which means you need to have USDT in your account)
- USDC perpetual (use USDC as a margin)
- Inverse Perpetual (use crypto coins as margins)
TradeGPT aside, ByBit has multiple other tools for inexperienced traders seeking a hold of the trading craft. These include:
- Demo trading: Live market simulation, allowing users to trade with zero deposits in a risk-free environment.
- Copy trading: Use the tried-and-tested strategies of more experienced traders.
- Trading bots: Personalize your trading bots (state your target asset, the type of trading, and the market direction) to automate the trading process.
- Position Builder: Simulate trading positions based on industry-specific strategies (strangle, iron condor, straddle, covered call) or create a custom one for a more personal experience.
The platform’s VIP system rewards traders with up to 50% fee discounts and personalized interest rates. Supreme VIP holders (technically VIP level 6) enjoy derivative fees between 0% and 0.0300% for makers and takers, respectively.
Non-VIP users will pay derivative fees of 0.0200%-0.0550%.
ByBit’s security follows the standard multi-layered approach with features like cold asset storage, real-time monitoring, and risk warning.
The platform also collaborates with HackerOne on their Bug Bounty program, which rewards people for highlighting system vulnerabilities.
Key Features Overview:
|
Leverage
|
200x |
|---|---|
|
Derivative Trading Pairs
|
<1,200
|
|
KYC
|
✅
|
|
Trading Fee
|
0.020% – 0.0550% (maker/taker). |
|
Cryptocurrencies Supported
|
>700 |
|
Supported Locations
|
Over 150 countries (Brazil, Argentina, UK, etc.) |
|
Restricted Locations
|
Several, including the US, Canada, France, the UK, North Korea, and Iran |
If you’re searching for the best crypto futures trading platforms in the USA, remember that many restrict access for U.S. users. That’s where a solid VPN comes in—it might be your best trading companion.
How We Selected the Best Futures Trading Platforms
Cryptocurrency futures can be highly rewarding, but much of your success depends on the platform that executes your trade.
We consider several key metrics when reviewing the best futures trading platforms, such as:
- Maximum leverage: We’re looking for as high leverage as possible, as this allows you to customize your risk strategy accordingly. While not all traders are comfortable with sky-high leverage positions, some are, so having that option there is nice.
- Trading tools: We want tools like live charting, trading bots, demo trading accounts, copy trading, and risk management (stop-loss, take-profit, hedging, risk-reward ratio analysis). These are great crutches that rookies can use to gain experience and knowledge.
- Overall performance: Few things are more important than the platform’s performance and stability. Execution speed and near-instant transaction confirmations are key, especially in high market volatility.
- Security: The platform should employ multiple layers to protect the users’ personal data and assets. Features like MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication), cold asset storage, and PoR (Proof of Reserve) are necessary.
- Fees: The lower the maker/taker fees, the better. We also look at funding rates, fee discounts, VIP benefits, and potential hidden costs.
- Liquidity and market depth: Assets with high liquidity and market depth are easier to sell, which leads to faster order execution and reduced slippage.
- Regulatory compliance: We prioritize platforms with strong regulatory compliance, ensuring fund security and higher customer protection.
- Community sentiment: We always consider what people think about the platform based on their personal experience.
Before trading, you should always DYOR (Do Your Own Research) because different platforms come with different services and features.
What is Crypto Futures Trading?
Crypto futures trading lets traders speculate on a coin’s future market performance via futures contracts. Unlike spot trading, where traders need to purchase the actual coins, futures contracts don’t require that.
You can use several crypto futures trading strategies to customize your experience. These include:
- Leverage: Open positions larger than your current capital by borrowing the extra capital from the exchange itself (e.g., a 10x leverage allows you to open a $10,000 position with only $1,000 of your own capital; you borrow the rest of $9,000).
- Hedging: Hedging is a risk management strategy that consists of betting against their spot holdings to offset potential losses coming with a depreciating token (e.g., if you think $BTC’s price will drop, you can open a futures contract to bet on that).
- Standard or Perpetual: Standard futures contracts will settle automatically after a given timeframe (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc) Perpetual contracts remain open indefinitely, so long as the trader maintains the margin (there is sufficient capital in their account to cover for the token’s price swings.)
In essence, trading crypto futures can be more rewarding than spot trading thanks to the leverage, but it can also be riskier for the exact same reason.
How Does Crypto Trading Futures Work?
Here’s a simplified example of how futures trading works:
- Set your desired leverage/margin ratio: For instance, if your capital is $1,000 (the margin) and you’re going for a 10x leverage, you can open a position of $10,000. If your losses exceed the margin, your position will close.
- Open your position (long or short): You go long if you think the asset’s price will rise or short if you think it will drop.
- Choose your contract type: You can go for a Standard contract for a limited duration or a Perpetual one which stays open so long as you have a steady influx of capital to account for the asset’s price fluctuations.
- Activate risk management tools: Stop-Loss orders (close the position at predefined price values to minimize losses), Take-Profit orders (close the position when reaching a target price), and Margin Call alerts (notify you when your margin drops too low).
While different trading platforms may offer different tools to customize your trading strategy, these are typically the essential steps involved in the process.
Should I Do Crypto Futures Trading?
Whether or not you should try crypto futures trading depends on your goals and financial situation.
Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of futures trading, so you know what to expect.
Pros of Futures Trading Crypto
- Leveraged positions for multiplicative gains
- Hedging for risk management
- Open either long or short
- No asset custody required
Cons of Crypto Futures Trading
- High risk of liquidation due to leverage
- High market volatility is causing price swings
- Steep learning curve
- High fees and funding costs
Don’t take this as financial advice. Even at its best, the crypto market is volatile and unpredictable, so always DYOR (Do Your Own Research) before trading.
Crypto Futures Trading Tips
Diving into crypto futures can be both exciting and overwhelming. With the potential for high rewards comes equally high risk, so it’s crucial to approach this space with caution and strategy.
Whether you’re a beginner or brushing up on the basics, the tips below will help you trade smarter, stay protected, and build confidence as you navigate the fast-paced world of leveraged trading.
- Gain knowledge: Don’t jump straight into capital trading. Learn the basics of the trade, get accustomed to chart reading, and do demo trades to get a risk-free taste of the craft first.
- Start small: Futures are leveraged assets, which means they come with multiplicative rewards and risks alike. Always start with small leverages, up to 1x-3x, to minimize your losses during your learning curve.
- Set up risk management tools: Tools like stop-loss orders are necessary to cut losses during periods of high price volatility.
- Avoid slippage-prone assets: Stick to assets with high liquidity like BTC/USD, which are less likely to experience high volatility and, thus, inflict severe slippage.
- Keep up with the news: The crypto market is an interconnected ecosystem that reacts to the outside world. Watch for relevant news from the economic or crypto sector that could trigger price swings.
- Don’t get emotionally invested: You must trade with your head, not your heart. Don’t cave in to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) or panic sell at the first sign of adversity.
Most importantly, don’t take any advice, including ours, for granted. The trading business is a complex and risky job, so you should always do your homework before diving in.
What Have We Learned About Futures Trading?
As you can see, trading futures is by no means easy, and every detail matters, from the trading platform itself to the asset pair and even your personality.
Today, we’ve looked at some of the cheapest futures trading platforms and those that offer the most value in terms of tools and support.
Binance and MEXC take the first spots on our list for their newcomer reward systems and trading tools, but don’t discount the others either.
We’ve also discussed how we choose which exchanges to feature on our list based on features like security, fees, ease of use, and leverage options.
Finally, we’ve reviewed the pros and cons of futures trading, along with some useful tips on how to get started in the trading game.
If you do decide to test your skills in futures trading, keep in mind that futures are leveraged products, which come with multiplicative gains as well as losses.
So, don’t take this as financial advice, and always DYOR before investing.
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the best futures trading platform?
We recommend Binance as one of the best futures trading platforms, but check the others. Each platform has its own perks, trading tools, and fees, so the extra research is worth it.
2. Can I trade crypto futures in the US?
Yes, you can trade crypto futures in the US, but only through platforms regulated and approved by the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). Coinbase Financial Markets and Chicago Mercantile Exchange are two names you could consider.
You can trade on more widely used platforms like Binance, MEXC, or Blofin only if you use a VPN.
3. Where can I trade crypto futures?
You can trade crypto futures on exchanges like Binance or MEXC, as these are currently some of the most advantageous platforms. But you can also check the other mentions on our list if you want to try something different.
4. Is crypto futures trading profitable?
It is, but only if you win. Jokes aside, futures trading can be both rewarding and risky due to the use of leveraged assets. Fortunately, you have tools to mitigate risks, such as hedging and stop-loss orders, but these aren’t necessarily failproof.
Follow our trading tips and trade at your own risk.