You’ve probably heard about futures trading more than once. You may have wondered which platform is best to use for this purpose. One of the best exchanges for trading cryptocurrency futures is KuCoin, and that’s what we will focus on in this guide. We will explain to you what KuCoin is, why you should use it, the capabilities of its futures platform, its advantages, what sets it apart from its competitors and more. We will also present tips that will allow you to trade more efficiently and thus make higher profits. Finally, we will describe KuCoin Futures trading step by step and illustrate everything with pictures. So, here we go!
KuCoin Exchange – what is it?
KuCoin is a secure cryptocurrency exchange that made its debut back in 2017. Currently, it is considered the fifth largest cryptocurrency trading platform available on the market by sites such as CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko.
It is worth mentioning that KuCoin has chosen the phrase “The People’s Exchange” as its slogan. It is extremely accurate, as this platform is suitable for all types of investors – both complete novices and experienced traders. All thanks to its extremely clear and simple design, which incorporates many advanced features and products.
Currently, more than 18 million users from 207 countries and regions of the world actively trade on KuCoin. They value this exchange mainly for the fact that it supports many smaller projects with huge growth potential, the so-called “crypto gems”. Last month alone, KuCoin listed 5 new thriving cryptocurrencies, namely: BLOCK, CHMB, VR, KMA and DAO.
As we mentioned earlier, KuCoin offers more than just simple spot market. It is an entire ecosystem that consists of a number of different investment products. These include:
- Margin trading
- Futures trading
- P2P marketplace
- KuCoin Earn
- KuCoin Cloud Mining
- Crypto Lending
- Staking
- and much more.
What’s more, this exchange is constantly evolving to provide its users with better and better experiences, opportunities and prospects. This means that every month brings new features and special promotions. Therefore, if you do not have an account on KuCoin yet, do not hesitate. Create one today by clicking this link and enjoy the amazing opportunities offered by the platform.
Ok. Now that you have a general idea of what KuCoin is, let’s move on to the main topic of this article, KuCoin Futures!
What is KuCoin Futures?
KuCoin Futures is a derivatives intrument trading platform created by the KuCoin team. Specifically, it allows you to trade futures, which are contracts that involve one party deciding to buy and the other party deciding to sell a certain amount of assets at a specific time in the future.
KuCoin Futures can be traded in either direction. The trader has the option to take both short and long positions, so they can make money even when the market is falling. What’s more, it is possible to apply leverage to the position and thus increase the potential earnings (or losses).
On KuCoin Futures, the maximum leverage is as high as x100, which undoubtedly puts the exchange above the competition. Traders can open different types of contracts:
- USDT-Margined,
- Coin-Margined, and
- Quarterly Delivery contracts.
Delivery vs Perpetual contracts
KuCoin allows you to trade Delivery and Perpetual contracts. The first type is, as we mentioned earlier, a contract in which both parties agree to trade a specific number of assets, at a specific date in the future. Perpetual contracts, on the other hand, have no expiration date.
USDT-Margin vs. Coin-Margin Contracts
Apart from this, there are also two types of contracts depending on the settlement asset – USDT-Margin and Coin-Margin.
In the first case, Tether’s stablecoin, or USDT, is used during trading and settlement.
In the case of Coin-Margin contracts, the trader must use another cryptocurrency, such as BTC or ETH, as collateral.
Lite Version vs Futures Brawl
As we mentioned in the introduction, KuCoin is an exchange that describes itself as “The People’s Exchange”. Generally, KuCoin offers two versions of futures trading. The first one is the Lite Version, and the second one is the so-called Futures Brawl.
Lite offers a very intuitive interface, while Futures Brawl is an entertaining version where users can compete against each. Both allow novice traders to easily learn the functioning and capabilities of cryptocurrency futures.
KuCoin Futures – What are its advantages and why should you use it?
The KuCoin Futures platform has many advantages, so that it is impossible to list them all. Nevertheless, the most important ones are:
- Simplicity – KuCoin Futures is a product that is packaged in a very simple interface. Moreover, it is divided into two versions: Lite and Professional. This means that any type of trader using it will feel very comfortable. In case of problems, KuCoin has also developed its own academy where it presents thorough step-by-step tutorials.
- Leverage – KuCoin Futures allows for leverage as high as x 100, allowing traders to maximize profits. Moreover, trading is possible from as low as $1. However, it is worth remembering that leverage carries a huge risk of serious losses, so only experienced traders should use it.
- For everyone – As we have already mentioned several times KuCoin Futures is a platform created for all types of investors. Both complete novices and professional traders will find their way there. All this thanks to more than 100 different contracts and dedicated advanced features.
- Safety – KuCoin is an extremely safe exchange with an established reputation. After all, it’s not without reason that it ranks fifth in the biggest rankings of cryptocurrency exchanges. It also has an interesting feature that prevents accidental liquidations. It uses a unique indexing algorithm that determines the market price based on spot markets on the six largest trading platforms.
How to trade more efficiently on KuCoin Futures?
In this section we have prepared for you some valuable tips that will allow you to trade KuCoin Futures more efficiently. This means that by following them you will be able to achieve not only higher profits, but also reduce your risk and thus losses.
- Remember that leverage not only increases potential profits, but also losses. Especially in the cryptocurrency market, which is characterized by huge volatility. So you should be careful and start investing with small amounts. Going “all in” may result in a complete wipeout of your portfolio.
- KuCoin Futures offers leverage up to x100. However, this is not a recommended option for beginners. Using such a high leverage, even in the case of really small price movements, you might liquidate and thus generate losses. Therefore, if you are a beginner start with a small leverage, such as x3.
- KuCoin Futures allows you to take advantage of the so-called stop-loss. However, many beginner traders overlook this option. In general, a stop loss allows you to automatically close a position when it reaches a certain loss level. This is a great way to not only avoid liquidation, but also to manage risk.
- If you are a beginner, you should try your skills firts in Futures Brawl. This is a game where users compete against each. This will definitely improve your trading skills and limit your losses when entering the real market.
How to trade KuCoin Futures – Step by step guide
Ok. Now that you know what KuCoin Futures is, let’s move on to the essentials. In this part of this article we will explain step by step how to use the platform. What’s more, we will illustrate this guide with pictures so that even the biggest novice can handle the process. So here we go!
How to top up your KuCoin Futures account?
Step 1: Log in to your KuCoin account. If you don’t have one yet, you can create it by clicking this link and following the on-screen instructions.
Step 2: Hover your mouse over “Derivatives” at the top of the page, and then click “Futures Classic”. Alternatively you can go straight to the appropriate place by clicking on this link.
Step 3: Now you need to confirm that you agree with the terms of use. So click “Enable Futures Trading.”
Step 4: Now that you have agreed with the rules and want to start trading on KuCoin Futures, you must first top up your Futures wallet. To do this, hover your mouse over the wallet icon in the upper right corner and click on
If you want to top up your Futures account with cryptocurrencies that are already in your wallet, such as spot, click “Transfer”.
How to trade in KuCoin Futures?
Trading cryptocurrency futures using the KuCoin exchange is an extremely intuitive process. All you need to do is follow the few steps below.
Step 1: Log in to your KuCoin account. If you don’t already have one, you can create one by clicking this link. Next, go to KuCoin Futures, click on “Trade” and select the contract that suits you.
Step 2: Now it is time to open the contract. To do this, choose the type of order, its size and the appropriate leverage (remember not to overdo it).
Currently KuCoin offers 3 types of orders when trading futures:
- Limit – With this order you can buy/sell a contract at a predetermined price. To place a limit order you must enter the price and quantity and then click the “Buy/Long” or “Sell/Short” button
- Market – A market order executes a trade at the best possible market price.
- Stop – A stop order is executed when the price reaches a predefined level.
Step 3: Choose your leverage. However, remember not to go overboard. Leverage is a useful tool that can increase your profits. However, used in an inappropriate way it can also lead to disaster (read: wipeoiut your balance).
- Post Only
- Hidden
- Time in Force rules, such as GTC, IOC, etc.
Step 4: Once you have adjusted your order and chosen your leverage, you can open a long position by clicking “Buy/Long”, or a short position by clicking “Sell/Short”. In the case of a long position you will make money when the price goes up. In the case of a short position, you will make money when the price goes down.
How to check open positions on KuCoin Futures?
After you open a position, you can control it in the “Positions” window (as in the image below).
Here’s the terminology you’ll need to familiarize yourself with to get an idea of what’s going on with your contract:
- Quantity: The number of contracts in the order;
- Entry Price: The average entry price of the position
- Liquidation Price: The price at which your position will be liquidated
- Unrealised PNL: Unrealised profit or loss on your current positions.
- Realised PNL: Realised profit or loss on current positions. It also includes all fees.
- Margin: The minimum amount of money you must have in order for your position not to be liquidated.
- Auto-Deposit Margin: If you enable this option, your margin will be recharged automatically in case of a margin call.
- Take Profit/Stop Loss: Features that will allow you to automatically realize profits at a certain level or close your position when the price starts to fall to a certain threshold.
You can learn more about the various KuCoin Futures features on the official KuCoin website by following this link.
So now let’s see how to close the open position and realize a profit (we wish you that). The way you do this depends on the type of position you have.
In the case of a Market position you simply select the percentage of the position you wish to close and click “Confirm”.
In the case of Limit positions, you must choose both which fraction of the position you wish to close and at what price.
Summary
KuCoin Futures is one of the best futures trading platforms globally. Apart from the simple interface, you also get a lot of features that you won’t find with competitors. So don’t wait. Open your KuCoin account today, it’s so easy! Just click here and follow the instructions!