Before trading any futures contract, you should understand its exact specifications: what the contract multiplier is, how leverage limits are set, what margin requirements apply, and which currencies you can settle into. Misunderstanding any of these — even a contract multiplier — can produce significantly different results than you planned.
This article covers the key specifications for LMEX’s primary futures markets: BTC, ETH, LTC, and XRP. Contract specifications are subject to change; always verify the current version at the official contract specs page and at lmex.io/en/futures.
Settlement Currencies
Before the per-contract tables, it is worth establishing the settlement currencies that apply across all LMEX futures contracts. These have expanded significantly from the original listing and now include:
Crypto: USD, USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP
Fiat: AED, AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, INR, JPY, MYR, NZD, SGD
Settlement currency availability is confirmed directly from the live LMEX futures API. Specific contracts may carry a slightly different subset; the availableSettlement field in the market summary endpoint always reflects the current list for each contract.
BTC Futures
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Contract Periods | Perpetual, Quarterly |
| Perpetual Symbol | BTC-PERP |
| Currency Pair | BTC-USD (Perpetual) / BTC-USDT (Quarterly) |
| Contract Multiplier | 0.00001 BTC (Quarterly) / 0.001 BTC (Perpetual) |
| Max Leverage | 100x |
| Initial Margin | 1.00% |
| Maintenance Margin | 0.50% |
| Min Order Size | 1 contract |
| Max Order Size (Perpetual) | 500,000 contracts |
| Max Order Size (Quarterly) | 100,000 contracts |
| Max Position Size (Perpetual) | 1,000,000 contracts |
| Max Position Size (Quarterly) | 40,000,000 contracts |
| Tick Size | $0.10 |
| Default Maker Fee | 0.010% |
| Default Taker Fee | 0.060% |
| Funding Interval | Every 8 hours (perpetual only) |
| Index Feeds | Woo, Gate.io, Binance, OKX, Bybit |
| API Support | REST, FIX, WebSocket |
| Trading Hours | 24/7/365 (excluding maintenance) |
Quarterly contracts are time-based and expire at 08:00 UTC on the last Friday of the relevant quarter. The live market shows current quarterly contracts active under symbols such as BTC-260327 and BTC-260626, reflecting their expiry date.
ETH Futures
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Contract Periods | Perpetual, Quarterly |
| Perpetual Symbol | ETH-PERP |
| Currency Pair | ETH-USD (Perpetual) / ETH-USDT (Quarterly) |
| Contract Multiplier | 0.01 ETH (Perpetual) / 0.0001 ETH (Quarterly) |
| Max Leverage | 100x |
| Initial Margin | 1.00% |
| Maintenance Margin | 0.50% |
| Min Order Size | 1 contract |
| Max Order Size (Perpetual) | 100,000 contracts |
| Max Order Size (Quarterly) | 100,000 contracts |
| Max Position Size (Perpetual) | 500,000 contracts |
| Max Position Size (Quarterly) | 40,000,000 contracts |
| Tick Size | $0.01 |
| Default Maker Fee | 0.010% |
| Default Taker Fee | 0.060% |
| Funding Interval | Every 8 hours (perpetual only) |
| Index Feeds | Woo, Gate.io, Binance, OKX, Bybit |
| API Support | REST, FIX, WebSocket |
An active quarterly ETH contract (ETH-260626) is confirmed in the live market data.
LTC Futures
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Contract Periods | Perpetual, Quarterly |
| Perpetual Symbol | LTC-PERP |
| Currency Pair | LTC-USD |
| Contract Multiplier | 0.01 LTC |
| Max Leverage | 50x |
| Initial Margin | 2.00% |
| Maintenance Margin | 1.50% |
| Min Order Size | 1 contract |
| Max Order Size | 1,000,000 contracts |
| Max Position Size | 5,000,000 contracts |
| Tick Size | $0.01 |
| Default Maker Fee | 0.010% |
| Default Taker Fee | 0.060% |
| Funding Interval | Every 8 hours (perpetual only) |
| Index Feeds | Woo, Gate.io, Binance, OKX, Bybit |
| API Support | REST, FIX, WebSocket |
LTC carries higher initial and maintenance margin requirements than BTC and ETH — 2% and 1.5% respectively — reflecting its lower market liquidity relative to the two largest assets. Maximum leverage is capped at 50x for the same reason.
XRP Futures
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Contract Periods | Monthly |
| Currency Pair | XRP-USD |
| Contract Multiplier | 1 XRP |
| Max Leverage | 50x |
| Initial Margin | 2.00% |
| Maintenance Margin | 1.50% |
| Min Order Size | 1 contract |
| Max Order Size | 1,000,000 contracts |
| Max Position Size | 5,000,000 contracts |
| Tick Size | $0.00001 |
| Default Maker Fee | 0.010% |
| Default Taker Fee | 0.060% |
| Index Feeds | Woo, Gate.io, Binance, OKX, Bybit |
| API Support | REST, FIX, WebSocket |
XRP contracts differ from the others in one significant respect: they are currently Monthly only — no perpetual contract. Each contract represents 1 XRP, and the tick size is $0.00001, reflecting XRP’s sub-dollar price range.
Mark Price Formula
Across all contracts, LMEX uses the same mark price formula for perpetuals:
Perpetual Mark Price = (Spot Liquidity Mid Price × 75%) + (LMEX Impact Mid Price × 25%)
For time-based (quarterly/monthly) contracts:
Time-Based Mark Price = (Time-Based Futures Index Price × 75%) + (Liquidity Mid Price of LMEX Time-Based Futures Market × 25%)
Mark price — not market price — is used for all unrealised PnL calculations and all liquidation triggers. A full explanation is in the mark price guide.
Margin Assets
All the above contracts accept the same broad range of margin assets, spanning major fiat currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, HKD, SGD, MYR, JPY, AUD, AED, CAD, CHF) and cryptocurrencies (USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, XRP, and others). The full current collateral list and haircut schedule is at lmex.io/en/trading-rules/collateral.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the notional value of one BTC perpetual contract? At a BTC price of $84,000, one BTC-PERP contract (0.001 BTC per contract) has a notional value of $84. A position of 10,000 contracts would be $840,000 notional.
Why do max order sizes differ across contracts? Order and position limits reflect the liquidity depth of each market. BTC has the deepest liquidity globally and supports the largest absolute limits. Less liquid contracts carry tighter limits to prevent large forced liquidations from becoming disruptive market events.
Are contract specs ever updated? Yes. LMEX has updated contract specifications, settlement currency lists, and margin requirements since launch — notably the expansion of settlement currencies to include SOL, XRP, and a broader fiat list. Always verify against the official documentation before making trading decisions based on specific figures.
Does LMEX offer options or other derivatives beyond futures? Based on current documentation and the live API, LMEX offers spot trading, perpetual futures, and quarterly/monthly time-based futures. The OTC desk handles large block trades. Options are not referenced in current available documentation.
How do I view all currently active futures markets? The live market summary is available at https://api.lmex.io/futures/api/v2.3/market_summary and on the exchange at lmex.io/en/futures.
