What is a "time-based" futures contract?

A time-based futures contract is a type of contract with a specific expiry date. This date determines when the contract position will be closed. 

Contract Periods
1. Quarterly Contracts:

• Definition: These contracts span from the day before the last Friday of the final month of the previous quarter, and cease to exist upon the last Friday of the current quarter.
  Note: The start day may differ in some unexpected situations.

• Example: The ETH contract period for Q1 2024 would exist from 28/12/2023 to 29/03/2024, and be designated as ETH-240329.

2. Double Quarter Contracts:

• Frequency: These will be launched once every 3 months. (at the end of March, June, September, December.)

• First Cycle: Begins the day before the last Friday of the previous year’s December, ending on the last Friday of June in the current year.

• Second Cycle: Starts the day before the last Friday of March in the current year, ending on the last Friday of September.

• Third Cycle: Starts the day before the last Friday of June in the current year, ending on the last Friday of December.

• Fourth Cycle: Starts the day before the last Friday of September in the current year, ending on the last Friday of March next year.

• Example: The first double quarterly contract for 2024 would span from 28/12/2023 to 28/06/2024.

• Note: The start day may differ in some unexpected situations.
  

Expiration Settlement Process

• At the expiration time (08:00 UTC on the expiration date), the system will utilize the Moving Average Price to close your position and determine your profit or loss.

• Moving Average Price is calculated as the average of the Spot Index Price, collected every second during the last hour before expiration, amounting to 3600 data points.

Expiration Settlement Profit & Loss (P&L) Calculation

• For Long Positions: P&L = (Moving Average Price - Position Entry Price) x Contract Multiplier x Contract Size.

• For Short Positions: P&L = (Position Entry Price - Moving Average Price) x Contract Multiplier x Contract Size.

• Note: If you exit the market before expiration, the P&L is calculated based on the entry price and the closing price of your position.
  

Q: Can I set up my time-based contracts to auto-renew?

A: No, time-based contracts cannot be automatically renewed. You need to manually buy or sell contracts for the next quarter when they list.

Contract Specifications

For more detailed information on contract specifications, please visit: BTSE Futures Trading Rules.