The world of digital asset derivatives has evolved rapidly since its inception, offering traders powerful tools to hedge risk, leverage positions, and speculate on price movements. While still in relative infancy compared to traditional financial markets, crypto derivatives now account for trading volumes that often surpass spot markets by a factor of 3 to 4. Among the various types of crypto derivatives—such as perpetual swaps, options, and margin trading—delivery futures contracts remain the dominant force.
This analysis focuses on two major players in the delivery futures space: OKEx and Huobi Derivatives Market (Huobi DM). Despite launching later than OKEx, Huobi DM has seen explosive growth and has introduced several innovative features that position it as a serious contender for the title of "contract king."
Why Delivery Futures Dominate the Crypto Derivatives Landscape
Crypto derivatives cater to diverse investor needs, from hedging portfolio exposure to executing sophisticated trading strategies. The main categories include:
- Futures contracts (with fixed expiry and settlement)
- Perpetual contracts (no expiry, funded via periodic payments)
- Options
- Spot margin trading
Among these, delivery futures are currently the most widely adopted. Unlike perpetuals, which auto-renew, delivery futures require settlement at a predetermined date—either in cash or the underlying asset. This structure appeals to institutional investors and those seeking predictable exit points.
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Perpetual contracts are gaining traction due to their convenience, especially among retail traders. However, delivery futures maintain dominance due to their transparency, alignment with traditional finance models, and use in structured investment products.
Key Players in the Delivery Futures Arena
While global institutions like CME Group offer Bitcoin futures with regulated oversight, most trading volume occurs on specialized crypto-native exchanges. The two primary contenders analyzed here are:
- OKEx (now OKX): One of the earliest and largest derivatives exchanges.
- Huobi Derivatives Market: Launched later but grew aggressively through product innovation and competitive pricing.
Both platforms support multiple cryptocurrencies—including BTC, ETH, EOS, LTC, XRP, BCH, and others—and offer weekly, bi-weekly, and quarterly contracts.
Product Design Comparison: Features That Matter
Leverage & Contract Types
| Feature | Huobi DM | OKEx |
|---|---|---|
| Max Leverage | Up to 20x | Up to 100x |
| Contract Types | Weekly, Bi-weekly, Quarterly | Weekly, Bi-weekly, Quarterly |
| Supported Assets | 8+ major tokens | 9+ including ETC |
While OKEx offers higher maximum leverage (up to 100x), Huobi caps at 20x—potentially reducing systemic risk during high volatility.
Price Limits & Risk Controls
Huobi employs a dynamic base-difference price limit mechanism, adjusting limits based on market conditions in the first 10 minutes after contract launch. These rules vary by asset and maturity, making them stricter than OKEx’s uniform ±5% initial cap.
OKEx uses a more flexible model tied to recent premium averages but allows wider swings (up to ±25%) under extreme conditions.
Trading Fees: Cost Efficiency for Traders
For regular users:
- Huobi: 0.02% maker fee, 0.03% taker fee
- OKEx: 0.02% maker, 0.05% taker
Huobi’s lower taker fees give it an edge for active traders. However, OKEx offers fee discounts via OKB holdings—its native token. Holding 2,000 OKB reduces maker/taker fees to 0.015% and 0.03%, matching Huobi’s rates.
VIP users on Huobi enjoy even steeper discounts, with some tiers charging zero maker fees and sub-0.02% taker rates—outperforming OKEx’s VIP structure.
Trading Volume: Who's Winning the Race?
Huobi DM launched in early 2019 and quickly gained momentum. From January to July 2019 alone, its monthly trading volume surged from $79 million to $8.88 billion—an impressive 49.6% monthly compound growth rate.
By August 2019, Huobi surpassed OKEx in delivery futures volume:
- Huobi: $7.07 billion (August volume)
- OKEx: $6.64 billion
This shift marks a significant milestone, indicating growing trader preference for Huobi’s platform—driven by improved liquidity and user experience.
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Open Interest and Market Depth
Despite leading in volume, OKEx maintains a larger open interest, particularly in Bitcoin contracts. As of mid-2019:
- OKEx BTC contracts (delivery + perpetual): ~786,500 contracts daily average
- Huobi BTC delivery only: ~357,300 contracts
Adjusting for perpetual dominance at OKEx (~15–20% of total), Huobi’s delivery position represents about 50–55% of OKEx’s delivery-only equivalent.
However, Huobi is closing the gap in market depth:
- In July 2019, Huobi’s BTC quarterly contract had $1.915M within 0.5% spread
- Monthly growth in depth: 38.14% (0.5%), 16.29% (1%)
On August 2, 2019, Huobi exceeded OKEx in order book depth across seven assets within a 0.1% spread—signaling superior liquidity for large trades.
Risk Management: Avoiding Liquidations and Losses
Understanding Liquidation Mechanics
A key concern in leveraged trading is forced liquidation—when losses erode margin below a threshold. Both exchanges use mechanisms to preempt this:
- Huobi: Uses a tiered adjustment coefficient
- OKEx: Applies a graded maintenance margin rate
These systems effectively raise the required margin as position size increases—protecting against cascading liquidations during volatility.
When Does Each Platform Protect You Better?
For large positions, Huobi often provides better protection:
On BTC contracts with 20x leverage:
- Below 10,000 contracts: OKEx delays liquidation longer
- Above 10,000 contracts: Huobi allows lower maintenance margin → later liquidation
- For ETH and EOS: Huobi gains advantage above 50,000 contracts
- For LTC and BCH: OKEx maintains stronger risk parameters
In short: small traders benefit slightly from OKEx; large-scale traders may prefer Huobi.
Historical Performance: Zero Losses vs. Shared Pain
One of the most telling metrics is loss sharing due to insolvency (auto-deleveraging).
- Huobi DM: Zero instances of loss sharing since launch
OKEx: Multiple events:
- BTC: 18 historical occurrences
- ETC (Nov 23, 2018): Massive $210K ETC loss with 50.6% user impact
- ETH (2019): Two events totaling ~6,294 ETH shared among winners
This stark difference highlights Huobi’s robust risk engine and conservative design—critical for trader trust.
Advanced Features Enhancing User Experience
Huobi stands out with two innovative tools:
1. Lightning Close
Allows instant closure at any price within the top 30 bid/ask levels—preventing slippage during flash crashes or rallies.
2. Plan Orders (Conditional Triggers)
Enables pre-set stop-loss and take-profit orders based on market triggers—essential for disciplined trading without constant monitoring.
These features improve execution reliability and reduce emotional decision-making.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: What is a delivery futures contract?
A delivery futures contract obligates the buyer or seller to settle the position in cryptocurrency upon expiry. Unlike perpetuals, it has a fixed maturity date and does not involve funding fees.
Q2: Which exchange has lower trading fees?
For non-VIP users holding no native tokens, Huobi generally offers lower taker fees (0.03%) compared to OKEx (0.05%). With OKB holdings or VIP status, OKEx can match or slightly undercut Huobi depending on volume.
Q3: Is higher leverage always better?
Not necessarily. While OKEx supports up to 100x leverage, such high levels increase liquidation risk dramatically during volatile markets. Conservative leverage (e.g., 5x–20x) improves survival rates and long-term profitability.
Q4: How do exchanges prevent cascading liquidations?
They use mechanisms like maintenance margin tiers, risk buffers, and insurance funds. If a trader’s position becomes insolvent after liquidation ("underwater"), the loss is covered either by the exchange’s fund or shared among profitable traders—though Huobi has avoided this entirely so far.
Q5: Why does market depth matter?
Greater depth means larger orders can be filled with minimal slippage. For institutional traders or those managing big positions, deep order books reduce transaction costs and improve execution certainty.
Q6: Can I trust zero-loss-sharing claims?
Huobi’s zero auto-deleveraging record since launch suggests strong risk modeling and conservative liquidation logic. However, no system is immune to black swan events—always manage position size accordingly.
Final Verdict: Who Is the Contract King?
While both platforms excel in different areas:
- OKEx leads in product variety, maximum leverage, and overall open interest.
- Huobi DM wins in transaction cost efficiency for average users, advanced order types, superior market depth growth, and unmatched risk control—with zero historical loss-sharing events.
For traders prioritizing safety and execution quality over extreme leverage, Huobi emerges as a strong leader—especially for large-volume or high-frequency strategies.
Yet innovation continues across the board. As the crypto derivatives market matures, expect tighter competition, smarter algorithms, and greater institutional participation—all pushing platforms toward safer, more transparent ecosystems.
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Core Keywords: crypto derivatives, delivery futures, futures trading, leverage trading, risk management, market depth, liquidation protection, trading fees