In the midst of global central banks maintaining expansive monetary policies and the ongoing Bitcoin bull run, investor enthusiasm has reached new highs. Amid this surge, derivatives trading—particularly futures and perpetual contracts—has seen explosive growth, becoming a go-to strategy for crypto traders worldwide.
While trading volume across the board is rising, data shows a clear concentration of activity within top-tier exchanges. According to TokenInsight, in 2020, the global spot market volume was 1.71 times that of derivatives. However, among the top three exchanges by volume, Huobi stood out with a spot-to-derivatives ratio of just 0.24, meaning its derivatives trading volume far exceeded spot activity—surpassing even Binance and OKEx in this metric.
This shift highlights a growing trend: the dominance of derivatives on leading platforms. As Henry, a cryptocurrency market analyst, notes, “2021 marked one of the most aggressive years for contract trading. With more investors flocking to high-performing platforms, the ‘winner-takes-all’ effect intensified.”
Huobi Derivatives, though not the first to enter the space, has rapidly evolved into a market leader through strategic innovation, robust risk management, and user-centric design.
Rapid Growth and Market Leadership
Launched on December 10, 2018, with its coin-margined delivery contracts, Huobi officially entered the derivatives arena. Since then, it has consistently outpaced competitors in key milestones.
- In August 2019, just eight months after launch, Huobi’s delivery contracts ranked #1 globally in both trading volume and order book depth.
- On March 27, 2020, Huobi introduced inverse perpetual contracts. Within 45 days, its 24-hour trading volume hit $4.03 billion—surpassing BitMEX’s $3.58 billion.
- On October 26, 2020, Huobi launched USDT-margined perpetual contracts, which quickly gained traction. Within two months, daily trading volume exceeded $10 billion, overtaking OKEx to become the market leader.
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By adopting a phased rollout strategy—launching products incrementally and optimizing each before expanding—Huobi effectively captured evolving trader demands.
In 2020 alone, Huobi recorded a total trading volume of $28.4 trillion, with:
- $601.8 billion in spot,
- $22.4 trillion in futures,
- $1.23 billion in options.
Today, Huobi Derivatives offers a comprehensive suite: USDT-margined perpetuals, coin-margined perpetuals, delivery contracts, and options, covering over 80 assets including BTC, ETH, UNI, MANA, and other DeFi and NFT tokens. It supports both cross-margin and isolated margin modes, with real-time settlement on 40+ pairs and leverage up to 125x.
TokenInsight reports confirm Huobi’s dominance: among the top three exchanges (Binance, Huobi, OKEx), Huobi has the highest derivatives-to-spot ratio at 0.24, indicating a strong institutional and professional trader base.
Superior Trading Performance and Liquidity
Traders often cite low fees as Huobi’s main appeal—but the platform's true strength lies in deep liquidity and tight spreads.
Alice, a seasoned crypto trader and Huobi VIP user, observes: “For large traders using BTC quarterly or next-quarter contracts, Huobi consistently shows better order book depth within 0.1%–0.3% of the mid-price compared to other top platforms. For retail traders, USDT-margined perpetuals also offer superior liquidity.”
Tighter bid-ask spreads mean lower slippage during entry and exit—critical during volatile market swings.
Henry explains: “Smaller spreads allow traders to open and close positions with minimal cost. On some secondary platforms, I’ve seen bid-ask gaps jump by hundreds—even thousands—of dollars during high volatility.”
Data from CoinGecko (as of March 25) places Huobi in the top tier for both 24-hour trading volume and open interest. In fact, Huobi U-margined perpetuals achieved:
- A single-month trading volume share increase from 11.12% to 13.82% (Nov–Dec 2020),
- Second place in 7-day and 30-day cumulative volume for BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT contracts.
This growing liquidity reflects strong network effects: more users attract more traders, reinforcing depth and stability.
Advanced Risk Management and Security
Security is paramount in derivatives trading—and Huobi has built a reputation for resilience.
Since its founding, Huobi has reported no major security breaches, according to co-founder Du Jun. “User asset security is our top priority—above everything else,” he emphasized.
One standout feature is Huobi’s zero clawback policy. Unlike many platforms where losing traders must absorb losses from liquidated positions (known as “auto-deleveraging” or “ADL”), Huobi has maintained a zero clawback record across all contract types.
To further protect users, Huobi employs:
- Risk reserve funds
- Zero-clawback margin buffers
- Huobi Security Contingency Fund
Additionally, Huobi introduced several industry-leading protections:
- Low maintenance margin rates
- Tiered liquidation without fees
- Lock-position margin optimization
- Daily settlement for delivery contracts
- Dual-mode margin (cross + isolated) for USDT perpetuals
In February 2021, Huobi upgraded its risk engine by introducing mark price-based liquidation for both USDT and coin-margined perpetuals.
The system now requires both the latest price and mark price to indicate negative collateral rates before triggering liquidation—effectively preventing flash crashes or spoofing from causing unfair forced exits.
This innovation significantly reduces the risk of cascading liquidations during extreme volatility.
Global Expansion and User-Centric Features
Originally focused on East and Southeast Asia, Huobi has expanded into Europe and North America—and recently entered Turkey, signaling broader global ambitions.
Tom, COO of Huobi Derivatives, revealed: “We now serve users worldwide with localized teams on the ground. During this active trading phase, we’re actively expanding into emerging markets.”
To attract experienced traders from rival platforms, Huobi launched:
- “Your VIP Status = Our VIP+1”: Migrate your VIP level from another exchange for an upgraded tier.
- Deposit-to-VIP program: Deposit assets worth $100K+ USD to unlock VIP benefits.
- Permanent rebate program: Up to 60% commission返还, with even higher incentives for market makers.
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These initiatives lower entry barriers and enhance retention—key advantages in a competitive landscape.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What makes Huobi Derivatives different from other platforms?
A: Huobi combines deep liquidity, advanced risk controls (like zero clawback and mark price protection), and a full range of derivative products—including USDT-margined perpetuals with up to 125x leverage.
Q: Is Huobi safe for large-scale trading?
A: Yes. With no history of security breaches and robust systems like risk reserve funds and dual-price liquidation checks, Huobi is trusted by institutional and retail traders alike.
Q: Does Huobi offer high leverage?
A: Yes. Traders can access up to 125x leverage on major pairs like BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT under isolated margin mode.
Q: Can I transfer my VIP status from another exchange?
A: Yes. Huobi’s “Your VIP = Our VIP+1” policy allows qualifying users to upgrade their tier upon migration.
Q: What assets are supported on Huobi Derivatives?
A: Over 80 assets including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), DeFi tokens (e.g., UNI), NFT-related coins (e.g., MANA), and more.
Q: How does mark price prevent unfair liquidations?
A: It acts as a smoothed reference price to avoid sudden spikes or drops in the last traded price from triggering liquidations—protecting traders during flash crashes.
With traditional financial institutions increasingly embracing digital assets, the era of mainstream crypto adoption is accelerating. Huobi Derivatives continues to lead by prioritizing user needs, security, and innovation—making it a preferred choice during volatile market cycles.
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