Best Crypto Futures Trading Platforms Compared: Fees, Features & Leverage

Finding the best crypto futures trading platform is as essential as having the right strategy, execution, and risk management approach. But with so many exchanges on the market, it can be tricky to pick the right one for you.

The good news is that we’ve been testing and reviewing crypto trading platforms, so you don’t have to try them all out yourself. We’ve researched, reviewed, and ranked the top nine platforms based on criteria such as leverage, risk management tools, trading pairs offered, fees charged, and overall security.

Learn why platforms like MEXC, Binance, and OKX dominate the industry. You’ll also discover six other top platforms and how each adds value to your trading approach.

What is Crypto Futures Trading?

Crypto futures are a type of derivative contract that lets you trade in cryptocurrencies without actually owning the asset.

Let’s say you want to trade Bitcoin, which currently costs around $105K per token. You may not have the money to actually buy and hold even one $BTC.

With a $BTC futures contract, however, you don’t need to invest thousands of dollars to benefit from $BTC’s price movements. Instead, you can place small bets on whether the price will go up or down.

Futures let traders earn from both bull and bear markets, but they come with liquidation risk if the market moves too far against your position. Finally, be aware that the minimum lot size required to buy an asset’s futures and the leverage available vary from platform to platform.

How Does Crypto Futures Trading Work?

Imagine a scenario where you and your friend have opposing views regarding Bitcoin. You think the asset will reach $110K by the end of the month, while your friend thinks it will drop to $92K.

You both enter a bet of $10. If the asset goes up, you win, and your friend pays you $10. If the price goes down, you lose $10. Neither you nor your friend owned $BTC, but you still won (or lost) the bet.

That’s precisely how crypto futures trading works, with a few more moving parts like leverage, margin, collateral, and liquidation. Let’s discuss each in more detail.

Leverage

Leverage is borrowing money to control a larger position for a fraction of the cost. Here’s an example to help you understand this better.

Let’s say you want to open a $10K position on Bitcoin. Does this mean you need to have $10K in your trading account? Absolutely not. With leverage, you can open this position with just a fraction of the money.

However, as you increase your leverage, your risk also increases.

In the current example, you’re using 10x leverage, so a 1% price movement in Bitcoin will equal 10% movement on your invested amount. In other words, if Bitcoin drops by 1%, you lose 10% of your $1K, which is $100.

Margins and Liquidation

There are two kinds of margin when trading crypto futures: initial margin and maintenance margin.

In our example, you’ve deposited $1K for the current trade. As such, if Bitcoin drops by 10%, your entire investment is wiped out, and the exchange will automatically close your trade because you do not have any money left in your account. This is called liquidation.

However, in practical terms, your trade will be liquidated before it reaches the 10% loss limit because it has to also cover the exchange fees and platform costs – that’s the maintenance margin.

Let’s say the maintenance margin is 1% of your $10K position size. You’ll need a minimum of $100 (1% of $10K) in your account to keep the trade alive. As such, your trade will be automatically closed if you lose $900 of your initial margin.

Long vs Short Position

There are two kinds of trades you can enter into while trading crypto futures: long and short. A long position indicates that you are bullish on the asset and expect the price to go up. Conversely, a short trade is when you expect the price to go down.

This is why futures trading isn’t for beginners looking to make some quick bucks. It’s best to do your own research and trade as per your risk appetite and trading goals.

Reviewed & Analyzed – Best Crypto Futures Trading Platforms in 2025

Let’s now jump into detailed reviews of our list of top crypto futures trading platforms. We’ll discuss each platform’s best features, leverage, and trading fees.

1. MEXC – Best Crypto Exchange with 1,000+ Futures Trading Pairs and 0% Maker Fees

With more than 1,000 futures trading pairs and a $1.79B monthly inflow, MEXC is one of the top three centralized futures exchanges.

MEXC also offers the highest leverage: up to 500x on $BTC and $ETH, and up to 300x on $SOL and $XRP. Leverage on other pairs can go up to 100x, depending on the token.

The exchange charges a 0% maker fee on future trading pairs and a low taker fee of just 0.020%. Plus, you can trade as many as 120 futures pairs without any maker or taker fee, including $SOL/$USDT, $POPCAT/$USDT, $TAO/$USDT, $LINK/$USDT, and $NEAR/$USDT.

We also like that the platform offers both COIN-Margined Futures and $USDT-Margined Futures to cater to different investor needs. This is how they work:

COIN-Margined Futures (COIN-M): These futures are settled in the underlying cryptocurrency (say $BTC or $ETH), which means you’ll need to fund the initial margin in the cryptocurrency itself. This means you don’t need to hold stablecoins like $USDT as collateral.

COIN-M Futures are ideal for long-term holders and cryptocurrency miners who want to increase their token stash through active trading.

$USDT-Margined Futures ($USDT-M): These instruments are settled in $USDT, which lets you estimate your earnings in flat fiat currency easily. Here, you’ll need to hold stablecoins as collateral. This is ideal for short-term traders who want to benefit from a crypto’s price movement without actually holding the asset.

Additionally, you’ll find many trading challenges taking place on MEXC. For instance, there’s an active futures leaderboard where the top 200 traders in daily PNL (profit and loss) share a prize pool of 20,000 $USDT. There’s also a monthly prize pool of 100,000 $USDT.

Regarding security, MEXC uses multi-signature cold wallets, real-time risk alerts, and 2FA for account security. It also conducts regular security audits to ensure everything is legit.

VISIT MEXC TODAY

2. Binance – The World’s Leading Crypto Exchange, with a Useful Portfolio Margin Mode

With total assets worth over $140B, Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and the most popular. The platform offers USDT-M and Coin-M futures, $USDT and $USDC perpetual contracts, and $USDT delivery contracts.

The leverage on Binance’s future trading depends on your position size and instrument. For instance, if your position is within a notional value of 50,000 $USDT, you can get a leverage of 125x with a maintenance margin of 0.40%. The higher your position size, the lower the leverage will be.

Binance offers a Portfolio Margin Mode, also known as multi-currency margin mode, where experienced traders can use multiple supported assets as collateral.

This boosts the overall flexibility of their trading strategies and unifies margin calculations, making it easier to monitor and adjust their positions according to market conditions.

We also liked that, besides the usual market and limit orders, you can place scaled orders on Binance, which lets you split an amount into multiple suborders to minimize market impact. This can come in handy when you’re dealing with large sums.

Beginners will be pleased to find copy trading and mock trading on Binance, as well as several trading bots. There’s also a dedicated Futures Masters Arena, where you can compete with other traders to win from a prize pool of 200,000 $USDT, including daily airdrops.

Finally, Binance uses advanced security measures like multisignature and threshold signature schemes, cold wallet storage, 2FA, and device/IP whitelisting to protect your funds and data.

VISIT BINANCE TODAY

3. OKX – Crypto Futures Exchange with Its Own Bot Marketplace and Native Token

Formed in 2017, OKX ranks third on the list of the top cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges. Its products include perpetual swaps, options, and futures.

You can choose between perpetual futures with no expiry dates and classic expiry futures. Moreover, you can pick between crypto-specific or $UDST-margined instruments, offering flexibility in fund management.

It’s also very cheap to trade: the maker fee is only 0.02% and the taker fee is only 0.05%. And you can get a leverage of up to 100x on your trades.

The best thing about OKX is its trading bot marketplace, where you can buy bots that automate different trading strategies. For instance, there’s a futures grid trading bot for long, short, and neutral market views.

Other bots include futures DCA (dollar-cost averaging), recurring buy, TWAP (trade with time-weighted average price), and arbitrage.

The exchange also offers copy trading, where you can automatically mimic trades from profitable traders in exchange for 8-13% of your profit share.

You can earn free $USDT in rewards by completing several trading and deposit tasks. For example, when you complete your first trade, you’ll get up to 120 USDT.

OKX is also one of the few exchanges that has a native utility token. $OKB holders can earn discounts on trading fees, access to the OKX Jumpstart launchpad initiative, and staking rewards.

OKX offers cold wallet management, multi-factor authentication, and uses a semi-offline multi-signature wallet structure for hot wallets. Another notable feature is the dedicated OKX Risk Shield, an added security measure that protects traders from potential breaches.

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4. CoinEx – Futures Exchange with a Comprehensive Data-Driven Trading Dashboard

Founded in 2017, CoinEx is now available in more than 200 countries. It boasts a cumulative future trading volume of around $1.17 trillion, making it one of the best crypto exchanges for day trading.

The interface is pretty clean and information-driven. It even has a dedicated ‘newcomers zone’ that helps beginners learn the ropes of future trading and start their journey on the right foot.

Leverage on CoinEx depends on the type of instrument you’re trading. For example, $BTC has a maximum leverage of up to 100x, with a minimum maintenance margin of 0.5%.

However, for other trading pairs, the maximum leverage is up to 20x, and the maintenance margin starts from 1-2%.

What we like most about CoinEx is its readily available data and charts for future trading.

On the main dashboard, you can view charts such as open interest, trading volume, liquidation data, taker buying and selling volume, average basis rates, and average funding rates.

This gives you an instant overview of the broader crypto market sentiment and helps you plan your trade accordingly.

Like MEXC, CoinEx offers copy trading, which lets you automatically replicate the buy and sell orders of experienced traders. CoinEx also has a demo trading mode, which lets you hone your skills before trading with real money.

CoinEx secures your assets using cold wallet storage, MPC-based dual-signature protocol, multi-location backups and multi-signature protocols, and withdrawal address whitelisting.

VISIT COINEX TODAY

5. BloFin – Crypto Exchange with a Multi-Currency Margin Mode and Unified Trading Demo Account

With more than 480 $USDT-M perpetual pairs, BloFin is a popular exchange for crypto futures traders. It’s also one of the few exchanges to offer multi-currency margin mode. This lets you use multiple crypto assets as collateral for trading all instruments on a platform, even if you’re not trading those specific coins.

For instance, if you want to trade $BTC/$USDT futures, you don’t necessarily need to hold $USDT in your account. Even if you’ve $ETH, BloFin will automatically convert it into the required $USDT.

We also like the many trading tools available on BloFin. For instance, the ‘Signal Bot’ lets you create customized signals on TradingView with the help of a webhook.

Next, if you want to place a large trade, you can use the TWAP order type. This splits your total order and places several small orders regularly, protecting you from sudden market fluctuations.

BloFin also offers demo trading, where you can trade with artificial money to try out strategies and build confidence. Uniquely, BloFIn’s demo trading supports Unified Trading Account (UTA), which lets you trade both spot and derivative markets concurrently without transferring funds between multiple accounts.

Finally, there’s a lucrative rewards hub, where you can win $USDT for your first deposit and first futures trade.

BloFin provides bank-grade custody of your funds using Fireblocks, Merkle Tree verification, and Chainalysis’s KYT solution.

VISIT BLOFIN TODAY

6. KCEX – Crypto Futures Exchange with the Lowest Maker and Taker Fee on Futures and 0% Fee on Spots

KCEX is a fairly new crypto futures exchange, but it has grown tremendously since its launch in 2021 and now caters to over 1 million users.

If you’re looking for a crypto futures exchange with low trading fees, KCEX is a good option.

There’s a 0% maker fee, a 0.01% taker fee for futures, and a 0% fee on spot trading. This makes KCEX a go-to for multi-instrument traders.

You get both isolated and cross margin modes, and the leverage depends on the pair you’re trading. For $BTC and $ETH, two of the most common pairs, you can get a leverage as high as 125x.

What we liked about KCEX is that you get actionable trading data, such as open interest, long-short ratio, funding rate history, and liquidation data, all on the trading dashboard itself.

This helps you make quick data-based decisions, which is especially useful when trading in the volatile environment of crypto.

KCEX offers new traders a head start through its rewards hub. You can get up to 100 $USDT simply for registering your account and completing KYC verification.

The exchange also offers a daily futures trading competition with a prize pool of 20,000 $USDT, with the top winner getting 1,800 $USDT. This adds to the thrill of futures trading and provides additional incentive and recognition for competent traders.

Regarding security, KCEX supports cold wallet fund storage, KYC enforcement, 2FA, and account encryption to maintain compliance and protect your funds.

VISIT KCEX TODAY

7. BingX – Top Exchange with a Separate Isolated Margin Mode and Extensive Trading Rewards

BingX was founded in 2018 and has since amassed a user base of over 20 million worldwide.

This is thanks to its diversified products and services, which include spots, futures, copy trading, and more. It offers USDT-M and Coin-M perpetual futures, as well as standard futures.

Profit or loss will be automatically booked when the price moves 1% either way. Using this feature, you can keep your risk really low.

Margins on BingX can go up to 125x, depending on the pair you’re trading. $SOL and $XRP futures have a 50x margin, while $LINK and $DOGE futures have a maximum of 75x margin.

BingX has two types of position modes: hedge mode and one-way mode. The former lets you hold long and short contract positions simultaneously, and any unrealised PnL can be offset between the two positions. This can come in handy in volatile markets where trading views shift quickly.

One-way mode, in contrast, means you can only hold the same-direction positions for a given contract.

In addition to cross margin and isolated margin modes, BingX also has a separate isolated mode.

Using this, you can open multiple isolated-margin positions in the same direction for the same trading pair. Each order forms an independent position with risk isolation.

In the case of forced liquidation, you’ll only lose the margin of the affected position in the same direction and market.

BingX uses cold wallet segregation, 2FA, anti-phishing code, and a risk control engine that monitors irregular trading behavior in real-time to ensure your safety. It also maintains 100% margin reserves and undergoes regular audits to reassure users of its reliability.

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8. PrimeXBT Futures – Popular Crypto Exchange with 200x Leverage and a 0.01% Maker Fee

Founded in 2018, PrimeXBT now has more than 1M traders in 150+ countries. However, with only 35 future pairs, the platform’s list of trading instruments is not as lengthy as other exchanges on our list.

That said, you’ll still find all the major cryptos represented, such as $BTC, $ETH, $DOGE, $LINK, $SOL, $POL, $AAVE, $XRP, and $TRX.

To make up for having fewer trading pairs, PrimeXBT charges a maker fee of just 0.01% – the lowest we’ve seen on any exchange. Plus, you’ll get up to 200x leverage on $BTC and $ETH, and up to 100x on other pairs, depending on the position size.

PrimeXBT’s futures window is clutter-free and easy to use. We found it straightforward to place market, limit, and stop orders or enable one-click trading for quick scalps. There’s a single cross margin mode, ideal for experienced traders who want to minimize the chances of instant liquidation.

Similar to some other exchanges on the list, PrimeXBT comes with a demo trading mode, which lets you polish your skills before trading with real money.

PrimeXBT also offers CFD trading, which are over-the-counter derivative contracts with no fixed expiration dates. Although similar to futures, CFDs are offered by brokers and not a specific exchange. Just keep in mind that this means you’re entering into a price contract with the broker itself.

As for security, PrimeXBT offers cold storage, 2FA, IP whitelisting, and email confirmations for withdrawals to guard against threats.

VISIT PRIMEXBT TODAY

9. PioneX Futures – Best for Futures Grid Trading and Arbitrage Strategies

PioneX is a leading crypto exchange when it comes to futures grid trading solutions. Grid trading is an automated strategy that aims to profit from price fluctuations within a specific price range.

Let’s say you want to trade $BTC futures. Simply set the upper and lower price limits and determine the number of grid segments. You can use the support-resistence concept to identify these price limits.

Once done, the bot will automatically place long and short orders within each grid segment, generating profits from market volatility. You can start with an investment as low as 10 $USDT with a leverage of 125x.

You can build a plain futures grid, a COIN-M futures grid, or a cross-margin futures grid, depending on your trading goals.

If you’re a cautious trader, consider PioneX’s spot-future arbitrage bot. This strategy aims to generate profits by exploiting the price gap and funding fee between the spot and futures markets.

Next, when the prices converge, you may end up with a profit or a loss, depending on the price movement. This steady and low-risk strategy can earn you between 15 and 50% APR (annual percentage rate). Even better, PioneX lets you automate the whole thing.

If you’re not trading with bots and strategies, you can expect up to 100x leverage on $BTC and $ETH, and up to 50x on other pairs.

Trading on PioneX is secured using 2FA, cold wallet storage, IP tracking, and trading-specific safeguards like auto-deleveraging and bot risk controls. It also hosts a big bounty program to catch vulnerabilities fast, and the exchange is regularly audited.

VISIT PIONEX TODAY

How to Choose the Right Crypto Futures Platform for You

If you’re confused about which crypto futures platform is right for you, here are a few factors to consider. These are also the criteria we examine when compiling our reviews.

Supported Assets

First, the crypto exchange should offer the instrument and asset pair you want to trade. Most exchanges offer common assets like $BTC, $ETH, $SOL, and $XRP. However, if you want to trade in pairs like niche meme coins and AI crypto tokens, scroll through the list of instruments on the platform before you deposit any money.

Liquidity & Volume

More than just having the pair available, the exchange must have enough liquidity and volume so that your trades are executed at the prices you want. An illiquid pair will lead to higher slippages. This means your buy trades may be executed at higher prices than planned, leading to imperfect entries. This can spoil your risk management plans and lead to losses over a period of time.

Fees & Funding Rates

Now that you’ve found a liquid exchange, look into its fee structures and funding rates. Some exchanges offer maker fees as low as 0% on futures. Most platforms also have a VIP-tiered fee plan, where the higher your trading volume, the lower the fees you pay. Also, compare the funding rates of different platforms to check if they’re on par with broader market rates.

Leverage Options

Most exchanges will offer you a leverage of at least 75x to 100x, which is enough for most traders. Check if you’re able to customize your leverage for each trading pair. Also, consider the types of margin offered: cross, isolated, and multi-currency, and remember that leverage can be a double-edged sword.

User Experience & Interface

Next, examine the platform’s UI and interface. For this, you can use the demo trading mechanism to place a few trades to gauge the exchange’s ease of use. Consider factors like order types, ease of trade execution, one-click trading, and payment methods.

If you want to trade on the go, check if the platform offers a compatible mobile app. It’s best to test the app out, too, with a few demo trades to see if it’s easy to use. Ideally, the mobile app shouldn’t be too different from its desktop counterpart.

Risk Management Tools

Consider risk management tools such as stop-loss, take-profit orders, and trailing stop-loss that can help limit your losses. You set a price below your entry point, and if the asset’s price drops to that level, the trade automatically closes.

Also, check if the platform tracks the indicators you need and sends you alerts based on metrics such as price, indicators, or volume.

Depending on your risk profile and asset holdings, some exchanges may restrict your leverage. Others may cap the maximum size of a given position based on your trading experience.

Security & Reputation

Choose a reputable crypto exchange platform with positive user reviews and no history of data breaches or cyberattacks. Also, consider the security measures the exchange employs.

For this review, we looked at things like cold wallet storage, multi-signature wallets, two-factor authentication, anti-phishing codes, and real-time anomaly detection.

Bonus Features

Apart from these essential features, a lot of exchanges offer additional features like copy trading, demo trading, and trading bots to help you improve your futures trading.

Moreover, these platforms also come with market information tools, such as news articles and blogs, to keep you updated with the latest crypto trends.

Is Crypto Futures Trading Right for Me?

Still unsure if futures crypto trading is for you? Here are a few considerations before placing your first order.

Trade Crypto Futures If:

• You’re a technical trader: Futures trading, especially short-term trading, requires you to understand chart patterns and price movements and follow robust risk management practices such as favorable risk-reward ratios and position sizing.
• You can afford to lose money: Trading crypto futures isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. Since you’ll be taking leveraged positions, the account drawdowns can be huge, and you may lose all your money. Only trade with money you can afford to lose

Don’t Trade Crypto Futures If:

• You’re a beginner: If you’re new to trading, starting off with crypto futures is a risky idea. Not only will it dent you financially, but also drain your confidence.
• You’re a long-term trader: If you would like to enter into longer positions, futures trading isn’t for you since funding rates can deplete your profits. In this case, spot trading is your best bet.

Verdict – What’s the Best Crypto Futures Trading Platform?

If you’re looking for the best crypto futures trading platform, MEXC is your best bet. It offers the widest range of futures pairs (more than 1,000), and charges a 0% maker fee and a 0.02% taker fee on all futures contracts.

Plus, if you’re trading popular cryptocurrencies like $BTC and $ETH, you can get leverage of up to 500x. You can trade in both coin margin futures and USDT margin futures, depending on your trading style. It also has one of the best copy trading features, and so far, it has handled $1 billion in trades.

That said, trading in crypto futures is risky and requires disciplined risk management, analysis skills, and a broader understanding of the crypto markets. This does not comprise financial advice, and you should do your own research before jumping into future crypto trading.

VISIT MEXC TODAY

FAQs

1. What is the best exchange for crypto futures?

MEXC is the best crypto futures trading platform, offering more than 1,000 futures trading pairs. It charges a 0% maker fee and a low taker fee of 0.02% on all future trades. Plus, you can leverage up to 500x on instruments like $BTC and $ETH, and up to 100x on other pairs. It also offers copy trading and daily trading challenges to help beginners get up to speed.

2. What is the best crypto futures trading platform for beginners?

OKX is an ideal crypto futures platform for beginners, thanks to its range of trading bots that help you analyze and automate your trades. It also offers copy trading, letting you mimic trades from successful traders. This is ideal for beginners who are still learning the ropes of chart analysis.

3. What is the safest crypto platform for futures trading?

All of our recommended crypto platforms are safe for futures trading. They follow strict security protocols such as cold storage, two-factor authentication, and anti-phishing codes.

MEXC, for example, maintains a reserve rate of more than 100% and a dedicated futures insurance fund to protect against unforeseen losses. Similarly, OKX has a special OKX Risk Shield with a certain percentage of the platform’s total assets held as a protection fund.

4. What is the best crypto futures trading platform for the USA?

Handling assets worth more than $140B, Binance is the best crypto futures trading platform for the USA. You get various products such as $USDT-M and COIN-M futures along with $USDT and $USDC perpetual and delivery contracts.

It offers a high leverage of 125x and a special Portfolio Margin Mode, which supports using multiple assets as collateral. The exchange also has a dedicated price pool of 200K $USDT for successful traders.

5. Which exchange offers the lightest leverage for crypto?

All the crypto futures exchanges we’ve listed offer customizable leverage up to 125x or 500x. On platforms that support customizable leverage settings, like MEXC, you can also set a light leverage of 3x to 10x, depending on your risk appetite.