How do I open and close a futures position?

Perpetual futures and expiry futures users can get return from the rise or fall of crypto prices by going long or short. Opening a position includes: Open Long and Open Short; Closing a position includes: Close Long and Close Short. Here, we use perpetual futures as an example to demonstrate how to open and close positions.

App

Open position

1. call, open long

When you anticipate the markets will rise, you can choose to go long. Here, we will use the BTCUSDT perpetual futures as an example for the operation demonstration.

Go to the Futures page. Tap on the trading pair box in the upper left corner, labeled BTC/USDT.

On the new page, click the toggle button to switch trading modes— perpetual swap > USDT futures, then select BTCUSDT Perpetual.

Select Cross/Isolated Margin > Leverage > Limit Order, enter Price > Quantity, tap Open Long > Confirm.

Note:

• Difference between Cross Margin and Isolated Margin: In Cross Margin mode, all available balances in your account are used as position margin; in Isolated Margin mode, the margin locked at the time of order placement is the maximum loss for that position.

• Leverage: The BTCUSDT perpetual futures supports up to 100x leverage. The higher the leverage, the greater the potential return, but also the higher the risk.

• When opening a position, customers can set take profit and stop loss in Second Order Confirmation to mitigate risks and lock in return.

• If the amount of USDT is too low, it may result in insufficient balance to place an order. Customers can complete the order by adjusting leverage or increasing the available USDT amount.

• Because futures trade uses leverage, it amplifies both returns and risks. If there are significant fluctuations in the BTC price, your position may be liquidated. Therefore, you should closely follow Markets and set appropriate take-profit and stop-loss orders.

2. put, open a short position

When you anticipate that the market will decline, you can choose to open a short position. Here, we will demonstrate the operation using the BTCUSDT perpetual futures as an example.

Go to the Futures page, select the trading pair in the upper left corner BTC/USDT, then on the new page click the switch button to change the trading mode Perpetual > USDT futures, select BTCUSDT Perpetual.

Select Cross/Isolated Margin > Leverage > Limit Order, enter Price > Quantity, tap Open Short > Confirm.

Close position

1. Long position, close long

OKX perpetual futures can be closed in two pages: the trading page and the specific position page. You can choose according to your own situation.

On the trading page, to close a long position: Select Close > Limit Order, enter Price and Quantity > Close.

On the specific position page to close a long position: Select Position, select the specific position you want to close and tap Close > enter Price or select Market Price, Quantity > Close.

Note: You can also choose to close your positions using the TP/SL method, which allows you to SL in time or TP promptly.

Select the specific position you want to close and tap TP/SL > Enter TP trigger price, SL trigger price > quantity > Confirm.

If you need to quickly close all positions, you can select specific positions and tap Close All.

Note: If there is significant market volatility, your order may not be filled.

2. Short position, close short

On the trading page, close a short position: Select Close > Limit Order, enter Price and amount > Close.

Close short on the specific position page: Select Position > select the specific position you want to close > Close > enter Close Price or tap Market Price, Close Amount > Close.

Note: You can also choose to close their your using the TP/SL method, which allows you to SL in time or TP promptly.

Select the specific position you want to close and tap TP/SL > Enter TP trigger price, SL trigger price > Amount > Confirm.

If you need to quickly close all positions, you can select specific positions and tap Close All.

Web

Open position

1. call, open long

Using the BTCUSDT perpetual futures as an example: Click Trade > Futures, click the toggle button to switch the trading mode — Perpetual > USDT futures > BTCUSDT perpetual futures.

Select Cross/Isolated margin > Leverage > Limit Order > enter Price, Amount > Open Long > Confirm.

2. put, open a short position

Taking the BTCUSDT perpetual futures as an example: Select Trade > Futures. On the new page, click the switch button to change the trading mode — Perpetual > USDT futures, select BTCUSDT Perpetual.

Select Cross/isolated margin > leverage > limit order, enter price, amount > tap open short > Confirm.

Close position

1. Long position, close long

Select Position, select the specific position to close > enter Price, Quantity > click Close.

Note: Customers can also choose to close their positions using the TP/SL method, which allows them to SL in time or TP promptly.

Select Position, select the specific position you want to close and tap TP/SL > Enter TP Trigger Price, SL Trigger Price, Quantity — Tap Confirm.

If you need to quickly close all positions, you can select specific positions and tap Market Close All.

Note: If there is significant market volatility, your order may not be filled.

2. Short position, close short

Select Position, select the specific position to close, enter Price, Quantity — Close.

Note: You can also choose to close their positions using the TP/SL method, which allows them to SL in time or TP promptly.

Select Position — Select the specific position you want to close and click TP/SL — Enter TP Trigger Price, SL Trigger Price, Quantity — tap Confirm.

If you need to quickly close all positions, you can select specific positions and tap Market Close All.