Dated futures are a type of derivative contract that allows clients to gain exposure to the price movement of an asset — without ever owning the underlying asset itself.
At One Trading, our contracts have a five-year maturity date. In practice, this means the trading experience is similar to classic perpetual futures: you can open and close positions freely, hold them for as long as you choose, and the contract price continuously tracks the underlying spot price via a funding rate — all exactly as before. The five-year horizon is far enough away that it has no meaningful impact on day-to-day trading for the vast majority of clients.
How dated futures work
Like all futures contracts, dated futures allow you to take a long position (if you believe the price will rise) or a short position (if you believe the price will fall). You can hold a position for as long as you like — assuming you maintain sufficient margin and meet the platform's margin requirements — without needing to roll the contract over or manage an expiry in the near term.
The key difference from traditional short-dated futures is that our contracts are designed to behave like perpetual futures. Rather than converging toward the spot price at expiry, the contract price is kept continuously in line with the spot price through a funding rate mechanism — meaning the trading experience remains consistent regardless of when you open or close your position.
The role of funding rate:
Since our contracts are designed to track the spot price continuously rather than converge at expiry, they use a funding rate to keep the contract price aligned with the underlying spot price. Funding payments are exchanged between long and short traders every four hours. When the contract price trades above spot, longs pay shorts; when it trades below spot, shorts pay longs. This incentivises traders to take positions that push the contract price back toward spot.
Why traders use dated futures:
- Effectively open-ended — with a five-year maturity, positions can be held for as long as you need without the operational overhead of rolling contracts. For most traders, this is functionally no different from a classic perpetual future.
- Leverage — traders can increase their exposure by using leverage, depending on eligibility and risk profile. At One Trading, eligible clients can access up to 10x leverage.
- Two-way trading — you can gain exposure to both rising and falling markets by going long or short.
- Spot price tracking — the funding rate mechanism ensures the contract price stays continuously aligned with the spot price, giving you clean and predictable exposure to the underlying asset.
- Efficient execution — trades are settled every 60 seconds, 24/7, on One Trading's Mobius infrastructure.
5-Year dated futures are designed to give traders continuous, flexible exposure to market movements — combining the familiar mechanics of perpetual futures with the regulatory framework of a fully licensed EU derivatives venue.
Investing involves risks. The value of investments can go up as well as down and you may receive back less than your original investment or lose your entire investment. Investing with leverage means the value of your investment fluctuates more than the price of the underlying asset. One Trading does not provide investment advice and investors should make their own decisions or seek independent advice.