Nitro Spreads is an innovative order book system within OKX’s Liquid Marketplace, designed to simplify spread trading for both beginners and advanced traders. Spread trading is a powerful strategy that capitalizes on price differences—known as spreads—between related financial instruments, typically involving the same underlying asset traded across different markets or contract types. Traditionally, executing such trades required manually placing two separate orders in different order books, increasing complexity and execution risk. With Nitro Spreads, traders can now execute these strategies with a single click, ensuring matched quantities and minimizing leg risk and slippage.
This advanced trading feature supports a range of strategies, including funding rate farming, spot-futures arbitrage, and calendar spread trading. By streamlining the process and enhancing execution efficiency, Nitro Spreads offers a more intuitive and risk-optimized way to engage in sophisticated trading activities.
👉 Discover how to maximize your spread trading efficiency with one-click execution
How Does Spread Trading Work?
Spread trading typically involves pairing two related instruments, such as:
- Spot vs. Perpetual Swap (e.g., BTC/USDT spot and BTC/USDT perpetual futures)
- Spot vs. Futures (e.g., ETH/USDT spot and ETH/USD futures)
- Futures vs. Futures with different expiration dates (e.g., LTC/USDT quarterly vs. bi-quarterly futures)
The core idea is to open two offsetting positions—long on one leg and short on the other—with equal notional value. This structure aims to be delta neutral, meaning the overall position is insulated from directional market movements. Delta refers to how an instrument’s price changes relative to the underlying asset. For instance, if BTC/USDT rises by $1, a BTC quarterly futures contract should also rise by approximately $1.
When a trader holds a long position in one instrument and a short in another, gains in one leg are offset by losses in the other, resulting in a net delta of zero. This neutrality reduces exposure to broad market volatility, making spread trading a preferred strategy for traders seeking stable returns with lower risk.
How to Trade on OKX Nitro Spreads
Placing a Spread Order
Executing a trade on Nitro Spreads is straightforward:
- Navigate to Trading > Liquid Marketplace > Nitro Spreads
- Select your desired market—currently available for BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT
In the Nitro Spreads interface, choose the available spread you want to trade:
- Select Bid if you want to buy the spread
- Select Ask if you want to sell the spread
- Once the order book appears, enter your price and quantity
- Confirm and execute the order
Important Notes:
- To access the Liquid Marketplace, you must complete identity verification.
- If your order price improves upon the best available price (e.g., you bid higher when buying or ask lower when selling), it will be immediately filled.
- Orders that remain unfilled after 7 days will be automatically canceled.
👉 Start trading delta-neutral spreads with zero leg risk today
Canceling an Open Order
You can cancel an open spread order in two ways:
Option 1:
- On the Nitro Spreads grid, look for tiles with a circled number indicating active orders
- Click the tile and go to Open Orders
- Select and Cancel the desired order
Option 2:
- Go directly to the Open Orders section on the Nitro Spreads page
- Locate and Cancel the order
Executing an Open Order Immediately
If you have an open order but want immediate execution, you can use the Send as RFQ (Request for Quote) feature in the Open Orders section. This sends your order directly to qualified market makers for instant pricing and execution, bypassing waiting time.
Fees for Nitro Spreads Trading
- VIP users enjoy a 50% discount on fees compared to executing the same strategy as two separate leg trades in the main order book.
- Standard users are charged the standard fee rate applicable to each leg of the corresponding instrument.
This fee structure incentivizes efficient trading while rewarding active participants with reduced costs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What assets and instrument types are supported on Nitro Spreads?
Currently, Nitro Spreads supports BTC and ETH, with instruments including USDT-margined perpetual swaps and futures contracts. Additional tokens and contract types will be added in the future. Check the platform regularly for updates.
What spread combinations are available?
OKX supports the following spread types:
- Spot vs. Perpetual
- Spot vs. Futures
- Perpetual vs. Futures
- Futures vs. Futures (e.g., quarterly vs. bi-quarterly)
How do I interpret Bid and Ask prices on spread tiles?
The displayed prices reflect the spread between the fill prices of the two instruments:
- Ask: The price you receive (or pay if negative) when selling the spread (buy near-dated, sell far-dated)
- Bid: The price you pay (or receive if negative) when buying the spread (sell near-dated, buy far-dated)
Instrument hierarchy from farthest to nearest:
Bi-Quarterly Futures > Quarterly Futures > Perpetual > Spot
What is BBO Offset?
BBO (Best Bid Offer) Offset shows the price advantage of using Nitro Spreads versus executing the same strategy in the central order book. A negative BBO offset means Nitro Spreads offers a better price. A white border around the tile indicates favorable pricing.
The implicit best price in the central order book is calculated as:
- For Bid: Far-leg best bid minus near-leg best ask
- For Ask: Far-leg best ask minus near-leg best bid
Is liquidity shared between Nitro Spreads and the central order book?
No. Liquidity is segregated—orders in Nitro Spreads do not appear in the central order book, and vice versa.
Can I trade individual legs after settling a spread?
Yes. Once a spread is executed, the individual legs become separate positions that can be traded independently in the central order book.
Can I use existing positions or assets as margin for Nitro Spreads?
Yes. Since everything operates within the OKX ecosystem, your existing positions and assets in the central order book can be used for margin when trading on Nitro Spreads.
👉 Unlock seamless cross-margin trading and advanced arbitrage tools now