How to Start Futures Trading on AscendEX【PC】

Step One: Enter the Futures Trading Page

1. Visit ascendex.com and find [Futures]– [Futures Trading] in the header. There are two options: [Standard] for beginners, and [Professional] for professional traders or experienced users. Take [Standard] as an example.

2. Click on [Standard] to enter the Trading page. On the page, you can:

• Search and select trading pairs you want on the left side.
• Check the candlestick chart and place buy/sell orders in the middle.
• Check the order book and current trades on the right side.
• Check order information, such as positions, open orders, order history, and collateral at the bottom of the page.

Step Two: Transfer Assets to a Futures Account

If you currently do not hold any assets in your Futures Account, click on [Transfer] on the left side of the Trading Page.

You can transfer BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, PAX, etc. to a Futures Account as collateral by taking the following steps:

• Select the token you would like to transfer.
• Transfer assets from [Cash] to [Futures] (You can transfer assets between Cash, Margin, and Futures accounts. However, on the Futures Trading page, you can only transfer assets from [Cash] to [Futures]. If you need to transfer assets from the Margin account to the Futures account, please go to [My Asset] - [Total Asset]).
• Enter the amount you want to transfer. (Click the “All” button if you want to transfer all assets).
• Click on [Confirm to Transfer].

Step Three: Place a Futures Order

When the transfer is completed, you can start Futures Trading by taking the following steps. Take the example of trading BTC/USDT:

• Select the type of order you would like to place on the left. There are four types of futures orders you can place on AscendEX.
• Set the margin mode by clicking on the blue Cross-Asset Margin Mode or Isolated Margin Mode icons. Switching the margin mode for a new futures order does not affect your existing positions.
• Set a leverage amount by clicking on the black leverage icon.
• Enter an order size, or you can slide the green button along the bar to select a percentage of your maximum available amount as the order size. The system will automatically calculate the collateral amount needed for the order. (See “Used Collateral”)
• Click on [Buy/Sell BTC/USDT] to place the order.

You can check your orders that remain unfilled under the "Open Orders" tab at the bottom of the page. You can check your filled orders under the "Position(s)" tab.

Please note, orders on AscendEX are classified into two types based on the order status, taker and maker. A taker order matches other resting orders on the order book, and gets executed at the best available price immediately when the order is entered. On the other hand, a maker order, stays on the order book until it is matched.  

Step Four: Risk Management

1. How to cancel open orders

To cancel one or more open orders, you can click on [Cancel] for one specific open order or you can click on [Cancel All] at the bottom of the Trading page to cancel all your open orders.

Please note, there will be a popup reminder for you to confirm your cancel-all-orders instruction after you click on [Cancel All]. All open orders will be canceled once you confirm the instruction. However, there is no reminder when you click on [Cancel] for a single order and the open order will be canceled immediately.

2. How to close out a position manually after the order is filled

The position information is displayed under the [Position(s)] tab at the bottom of the Trading page. To close positions, you can use the following features: Close at the Limit Price, Close at the Market Price or Close All Positions.

• Close at the limit/market price: You can close one specific position at the limit/market price by clicking on [Limit]/[Market].
• Close all positions: Clicking on [Close All Positions], will close all your positions at the market price.

• Limit Order

A limit order lets you set a minimum price for an order to execute—it will only execute at the set price or higher.

• Market Order

A market order will execute immediately at the current market price.  When using a market order you can only set the order size and not the price.

Take the example of closing positions at a limit price. Set the limit price you want, then, enter the amount of your positions you would like to close or select a percentage of your positions under the amount box and click on [Confirm].

3. How to Set a Take Profit/Stop Loss Order When Holding Positions

If you forget to set TP/SL when placing an order, you can always set it up later by finding the [Positions] tab and clicking on [TP/SL].

In the pop-up window select Last Price or Mark Price to set the Trigger Type.

  

Note:

• Last Price is the median of the last bid/ask price in the order book and the price of the last order filled in the marketplace.

• Mark Price is the calculation of Index Price plus the Premium. (The Index Price is calculated by taking the average last trade price of an asset from 5 major trading platforms).

You can enter TP and/or SL price(s) in the box, or you can click on a percentage (%) amount below the box. Then click [Confirm].

For details please view How to Stop Loss/Take Profit in Futures Trading【PC.】

4. The Est. Liquidation Price and Margin Ratio

Under the [Position(s)] tab, you can see the Est. Liquidation Price and Margin Ratio. The Est. Liquidation Price and Margin Ratio, will be updated in real time based on your collateral amount and the fluctuation in the price of your perpetual futures contracts. The forced liquidation of your positions will be executed once your Margin Ratio reaches 100%.

You can view How to Start Futures Trading on AscendEX【APP】to learn more.