Nitro Spreads represent a powerful innovation in derivatives trading, offering users an intuitive and efficient way to execute spread strategies across related financial instruments. Designed for both novice and experienced traders, this feature simplifies complex multi-leg trades into a single-click process, minimizing execution risk and enhancing trading precision. Built on OKX’s Liquid Market infrastructure, Nitro Spreads enable delta-neutral strategies that help traders capitalize on price discrepancies without exposure to directional market movements.
Whether you're exploring funding rate arbitrage, calendar roll strategies, or spot-perpetual carry trades, Nitro Spreads streamline the process with guaranteed fills and reduced slippage. This guide breaks down everything you need to know—from core mechanics and supported instruments to step-by-step execution and fee structure—so you can confidently navigate this advanced trading tool.
Understanding Nitro Spreads
Nitro Spreads function as a dedicated order book for spread trading, allowing users to trade the price difference (or "spread") between two related assets—typically derivatives of the same underlying instrument, such as BTC/USDT spot versus BTC/USDT perpetual contracts.
Traditionally, executing a spread trade requires manually placing two separate orders across different markets: one long position and one short. This introduces execution risk—especially when one leg fills while the other doesn’t ("legging risk")—and increases slippage. With Nitro Spreads, both legs are executed simultaneously through a unified interface, ensuring matched quantities are filled together or not at all. This eliminates legging risk and enhances trade efficiency.
The platform supports key trading strategies including:
- Funding rate rolling
- Spot-perpetual carry trades
- Calendar spread rolling (futures vs. futures)
By bundling these capabilities into a single trading pair interface, OKX makes sophisticated strategies accessible without requiring advanced technical setups.
👉 Discover how easy it is to start advanced spread trading with just one click.
How Spread Trading Works
Spread trading capitalizes on pricing inefficiencies between correlated assets. Common configurations available on Nitro Spreads include:
- Spot vs. Perpetual: e.g., BTC/USDT spot vs. BTC/USDT perpetual contract
- Spot vs. Futures: e.g., ETH/USDT spot vs. ETH/USD quarterly futures
- Futures vs. Futures: e.g., LTC/USDT quarterly vs. bi-quarterly futures
In practice, a trader opens two opposing positions—long on one instrument, short on the other—with equal notional value. Because the instruments track the same underlying asset, their prices tend to move in tandem. This creates a delta-neutral position: gains in one leg offset losses in the other when the base asset’s price fluctuates.
Why Delta Neutrality Matters
Delta measures how an instrument’s price changes relative to its underlying asset. For example, if BTC/USDT rises by $1, both the spot and perpetual contract prices should rise by approximately $1. If a trader is long spot and short perpetual (or vice versa), the net change in portfolio value is close to zero—neutralizing directional risk.
This stability allows traders to focus on profiting from the convergence or divergence of spreads rather than predicting overall market direction—a major advantage in volatile conditions.
How to Place a Nitro Spread Order
Executing a trade on Nitro Spreads is straightforward:
- Log in and navigate to
Trade > Liquid Market > Nitro Spreads - Select your desired market—currently BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT are supported
Choose the spread order book:
- Click Ask to buy the spread (sell near-dated instrument, buy far-dated)
- Click Bid to sell the spread (buy near-dated instrument, sell far-dated)
- Enter your price and quantity
- Confirm and execute the order
Important Execution Notes
- Orders that improve upon the best available price (crossing the spread) are filled immediately.
- Passive orders (non-improving prices) are added to the respective Bid/Ask book.
- All open orders expire automatically after 7 days if not filled.
Canceling or Accelerating Open Orders
You can manage open orders through two methods:
Option 1: Via Grid Tile
- Locate the Nitro Spread tile showing a numbered badge indicating active orders
- Navigate to Open Orders
- Select and Cancel the desired order
Option 2: Direct Cancellation
- Go to the Nitro Spreads page
- Find the Open Orders section
- Click Cancel next to the relevant order
If you want immediate execution instead of waiting for passive fill, use the “Send as RFQ” option in Open Orders. This requests an instant quote from OKX’s qualified market makers for faster execution.
👉 Learn how real-time RFQ execution can speed up your trading outcomes.
Understanding Spread Pricing and BBO Offset
On each Nitro Spread tile, you’ll see Bid and Ask prices reflecting the current spread between two instruments after execution.
The formula used:
Spread Price = Far-Dated Instrument Price – Near-Dated Instrument Price
Interpreting Bid and Ask
- Bid: The price you receive (or pay, if negative) when selling the spread (buy near-dated, sell far-dated)
- Ask: 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 how much better (or worse) the Nitro Spread price is compared to executing the same strategy manually in the Central Order Book—without considering size.
- A negative BBO offset means Nitro Spreads offer a better price.
- A white border appears around the tile when Nitro provides superior pricing.
For Ask direction, implied BBO = (Far leg lowest Ask) – (Near leg highest Bid)
For Bid direction, implied BBO = (Far leg highest Bid) – (Near leg lowest Ask)
Fee Structure and Liquidity Model
OKX offers competitive fees on Nitro Spreads:
- VIP users: Fees are 50% lower than placing two separate trades in the Central Order Book
- Standard users: Pay standard taker/maker fees per leg, equivalent to direct trading
Importantly, liquidity on Nitro Spreads is independent of individual instrument books:
- Orders placed in Nitro Spreads do not appear in the Central Order Book
- Conversely, central book orders don’t impact Nitro liquidity
However, once a spread is executed:
- The individual legs become separate positions
- These can be traded independently in the Central Order Book
Additionally, existing positions or assets held in your OKX account can be used as collateral for Nitro Spread trading—thanks to cross-product margining within the OKX ecosystem.
👉 See how cross-margin compatibility enhances your capital efficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What tokens and instrument types are supported?
Currently supported tokens are BTC and ETH, with instruments including USDT-margined perpetual contracts, USDT-margined futures contracts, spot pairs, and various spread combinations between them.
Which spread combinations are available?
OKX supports:
- Spot vs. Perpetual
- Spot vs. Futures
- Perpetual vs. Futures
- Futures vs. Futures (quarterly vs. bi-quarterly)
More combinations will be added in future updates.
How is spread pricing determined?
The displayed spread price equals the far-dated instrument’s fill price minus the near-dated instrument’s fill price. For example, buying a quarterly vs. spot spread means selling spot and buying quarterly futures—the cost reflects that difference.
What does a negative BBO offset mean?
A negative offset indicates that the price offered on Nitro Spreads is more favorable than what you’d get by manually executing the same strategy across separate markets—highlighting cost efficiency.
Is liquidity shared with the Central Order Book?
No. Liquidity pools are isolated—orders in Nitro Spreads are invisible to and independent of those in the Central Order Book.
Can I trade individual legs after executing a spread?
Yes. After execution, each leg becomes an independent position that can be managed or closed individually via the Central Order Book.
Can I use existing positions as collateral?
Absolutely. Positions held from prior trades in the Central Order Book can be utilized as margin for Nitro Spread trading within OKX’s unified account system.
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