OKEx vs Huobi Derivatives: A Comprehensive Comparison for 2025 Traders

When it comes to cryptocurrency derivatives trading, two platforms have consistently stood out in the global market: OKEx (now rebranded as OKX) and Huobi. While both offer futures contracts and serve a vast user base, their design philosophies, risk management systems, and trading features differ significantly. This in-depth analysis compares OKX and Huobi’s derivative offerings—focusing on contract structure, margin models, fees, liquidity, and more—to help traders make informed decisions in 2025.

Core Keywords

• cryptocurrency derivatives
• futures trading
• leverage trading
• margin mode
• risk management
• trading fees
• contract exchange comparison
• perpetual vs quarterly futures

These keywords reflect key search intents from active crypto traders seeking clarity on platform differences and optimal trading environments.

Contract Design & Key Features

Both OKX and Huobi support major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and others using inverse pricing, where contracts are quoted in USD but settled in crypto. The standard BTC contract size is 100 USD across both platforms.

Leverage Flexibility

One of the most notable distinctions lies in leverage options:

• Huobi: Offers fixed leverage tiers—1x, 5x, 10x, and 20x. Additionally, large accounts face restrictions; for example, with over 250 BTC in equity, usable margin is capped at a percentage that decreases as balance grows.
• OKX: Supports 1x to 100x leverage, adjustable even after opening a position. This flexibility makes OKX more appealing to experienced traders who want dynamic control over exposure.

👉 Discover how high-leverage trading can amplify your strategy with real-time adjustments.

Settlement Price Mechanism

• Huobi: Uses a 1-hour volume-weighted average price (VWAP) before settlement, which helps smooth out volatility.
• OKX: Relies on the last traded price just before settlement—typically on Fridays for weekly/quarterly contracts. While simpler, this method may be more vulnerable to short-term manipulation.

Margin Modes

• Huobi: Currently supports only cross-margin mode, where all account funds act as collateral. This helps prevent liquidation during temporary drawdowns and benefits hedgers or arbitrageurs.
• OKX: Offers both cross-margin and isolated margin modes. Isolated margin limits risk per position—a powerful tool for disciplined risk takers who want to cap losses.

Huobi has announced plans to introduce isolated margin, but as of 2025, OKX leads in functional completeness.

Risk Management & Liquidation Policies

Maintenance Margin & Adjustment Coefficient

Both exchanges use mechanisms to avoid loss sharing (i.e., "auto-deleveraging" or "ADL"), but they implement them differently:

• Huobi’s adjustment coefficient increases with position size and leverage. For small positions (0–999 contracts), Huobi's threshold is roughly double that of OKX.
• At 20x leverage, a 80% loss triggers liquidation on Huobi, while OKX allows up to 90% drawdown before forced exit.

However, when positions exceed 10,000 BTC contracts (~$1 million notional), Huobi becomes more lenient—the adjustment coefficient stops rising, whereas OKX continues increasing it up to 40%.

This means:

• For retail traders (<10k contracts), OKX offers higher survival tolerance.
• For institutional-sized positions, Huobi may provide better conditions.

Both platforms use a mark price system to prevent "price pinning" or manipulation during liquidations:

• OKX calculates mark price using: Spot Index + MA(Basis)
• Huobi uses an EMA-adjusted reference price

Liquidation only occurs when both the latest price and EMA-based margin ratio fall below zero—adding a layer of protection against flash crashes.

Zero Loss Sharing & Insurance Funds

Historically, profitable traders had to cover losses from undercollateralized positions (loss sharing). Today, both platforms claim zero loss sharing on BTC futures due to high maintenance thresholds.

• Huobi: Maintains a risk reserve of ~1,093 BTC (as of mid-2019 data), with consistent weekly growth.
• OKX: Holds a larger fund at ~1,729 BTC.

While these funds enhance platform stability, they are funded by seized collateral from liquidated accounts—raising ethical questions about exchange incentives. As depth improves and infrastructure strengthens, some argue these reserves should partially be returned to users.

Trading Fees & VIP Tiers

Cost efficiency matters—especially for high-frequency traders and market makers.

For non-VIP users and lower-tier VIPs:

• VIP3: Huobi offers better taker rates
• VIP5–7: OKX provides better maker rebates

👉 See how low fees combined with advanced tools can boost your net returns.

The lower taker fee on Huobi likely contributed to its rapid volume growth—especially among active traders executing frequent entries and exits.

Volume & Market Activity

By mid-2019 metrics:

• Huobi achieved a compound monthly growth rate of 112%, reaching $67 billion in cumulative trading volume.
• Q2 2019 volume surged nearly 468% from Q1.
• Daily trading volume increased over 10x from January levels by July.

OKX saw strong growth in April–May (up to 157% MoM), aligning with broader market rallies.

In terms of BTC quarterly futures volume, Huobi briefly surpassed OKX in June—indicating strong adoption momentum despite being newer to the derivatives scene.

Liquidity & Order Book Depth

Bid-Ask Spreads (Avg, 20-Day)

✅ OKX shows tighter spreads on quarterly contracts → better for large trades
✅ Huobi excels in weekly/next-week contracts → stronger short-term liquidity

Order Book Depth (Top 20 Levels)

Between August 1–20:

• Average spread concentration:

  • Huobi: $10.78 (Bid20–Ask20)
  • OKX: $9.43 → indicates denser orders near mid-price
• On 16 out of 20 days, Huobi showed higher total order volume in top 20 levels (~1.36x OKX)

Despite slightly wider mid-price clustering, Huobi often holds deeper order books—suggesting robust participation from large traders.

Price Stability & "Wicks"

Analyzing minute-level and daily volatility from June–August:

• Minute data: OKX has lower mean volatility but higher standard deviation
• Daily data: Huobi shows slightly smaller average swings but greater variance

Manual review of long-wick candles on key dates (e.g., July–August 2019) reveals:

• Both exchanges exhibit similar frequency of extreme wicks
• Recent data suggests Huobi may be improving in price integrity

👉 Experience stable pricing with real-time risk controls on a leading derivatives platform.

There's no conclusive evidence that either platform systematically "pumps" or "dumps" prices to trigger liquidations—at least not beyond what's seen in normal market behavior.

Trading Strategies: Which Platform Fits Your Style?

For Scalpers & High-Frequency Traders

Choose Huobi if you prioritize low taker fees and tight spreads on weekly instruments. However, lack of isolated margin limits complex strategies.

For Arbitrageurs & Hedgers

OKX wins with perpetual contracts + quarterly futures available under cross-margin mode. You can exploit basis trades between spot/perpetual/quarterly with controlled risk.

Example: When BTC spot rises sharply, the quarterly premium often expands. Selling perpetuals and buying quarterlies locks in the spread.

For Large Position Holders

If managing >10,000 BTC contracts, Huobi’s flat adjustment coefficient gives you more breathing room than OKX’s escalating requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Does Huobi offer perpetual contracts?
A: As of 2025, Huobi has introduced perpetual futures on select pairs, though historically it launched later than OKX.

Q: Which exchange has better leverage control?
A: OKX allows real-time adjustment from 1x to 100x post-entry—giving superior flexibility compared to Huobi’s static tiers.

Q: Can I withdraw realized profits immediately on both platforms?
A: Yes—both allow instant withdrawal of profits due to zero loss-sharing models and strong insurance funds.

Q: Is isolated margin available on Huobi?
A: Not yet widely rolled out as of early 2025, though development is underway.

Q: Why does OKX have higher taker fees?
A: The slightly higher cost is offset by richer features—like advanced charting, API depth, and multi-leg strategy support.

Q: Are liquidations fair on both platforms?
A: Both use mark price protection and EMA filters. Liquidations are generally fair unless extreme market gaps occur.

Final Verdict: Who Should Choose Which?

In summary:

• OKX is ideal for advanced traders needing full toolkit access—especially those using high leverage or running multi-position strategies.
• Huobi appeals to cost-sensitive users and institutions with massive positions who value stability over feature breadth.

Ultimately, the best choice depends on your trading style, risk appetite, and strategic goals in the evolving crypto derivatives landscape.