The cryptocurrency derivatives market is evolving rapidly, and with it, user expectations for speed, transparency, and capital efficiency. To meet these growing demands, OKX has launched a real-time settlement feature for select coin-margined perpetual and futures contracts, including LTCUSD, ETCUSD, and several other major digital assets.
This upgrade, rolled out starting January 14, 2025, at 16:00 HKT, marks a significant step forward in how traders manage their positions and access profits. By eliminating the traditional daily settlement cycle, OKX empowers users with immediate access to realized gains—boosting liquidity, improving trading agility, and enhancing overall capital utilization.
👉 Discover how real-time settlement can transform your trading strategy today.
What Is Real-Time Settlement?
Real-time settlement means that any profit or loss from a closed position is instantly credited to your account balance—no waiting for a scheduled settlement time. In traditional systems, even after closing a trade, users must wait until the next daily settlement to withdraw or reinvest their profits. With real-time processing, that delay disappears.
This advancement particularly benefits active traders, arbitrageurs, and institutional participants who rely on fast capital turnover and precise risk management.
Supported Contracts
The initial rollout includes the following coin-margined contracts:
- Perpetual Swaps: LTCUSD, ETCUSD, XRPUSD, BCHUSD, BSVUSD, TRXUSD, LINKUSD
- Futures (Delivery) Contracts: Same underlying assets
Additional markets and product lines—including more spot pairs and options—will be upgraded to real-time settlement in phases, with announcements to follow.
Key Changes in User Experience
With real-time settlement enabled, certain interface elements have been simplified or removed to reflect the new immediacy of profit recognition. Here’s what you’ll notice across web, mobile app, and API platforms:
1. Asset Display Updates
- The “Realized PnL” field will no longer appear in asset summaries.
- However, realized gains are still fully accounted for within your total account equity—they’re just processed instantly.
2. Position Information Refreshed
For open positions:
- “Settlement Price”, “Settled PnL”, and redundant “Unrealized PnL” fields are hidden.
- The displayed profit/loss reflects only the current unrealized gain or loss from entry price to present value.
This streamlines decision-making by removing outdated or duplicate data points.
3. Settlement History Adjustments
- No new settlement records will be generated post-enablement.
- Historical records prior to January 14, 2025, remain accessible for audit and review purposes.
These UI refinements ensure clarity without sacrificing transparency.
Impact on Open Positions at Launch
If you held any of the affected contracts (e.g., LTCUSD, ETCUSD) at 16:00 HKT on January 14, 2025, the following automatic adjustments occurred:
- Your average entry price was reset to the last official settlement benchmark price.
- All previously accrued realized PnL was immediately credited to your wallet balance.
- The position’s displayed PnL was reset to zero.
- From that point onward, unrealized PnL began recalculating based on the updated entry price.
This one-time synchronization ensures fairness and consistency across all accounts entering the real-time era.
API Integration: What Developers Need to Know
For API users, specific fields now return "0" or are deprecated to align with real-time logic:
Position Endpoint Changes
| Contract Type | Affected Fields |
|---|---|
| Futures | long_settlement_price, realised_pnl, short_settlement_price, short_unrealised_pnl, short_settled_pnl, long_unrealised_pnl, long_settled_pnl |
| Perpetual | settlement_price, realized_pnl, settled_pnl |
| Options | settlement_price, realized_pnl, unrealized_pnl |
Account Info Endpoint Updates
| Contract Type | Field |
|---|---|
| Futures | realized_pnl |
| Perpetual | realized_pnl |
| Options | realized_pnl |
Developers should update their parsing logic accordingly. For full technical specifications, refer directly to the official documentation.
👉 Access the latest API specs and optimize your trading bots now.
Why Real-Time Settlement Matters
In high-volatility environments, timing is everything. Waiting hours—or even minutes—to access profits can mean missed opportunities or delayed risk mitigation. Real-time settlement addresses this bottleneck head-on.
Benefits Include:
- ✅ Faster fund availability: Withdraw or reuse profits instantly
- ✅ Improved capital efficiency: Reinvest gains immediately into new trades
- ✅ Reduced operational friction: Eliminate manual tracking of pending settlements
- ✅ Enhanced trading precision: Cleaner dashboards with up-to-the-second accuracy
Whether you're scalping small moves or managing large portfolios, these improvements translate directly into better performance.
Risk Management During Extreme Market Conditions
While real-time settlement enhances user control, OKX maintains robust safeguards to protect market integrity.
During periods of extreme volatility or abnormal user behavior—such as cascading liquidations or rapid depletion of insurance funds—the platform’s smart risk engine may temporarily:
- Restrict fund withdrawals for certain users or contracts
- Suspend real-time settlement functionality on specific pairs
These measures are designed to stabilize the system and ensure fair treatment for all participants. Normal operations resume once conditions return to acceptable levels.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Which contracts support real-time settlement?
A: Initially, LTCUSD, ETCUSD, XRPUSD, BCHUSD, BSVUSD, TRXUSD, and LINKUSD—both perpetual and futures coin-margined contracts—are supported. More will be added gradually.
Q: Can I still view past settlement records?
A: Yes. All historical settlement data before January 14, 2025, remains available for review in your account history.
Q: Does real-time settlement affect leverage or margin requirements?
A: No. Leverage settings and margin rules remain unchanged. Only the timing of PnL crediting is different.
Q: Why do some fields now show zero or disappear?
A: Fields like “Settlement Price” and “Realized PnL” are no longer needed because profits are settled instantly. The data is still accounted for in your equity.
Q: Will options contracts get real-time settlement?
A: Yes—options are included in the long-term rollout plan. Updates will be shared ahead of future launches.
Q: How does this impact tax reporting?
A: Since gains are credited immediately upon position closure, your transaction timestamps may serve as key reference points for tax calculations. Consult your tax advisor for compliance guidance.
Looking Ahead
OKX remains committed to pushing the boundaries of digital asset trading innovation. Real-time settlement is not just a feature upgrade—it's a foundational shift toward a faster, smarter, and more responsive trading ecosystem.
As additional markets transition to this model, users can expect continued improvements in execution speed, interface clarity, and financial flexibility.
👉 Stay ahead of the curve—experience seamless trading with real-time settlement on OKX.