This article addresses our Global Derivatives offering, which is currently only available to eligible customers in supported regions outside of the U.S. Learn more about Coinbase's Derivatives products
A combo, also called a strategy, combines two or more related instruments (legs) into a single trade, such as call spreads, put spreads, and calendar spreads.
Combo book summary
Easier execution: Execute all legs of a multi-leg option strategy with one order at one price, instead of managing multiple orders.
No leg risk: All legs of a combo fill together, so one leg can't fill while the price moves away from the other.
Flexible legs: After a position opens, trade each leg individually in its own order book or as part of a different combo.
Small minimum sizes: The minimum trade size for a combo matches the options it contains, for example 0.01 BTC, 0.1 ETH, 10 SOL (1 contract), or 1,000 XRP (1 contract).
Combo lifetime
The number of option combo order books that can be active at the same time is limited for each underlying asset. The soft and hard limits apply across the whole exchange. The limit on creating new combos applies to each account.
Above the soft limit: combos that don't meet the 2-hour volume threshold are deactivated, starting with the lowest 2-hour volume.
At the hard limit: no new combos can be created until the system deactivates others.
Combos newer than 2 hours aren't deactivated.
Parameter | Limit |
Minimum trade size | Same as a single option on that asset, for example 0.01 BTC, 0.1 ETH, 10 SOL (1 contract), or 1,000 XRP (1 contract) |
Soft limit (active option combo books) | 10 |
Hard limit (active option combo books) | 50 |
Volume threshold | 5 contracts per 2 hours |
New combos you can create | 20 (per 168 hours) |
Note: These limits can change at any time.
Combo types
Combos are currently available for selected linear options, which are priced and settled in USDC (e.g. BTC, ETH, SOL, and XRP). To see what's available to you, sign in and check the options chain in Coinbase Advanced. Futures spreads aren't supported.
In the tables below:
Higher and lower describe each strike compared with the other legs.
Legs when you buy 1 shows what one combo contains when purchased.
Selling the combo reverses every leg.
Availability depends on the asset, expiry, strikes, and your region.
Availability can change at any time without notice.
Vertical spreads examples
Strategy | Description | Legs when you buy 1 |
|---|---|---|
Call spread | Costs less than buying a call on its own, but caps the potential gain. Often used when expecting a moderate rise. | Buy 1 call, sell 1 call at a higher strike, same expiry |
Put spread | Costs less than buying a put on its own, but caps the potential gain. Often used when expecting a moderate fall. | Buy 1 put, sell 1 put at a lower strike, same expiry |
Risk reversal | Gains if the price falls, paid for by selling a call. The short call carries unlimited risk if the price rises. | Buy 1 put, sell 1 call at a higher strike, same expiry |
Risk reversal (ITM) | Gains if the price rises, paid for by selling a put. Both options are in the money. The short put carries significant risk if the price falls. | Buy 1 call, sell 1 put at a higher strike, same expiry |
Ratio spreads and ladders examples
Strategy | Description | Legs when you buy 1 |
|---|---|---|
Call ratio spread 1×2 | Selling extra calls lowers the cost and can bring in premium. Losses can grow without limit if the price rises sharply. | Buy 1 call, sell 2 calls at a higher strike, same expiry |
Call ratio spread 1×3 | Same as 1×2 with one more short call, so more premium. Losses can grow without limit if the price rises sharply. | Buy 1 call, sell 3 calls at a higher strike, same expiry |
Call ratio spread 2×3 | A milder ratio (1 to 1.5). Losses can grow without limit if the price rises sharply. | Buy 2 calls, sell 3 calls at a higher strike, same expiry |
Put ratio spread 1×2 | Selling extra puts lowers the cost and can bring in premium. Losses can be large if the price falls sharply. | Buy 1 put, sell 2 puts at a lower strike, same expiry |
Put ratio spread 1×3 | Same as 1×2 with one more short put, so more premium. Losses can be large if the price falls sharply. | Buy 1 put, sell 3 puts at a lower strike, same expiry |
Put ratio spread 2×3 | A milder ratio (1 to 1.5). Losses can be large if the price falls sharply. | Buy 2 puts, sell 3 puts at a lower strike, same expiry |
Call ladder | A call spread plus an extra short call at a higher strike, which lowers the cost. Losses can grow without limit if the price rises far above the highest strike. | Buy 1 call, sell 1 call at a higher strike, sell 1 call at an even higher strike, same expiry |
Put ladder | A put spread plus an extra short put at a lower strike, which lowers the cost. Losses grow if the price falls far below the lowest strike. | Buy 1 put, sell 1 put at a lower strike, sell 1 put at an even lower strike, same expiry |
Volatility combo examples
Strategy | Description | Legs when you buy 1 |
|---|---|---|
Straddle | Can gain from a large move in either direction, but the move must cover both premiums. You can lose the full premium if the price ends near the strike. | Buy 1 call and 1 put at the same strike, same expiry |
Strangle | Like a straddle but cheaper, because both options are out of the money. Needs a larger move. | Buy 1 put at a lower strike and 1 call at a higher strike, same expiry |
Strangle (ITM) | A strangle built with in-the-money options, so it costs more. | Buy 1 call at a lower strike and 1 put at a higher strike, same expiry |
Butterflies and condors examples
Strategy | Description | Legs when you buy 1 |
|---|---|---|
Call butterfly | Limited cost and limited gain. The largest gain is when the price is near the middle strike at expiry. | Buy 1 call, sell 2 calls at a higher strike, buy 1 call at an even higher strike, same expiry |
Put butterfly | The put version of the call butterfly. | Buy 1 put, sell 2 puts at a higher strike, buy 1 put at an even higher strike, same expiry |
Iron butterfly | Selling this combo gives the standard iron butterfly: you receive premium, and the largest gain is when the price ends near the middle strike. Buying it does the reverse. | Sell 1 put, buy 1 call and 1 put at a higher strike, sell 1 call at an even higher strike, same expiry |
Skinny call butterfly | A call spread plus an extra long call at the top strike of the combo. You pay premium and can lose all of it. Gains aren't capped if the price rises. | Buy 1 call, sell 1 call at a higher strike, buy 1 call at an even higher strike, same expiry |
Skinny put butterfly | A put spread plus an extra long put at the bottom strike of the combo. You pay premium and can lose all of it. The largest gain is if the price falls toward zero. | Buy 1 put, sell 1 put at a higher strike, buy 1 put at an even higher strike, same expiry |
Iron condor | You receive premium. The largest gain is when the price ends between the two middle strikes; the outer options limit the loss. | Buy 1 put, sell 1 put at a higher strike, sell 1 call at a higher strike, buy 1 call at the highest strike, same expiry |
Call condor | Limited cost and limited gain. The largest gain is when the price ends between the two middle strikes. | Buy 1 call, sell 1 call at each of the next two higher strikes, buy 1 call at the highest strike, same expiry |
Put condor | The put version of the call condor. | Buy 1 put, sell 1 put at each of the next two higher strikes, buy 1 put at the highest strike, same expiry |
Calendar spreads examples
Strategy | Description | Legs when you buy 1 |
|---|---|---|
Call calendar spread | Trades the difference in implied volatility between two expiries. Tends to do best if the price stays near the strike as the nearer expiry approaches, but results also depend on changes in implied volatility. | Buy 1 call at a later expiry, sell 1 call at a nearer expiry, same strike |
Put calendar spread | The put version of the call calendar. | Buy 1 put at a later expiry, sell 1 put at a nearer expiry, same strike |
Call diagonal spread | A calendar spread with different strikes. | Buy 1 call at a later expiry, sell 1 call at a nearer expiry and a different strike |
Put diagonal spread | The put version of the call diagonal. | Buy 1 put at a later expiry, sell 1 put at a nearer expiry and a different strike |
Straddle calendar | Trades the difference in implied volatility between two expiries using straddles. | Buy 1 straddle at a later expiry, sell 1 straddle at a nearer expiry, same strike |
Straddle calendar (diagonal) | A straddle calendar with different strikes in each expiry. | Buy 1 straddle at a later expiry, sell 1 straddle at a nearer expiry and a different strike |
Synthetic combo examples
Strategy | Description | Legs when you buy 1 |
|---|---|---|
Reversal / conversion | Buying creates synthetic long exposure, which moves like a long futures position. Selling creates the opposite (a conversion). Mainly used to trade pricing differences between options and futures. The short put can lose a large amount if the price falls. | Buy 1 call, sell 1 put at the same strike, same expiry |
Jelly roll | A synthetic long at one expiry against a synthetic short at another. Used to trade the price difference between the two expiries. | Buy 1 call and sell 1 put at a later expiry; sell 1 call and buy 1 put at a nearer expiry; same strike |