Settlement (Global Derivatives)

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

Settlement refers to the routine daily mark-to-market process that occurs every day at 08:00 UTC for futures and perpetual contracts (note this does not apply to options). This is distinct from a contract’s final expiration/delivery in daily settlement, open positions are not closed, but any profit or loss accumulated since the last settlement is realized and transferred to your account’s cash balance. In other words, Deribit divides trading into 24-hour sessions (08:00–08:00 UTC), and at the end of each session a settlement event happens to update balances and reset the “session” P&L counters for the new day. Both session and total P&L for open positions will be visible on the Advanced Portfolio pages and Trade page blotters.

Note: 

Fees and payments 

  • Settlement does not incur any fees.   

  • Settlement does not trigger any external payments or transfers. It only realizes P&L internally to your account balance.

  • Delivery fees are separate and follow their own rules. See below for more details.

Before settlement (Pre-08:00 UTC)

  • Trading and withdrawals: Trading continues until settlement. Realized and unrealized session profits are credited in real time but are only available for withdrawal after the required settlement processing has completed, subject to margin requirements and other applicable restrictions.

  • No customer  intervention required: All settlement and risk adjustments are handled automatically by the platform; customers do not need to take any action.

During settlement (at 8:00 UTC)

  • Daily settlement at 08:00 UTC: Every day at 08:00 UTC, Deribit runs the official settlement process for all instruments.

  • Brief trading pause: Trading is paused briefly during settlement while prices are finalized and accounts are updated. Order matching is halted, and any orders submitted during this window are rejected.

  • P&L  realization and balance update: 

    • The system realizes all session P&L (profits and losses) on open futures and perpetuals, updating your account balance.

    • Profits are credited and losses deducted from your cash balance at this time.

  • Contract expiry and final settlement: If a contract expires at 08:00 UTC, it is delivered at the official delivery price. The position is closed and P&L is cash-settled, no physical delivery occurs.

  • Insurance fund and socialized loss: The insurance fund covers negative balances from bankrupt accounts. If the fund is ever insufficient, a socialized loss adjustment may apply, distributing losses pro-rata to profitable traders for that session.

Alert 

Don’t submit trades or withdrawal requests during settlement. Orders placed during this window are rejected. 

After settlement (Post 08:00 UTC)

  • Trading resumes promptly once the 08:00 UTC settlement event completes.

  • Order book operation returns to normal: 

    • New orders are accepted and matched as usual once settlement is finished.

  • Session P&L statistics reset: 

    • For non-expiring positions, your “Session” Unrealized/Realized P&L (UPL/RPL) resets to zero at the start of the new 24-hour session after 08:00 UTC.

    • The Coinbase  interface displays session P&L from zero for the new session, while your total P&L for each position (since opening) remains unchanged.

  • Daily settlement and realized profits: 

    • The daily settlement does not affect your overall trade profit; it simply books the portion earned up to that point as realized and adds it to your account balance.

    • Example: If you had $100 profit yesterday and $50 more today, after today’s 08:00 settlement, your session P&L resets to $0, $50 is credited to your balance, and your total position P&L is $150.

  • Session profits can contribute to derivatives margin, subject to the account’s margin rules and restrictions on isolated positions. Transfers and withdrawals require completed settlement processing and remain subject to margin requirements and other applicable restrictions.

Delivery

"Delivery" refers to the final cash settlement of an expiring contract, where the position is closed and the resulting profit or loss is transferred to your account balance. Customers do not need to take any action for delivery, everything is handled automatically by the platform.

The distinction between Delivery and Settlement:

  • Settlement is the daily process of realizing session P&L and updating balances.

  • Delivery is the final cash settlement at contract expiry, with no physical transfer of non-cash assets.

Delivery overview:

  • No physical delivery: Coinbase  contracts (futures, options, and perpetuals) are cash-settled only. There is no physical delivery of the underlying asset (e.g., BTC or ETH) at expiry or settlement. All profits and losses are settled in USDC.

  • Risk controls near delivery: As delivery approaches, risk controls adjust automatically. The delta of expiring options and futures decays linearly to zero over the last 30 minutes before expiry, reducing risk from sudden price moves. These adjustments require no action from customers , but Greeks and margin requirements may shift as 08:00 UTC approaches on expiry days. See Delta decay during settlement for more details.

  • Official delivery price computation: In the minutes before 08:00 UTC, Deribit computes an official delivery price for each instrument.

    • Non-expiry days: The prevailing index price around 08:00 UTC is used for daily settlements of perpetuals and futures.

    • Final expiry days: For instruments expiring at 08:00 UTC, the delivery price is the 30-minute time-weighted average price (TWAP) of the relevant Index, calculated from 07:30 to 08:00 UTC. A snapshot is taken every 4 seconds during this period. The 30 minute TWAP across multiple independent index constituents reduces the risk of price manipulation at settlement. . The calculated delivery price is used for final P&L calculation.

  • How delivery works for each product: 

    • Futures: At expiry (usually Friday 08:00 UTC), the contract is cash-settled at the official delivery price (30-minute TWAP of the index). No BTC or ETH is delivered; only P&L is transferred.

    • Options: European-style,cash-settled at expiry. If in-the-money, the option is automatically exercised and the profit is paid in cash (USDC). No asset is delivered.

    • Perpetuals: No expiry, so no delivery event. P&L is realized daily at settlement, but there is never a physical delivery.

    • Spot: Not applicable.

  • Delivery fees at expiry: For some contracts, a delivery fee may apply at final expiry (not during daily settlement).

    • A delivery fee may apply when a futures or options contract expires. Delivery fees are separate from trading fees and are not charged during routine daily settlement. See Deribit’s delivery fee schedule for applicable rates, exemptions and caps.

  • Expired instruments: If an instrument expired and settled, your position in that instrument is removed from your portfolio after 08:00.