A derivative is a financial product whose value is derived from an underlying asset. You can read more about it in the Derivatives Trading on Bitfinex article.
Order Form on the Bitfinex derivatives
The order form is where you put together the order you want to place.
The order form includes:
Order Type — The drop-down list, located on the top left of the order form, allows you to select the sort of order you wish to place;
Price Box — If placing a Limit/Stop order, here, you can specify the price at which you would like the order to execute/trigger;
Amount — Enter the amount you wish to purchase or sell;
Leverage — Using the slider, select the amount of leverage you would like for the position. You may also write the number in the leverage box.
Bitfinex derivatives positions box
The positions box shows all the open positions. When you place an order on the Derivatives platform, you open a position. As you can only have one position per pair, multiple orders on the same pair will contribute to the same position. The amount will become a sum of the orders, and the base price will be a weighted average when you increase the position size. When you decrease the position size, the profit/loss is partially realized and the base price remains unchanged.
You will find on the positions box:
Pair — The derivative pair;
Amount — The size of your position;
Note: Positive means it is a long, and negative denotes a short.
Base Price — The break-even price;
Liq Price — The marked price at which your liquidation will trigger;
P/L— The profit and loss shown in the base currency;
P/L% — The profit and loss shown as a percentage;
Collateral — The amount of collateral assigned to this position.
You can take two actions on the positions box by using the marked buttons displayed in the figure above:
1 — Close the position with a market order
2 — Edit the amount of collateral assigned to the position.
Summary Box on the Bitfinex derivatives
The summary box varies according to the pairs chosen and contains a wealth of information about each pair. The following are the descriptions:
Price Derivative — The price at which the derivative is trading;
Price Spot — The price at which the underlying asset is trading;
Mark Price — In general, it refers to the average price of the underlying asset based upon the BFX Composite Index (BFXCI), an index of prices obtained from several leading cryptocurrency exchanges. In certain contracts, the definition of mark price can be different. Please refer to the Derivative Product Description;
Spread — The difference in price between the derivative mid-price and the spot price as a percentage;
Note: A positive spread indicates that the derivative is trading at a price higher than the mark price (at a premium - e.g. 0.25 per cent). A negative spread indicates that the derivative is being traded at a lower price than the mark price (at a discount, e.g. -0.25 per cent).
Liquidation Fund Balance — the funds currently available in the liquidation fund;
Funding Rate (current period) — The funding rate to be applied at the end of the current period;
Predicted rate — The predicted funding rate to be applied at the end of the next period;
Next funding event in — Countdown to the next funding event;
Open interest — Total number of contracts held in an active position.
If you have any questions about Derivatives trading, feel free to contact Bitfinex Support for assistance.