Gate Contract Trading Full Analysis: USDT-Margined vs. Coin-Margined, How to Choose?

In cryptocurrency derivatives trading, choosing the right contract type is the cornerstone of building effective strategies. As a platform with over 12 years of industry experience and users worldwide, Gate offers comprehensive and mature contract trading products.

Currently, Gate supports over 450 tradable futures contracts, providing investors with a wide range of strategic options.

01 Gate Contract Trading Overview

Gate’s contract trading ecosystem is renowned for its extensive product lineup and robust system. The platform not only offers a vast array of trading pairs but also builds a complete support system from trading and risk control to education.

The core advantage of Gate’s contract trading lies in its system stability. During extreme market volatility, a high-performance matching engine effectively reduces lag and slippage, ensuring smooth trading.

For beginners, Gate provides simulated trading accounts, detailed educational articles, and guides to help users understand the mechanics of contract trading and risk management from scratch.

02 USDT-Margined Contracts: Intuitive and Stable Mainstream Choice

USDT-margined contracts, which use the stablecoin USDT as the pricing, margin, and settlement unit, are currently one of the most mainstream contract types on Gate.

Their key feature is straightforward calculation. All profits and losses are denominated and settled in USDT, which is approximately equal to 1 USD. This allows investors to directly and clearly calculate their fiat-based gains and losses, greatly simplifying financial accounting.

High capital efficiency and flexible operation. Since USDT is used as the margin for all trading pairs, investors do not need to prepare different margins for different currencies, improving capital utilization.

For example, the ORDI/USDT perpetual contract on Gate allows users to participate in BRC-20 token market行情 directly with USDT, without holding ORDI spot.

Relatively controllable risk. During market sharp fluctuations, because the settlement currency USDT’s price remains relatively stable, the contract’s value fluctuations mainly stem from the underlying asset, which to some extent isolates the double risk of currency devaluation.

03 Coin-Margined Contracts: A Natural Tool for Cryptocurrency Holders

Coin-margined contracts, also known as inverse contracts, are contracts that use a specific cryptocurrency (such as BTC, ETH) as the pricing and settlement unit.

For long-term holders, coin-margined contracts are a natural hedging tool. Investors holding Bitcoin spot can open short positions in coin-margined contracts if they are worried about short-term price declines.

This way, whether the price rises or falls, one side’s gains can partially or fully offset the other’s losses.

It provides a way to increase exposure to the native asset. When investors are bullish on the long-term prospects of a certain coin (like BTC), they can go long on that coin’s coin-margined contract. Profits will be settled in that coin, automatically increasing their holdings during a bull market.

The consistency between trading and settlement avoids potential losses from currency conversions at unfavorable prices. Investors do not need to sell cryptocurrencies in a downturn to exchange for USDT as margin.

04 Deep Comparison: How to Make Decisions Based on Scenarios?

To help you better understand the core differences and applicable scenarios of the two, here is a summary of their key features:

On the Gate platform, both types of contracts support flexible leverage adjustment (e.g., 1-100x or higher), dual-direction trading, as well as various order types such as limit orders, market orders, and conditional orders.

05 Start Your Contract Trading on Gate

For users new to contract trading, it is recommended to follow a safe learning path. The first step is to start with simulated trading or very low leverage. Gate offers a demo account feature, allowing users to familiarize themselves with the trading interface and procedures without risking real funds.

When trading, always prioritize setting stop-loss and take-profit orders. This is the most critical risk control measure to protect principal and avoid significant losses caused by sudden market volatility.

When choosing a contract type, consider your asset composition and trading goals. If you mainly hold USDT and want to trade multiple tokens, USDT-margined contracts are more convenient.

If you hold BTC or ETH long-term and want to hedge risks or enhance returns without selling these assets, coin-margined contracts are more suitable.

Future Outlook

On the Gate contract trading interface, you can easily switch between USDT-M (USDT-margined) and Coin-M (coin-margined) contract types.

Regardless of which type you choose, you can utilize Gate’s professional data dashboard to monitor position sizes, funding rates, long-short ratios, and other information in real-time, supporting your trading decisions.

Markets are always changing, and prudent risk management coupled with clear investment logic are the anchors that help you navigate bull and bear cycles.