One Cboe FTSE Bitcoin Index (XBTF) futures contract carries a notional size of 0.10 bitcoin on a contract multiplier of $1.00, settles in cash, and stops trading at 3:00 p.m. Chicago time on the last business day of its contract month, per Cboe's XBTF product specifications. A fully paid spot purchase of the same 0.10 bitcoin has no contract month and no daily cash settlement. Margin is the condition that separates the two: a futures position is funded at a fraction of the underlying price and settles its gain or loss in cash while it is open, which the CFTC's virtual currency advisory describes as the reason profits and losses are amplified in a margined contract.
What one XBTF contract actually specifies
Each XBTF index point represents one-tenth of the price of bitcoin in U.S. dollars and the contract multiplier is $1.00, so one contract tracks 0.10 bitcoin exactly, figures published in Cboe's XBTF specifications. The contract trades on Cboe Futures Exchange and clears through The Options Clearing Corporation. The same specification sheet lists up to six monthly serial expirations and up to six quarterly expirations on the March cycle, sets the final settlement value as the XBTF index level determined by FTSE Russell at 3:00 p.m. Chicago time on the final settlement date, rounds that value to the nearest 0.1 index point, and rejects market orders outright.
A spot purchase has none of that scaffolding. No contract month, no settlement value published by an index provider, no clearinghouse between the two sides. What stands in its place is the custody arrangement at the platform or wallet that holds the coin.
Cash settlement means no bitcoin changes hands
Most crypto futures are cash settled, so the holder receives the dollar equivalent of the virtual currency based on an index rather than the currency itself, states the CFTC advisory. That same advisory splits the two markets by supervision: the CFTC primarily regulates the derivatives contracts, while most cash markets are not regulated or supervised by a government agency, and the agency keeps general anti-fraud and manipulation authority over them.
So a futures position ends in dollars. A spot position ends in coins, sitting wherever the custody arrangement puts them, which is why withdrawal terms and wallet control are spot questions and settlement dates are futures questions. The CFTC advisory puts storage of the currency itself in the spot column.
Example: 0.10 bitcoin, two ways
Assume bitcoin at $100,000. That price level is the one assumed figure in this example; the contract terms come from Cboe's XBTF specifications, which set the index at one-tenth the bitcoin price and the multiplier at $1.00.
The spot route: 0.10 bitcoin costs $10,000. A 2 percent fall to $98,000 leaves the holding worth $9,800. No cash moves.
The futures route: the XBTF index sits at 10,000, so one contract represents 10,000 x $1.00 = $10,000 of exposure. The same 2 percent fall takes the index to 9,800. That 200-point move is worth $200 per contract, and it is debited in cash at the daily settlement rather than shown as a lower number on a screen.
The dollar loss is the same $200 on both routes. The cash flow is not. Where the deposit behind the contract is a few hundred dollars instead of $10,000, that $200 is a much larger share of the account, and the arithmetic behind that gap is worked through in a deposit is not the size of your exposure. The day-by-day version of the debit is in futures mark-to-market, one day at a time.
Three ways to hold bitcoin price exposure
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| Structure | Size per contract | Expiration | Daily cash settlement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully paid spot holding | Whatever quantity is bought | None | No |
| XBTF futures | 0.10 bitcoin, $1.00 multiplier | Last business day of the contract month | Yes |
| CBTX index options | $100 multiplier on the Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index | Third Friday of the expiring month | No; premium is paid in full up front |
The third row is a separate product with its own terms. Cboe's CBTX contract specifications set a $100 multiplier, European-style exercise that can only take place on the expiration date, cash delivery on the business day following expiration, and a position limit and exercise limit of 24,000 contracts, with ten mini contracts counting as one standard contract for that limit.
The structural line runs between the first row and the other two. One holds an asset and a custody problem; the others hold a contract with a date on it, and the counterparty on the far side is a clearinghouse rather than a dealer, which is the distinction drawn in who is on the other side of an OTC forex trade.
Source references
Primary sources used for this guide. Follow the links for the original scope, definitions and conditions.
- Cboe FTSE Bitcoin Index (XBTF) Futures product specificationsAccessed 2026-09-17
- Customer Advisory: Understand the Risks of Virtual Currency TradingAccessed 2026-09-17
- Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index Options Contract SpecificationsAccessed 2026-09-17