Forwards

Forwards Overview

A Forward is a contract where the user agrees to buy or sell an asset at a fixed price and date in the future. Gain or loss depends on the difference between the agreed price and the market price at expiry.

Placing Forwards Orders

1. In the Market tab, select Forwards

2. Enter your order parameters

   • Type: Next Auction or Ithaca Expiry

   • Side: "+" indicates a LONG/BUY position on the contract selected, "–" indicates a SHORT/SELL position on the contract selected.

   • Size: The exposure equivalent of your desired asset. Entering 1 means you are trading a contract for one unit of the underlier

   • Unit Price: This is the order limit price which will be entered into the auction. The system feeds a suggested price, which is a theoretical mid price based on Ithaca protocol proprietary pricing model: these prices are not tradable neither are they guaranteeing a fill of entered. These prices are meant to help anchor a limit price to be entered that may have higher probability of a match.

3. Verify Order Summary

   • Order limit: Order price

   • Collateral requirement: The amount required to be locked so as to ensure that the order enters the auction.

   • Platform fee: Fee to be paid in case of execution.

   • Total premium: The total to be paid net of fees.

4. "Submit to Auction" and approve your transaction in your wallet

A user entering an order to long one Forward of strike K will have to post an amount of K USDC as collateral.

A user entering an order to short one Forward of strike K will have to post an amount of one ETH as collateral.

+ Next auction forward will mean using USDC at unit price to go long ETH. This is the equivalent of going long ETH on a 'spot' basis in an unmargined world.

- Next auction forward means using ETH at unit price to go long USDC | short ETH.

+ Dated forward means taking delivery of ETH at expiry at entered unit price. User decides the unit price at which user is willing to go long ETH at expiry date.

Forwards Contract

Item	Description
Products	Next ( focal ) auction forward Dated ( defined expiry ) forward
Payout Formula	Long: reference price - strike Short: - ( reference price - strike )
Underlying	WETH/USDC
Settlement Style	Ithaca settlement
Exercise Style	European, auto-exercised
Settlement Currency	WETH
Strike Currency	USDC
Collateral Currency	WETH for short; USDC for long
Collateral Amount	1 WETH for short, strike USDC for long
Collateral Management	Fully collateralized, pre-funded
Multiplier	1
Strike Price	Fixed standardized published levels
Reference Price	ITHACA Reference Fixing
Expiry Dates	1st focal auction on relevant expiry Friday