LIQUID STATE · tools · btc futures basis

BTC Quarterly Futures Basis Tracker

Live annualized basis between BTC spot and the nearest Binance quarterly futures contract. Track contango and backwardation — key derivatives market health signals. Updated every 15 minutes.

+5.05%CONTANGO

Normal market structure. Futures at a modest premium to spot — typical in constructive but non-euphoric conditions.

Tracking BTCUSDT_261225 · expires 2026-12-25 (78d) · raw basis +1.094%

Updated every 15 min · Binance Futures API · Wed, 07 Oct 2026 23:17:27 UTC

Annualized basis
+5.05%
30-day avg
+4.87%
60-day high
+5.31%
60-day low
+4.04%
60-day annualized basis history
Opening chart

What is the futures basis?

The basis is the spread between a quarterly futures contract price and the spot price. When futures trade above spot, the market is in contango — buyers are willing to pay a premium for deferred settlement. When futures trade below spot, the market is in backwardation — an unusual condition that has historically signalled stress or forced selling.

The annualized basis normalizes the raw spread to a yearly rate so it can be compared across different times to expiry: annualized = raw_basis_pct × (365 / days_to_expiry). A 2% raw basis with 90 days to expiry ≈ 8% annualized.

This tool tracks the nearest Binance quarterly futures contract (not the perpetual). The quarterly basis reflects longer-term market sentiment and carry-trade demand; it differs from the perpetual funding rate, which resets every 8 hours.

Market data only — not financial advice. Past basis patterns do not guarantee future outcomes.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the Bitcoin futures basis?
The futures basis is the spread between a quarterly futures contract price and the current spot price. When futures trade above spot, the market is in contango — buyers are paying a premium for deferred settlement, typical in constructive but non-euphoric conditions. When futures trade below spot, the market is in backwardation — an unusual condition that has historically signalled stress or forced selling. The basis describes current derivatives market structure; it is not a forecast of where price is headed next.
How is the annualized basis calculated?
The raw basis is normalized to a yearly rate so it can be compared across contracts with different times to expiry, using the formula annualized = raw_basis_pct × (365 / days_to_expiry). A 2% raw basis with 90 days remaining to expiry works out to roughly an 8% annualized basis. Annualizing lets a basis reading taken today be compared meaningfully against one taken with a different contract months apart.
How is the quarterly futures basis different from the perpetual funding rate?
The quarterly basis is the premium or discount of a fixed-expiry futures contract to spot, and it converges to zero automatically as the contract approaches settlement — it reflects longer-term positioning and carry-trade demand. The perpetual funding rate is a periodic payment between long and short perpetual holders that resets every eight hours and never converges to a settlement date, since perpetuals never expire. The two measure related but distinct things and frequently diverge from each other.
Where does Liquid State's futures basis data come from?
Liquid State computes the annualized basis from the nearest Binance quarterly futures contract against the Binance spot price, using Binance's public Futures API with no account or API key required. The figure is republished free, updated roughly every 15 minutes, for educational and market-monitoring purposes rather than as trading advice.
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Data sourced from the Binance Futures public API (free, no key required). Figures are informational only and do not constitute financial advice. Liquid State · crypto market intelligence.