What Is TradFi?
TradFi refers to traditional financial assets, including gold, foreign exchange (forex), indices, commodities, and popular U.S. stocks. TradFi contracts are Contracts for Difference (CFDs) derived from these underlying financial assets.
When trading TradFi contracts, you speculate on price movements of the underlying assets rather than buying, selling, or holding the assets themselves. TradFi contracts are traded using USDx as margin, have no expiration date, and do not require physical delivery.
Your asset balance in Gate TradFi is displayed using an internal accounting unit called "USDx." USDx is pegged 1:1 to assets denominated in USDT. Assets transferred into TradFi are not included in your Gate total asset balance.
Please note that USDx is neither a fiat currency nor a cryptocurrency. It is used solely as a display and accounting unit for TradFi assets.
Your underlying assets remain 100% backed by USDT, with no manual conversion required and no additional trading fees or custody charges incurred.
By using TradFi services, you agree to have your balance displayed in USDx to ensure consistent asset presentation and accurate accounting.
Differences Between TradFi Contracts and USDT Perpetual Contracts
| USDT Perpetual Contracts | TradFi Contracts | |
|---|---|---|
| Trading Hours | 7×24 | Fixed trading sessions with market closures |
| Contract Multiplier | Amount of coins per contract | Amount of underlying asset per lot |
| Leverage | Adjustable leverage up to a maximum per contract | Fixed leverage per contract; not adjustable |
| Settlement Currency | USDT | Mostly settled in USD; non-USD assets are automatically converted to USD at settlement |
| Margin Currency | USDT | USDx (pegged 1:1 to USDT-denominated assets) |
| Margin Requirement | Initial margin is calculated based on the larger of long or short position value in hedge mode | Long and short positions in the same trading pair offset margin based on lots (e.g., 0.01 long and 0.01 short require zero margin) |
| Margin Mode | Cross margin and isolated margin | Cross margin only |
| Position Mode | One-way mode and hedge mode | Each buy or sell order opens an independent position |
| Funding / Swap Fees | Funding fees are settled every n hours; calculated based on the position's USDT notional value multiplied by the funding rate |
Swap (overnight) fees charged for positions held during market closure; see TradFi Contract Fee Calculation for details |
| Trading Fees | Charged per trade based on filled amount and trading fee rate; trading fee rate depends on VIP tier |
Charged per trade based on the traded instrument; trading fees are deducted from the balance when opening a position, see TradFi Contract Fee Calculation for details |
| Order Units | Contracts, coins, USDT-value, USDT-cost | Lots, USDx-value |
| Order Types | Market orders, limit orders, conditional orders, advanced order types | Market orders, trigger orders, TP/SL orders |
| Order Book | Multi-level order book; orders can be filled at specified prices | Best bid and best ask only; market-price fill |
| Unrealized PnL | Calculated using mark price or last price; liquidation is based on mark price |
Calculated using counterparty prices; unrealized PnL for contracts with different settlement currencies is converted to USDx |
| Liquidation | Liquidation triggered when Maintenance Margin Ratio (MMR) falls to 100% or below | Liquidation triggered when margin level falls to 50%; see TradFi Contract Liquidation Process for details |
