Binance Goes 24/7 on FX Perps Because Forex Apparently Sleeps Too Much

Binance is launching 24/7 perpetual futures contracts tied to foreign exchange, beginning with a US dollar-Brazilian real pair set to go live on Sept. 21, according to a Friday announcement. The USDBRLUSDT contract will settle in USDT and offer up to 100x leverage, expanding the exchange's derivatives lineup beyond crypto.

Unlike traditional FX markets, which close on weekends, Binance's contracts will trade continuously under a dual-mode pricing system. During standard FX trading hours, prices will track a weighted index sourced from third-party data providers. On weekends and public holidays, the exchange will switch to an orderbook-based pricing mechanism that uses an exponentially weighted moving average of orderbook prices rather than external feeds.

Binance trading head Shunyet Jan said the contracts are designed to extend price discovery beyond conventional FX trading hours and give traders a venue to hedge or take positions around the clock. "Foreign exchange is the largest market in the world, and it has historically been limited to a specific trading schedule," Jan said in a statement. "We want to give traders a way to access this market on their terms."

The move follows similar product launches from competitors. Bybit introduced 24/7 perpetuals tracking EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY less than two weeks earlier, also settled in USDT with up to 100x leverage. Kraken rolled out FX perpetuals covering the euro, British pound, Australian dollar, Japanese yen and Swiss franc in April 2025, with up to 50x leverage, after first offering spot FX trading in 2020. Kraken reported $5.7 billion in FX spot volume in the first part of 2025.

The products let crypto traders take positions on currency movements without holding the underlying currencies, tapping into a market that dwarfs all others. Global OTC FX turnover averaged $9.6 trillion a day in April 2025, according to a report from the Bank for International Settlements.