USDC Perpetual and USDC Futures Contracts adopt a settlement mechanism. This settlement occurs every 8 hours at 8AM UTC, 4PM UTC, and 12AM (midnight) UTC. Once the settlement time is reached, the average entry price will be updated to the Mark Price at the time of settlement. 

Let’s take the position change of Trader A between 4PM UTC and  12AM (midnight) UTC as an example to see how the 8-hour session settlement mechanism works.

USDC Perpetual Contracts

Current Settlement Cycle (Between 4PM UTC and 12AM (midnight) UTC)

Trader A currently holds a 0.1 BTC-PERP long position with an entry price of $50,000. He now places another 0.1 BTC-PERP long position at $50,500.

The average entry price is calculated as follows: 

Average Entry Price = Total Session Value/Total Trade Size 

                                    = (0.1 × 50,000 + 0.1 × 50,500)/0.2

                                    = $50,250

Now that the market price has increased to $50,700 and the current Mark Price is $51,000, Trader A partially closes his 0.1 BTC position. The unrealized and realized profit is calculated as follows:

Realized P&L = (Exit Price - Average Entry Price) × Contract Quantity

                        = (50,700 - 50,250) × 0.1 = 45 USDC

Unrealized P&L = (Current Mark Price - Average Entry Price) × Contract Quantity

                            = (51,000 - 50,250) × 0.1 = 75 USDC

For more information on how to calculate the profit and loss for USDC Perpetual and USDC Futures Contracts, please visit here.

Settlement Process at 12AM (midnight) UTC

The Mark Price at settlement time (12AM UTC) is $52,000. The unrealized P&L for the current settlement cycle is calculated as follows:

Formula

Session Unrealized P&L = (Current Mark Price - Average Entry Price) × Contract Quantity

                                       = (52,000 - 50,250) × 0.1 = 175 USDC

The current session unrealized P&L is 175 USDC. The profit of 175 USDC will be credited to your wallet balance. The new average entry price is now been updated to $52,000.

A new settlement cycle starts and any profit or loss will now be calculated based on the new average entry price of $52,000. 

Assuming Trader A closes the position before the next settlement cycle at 8AM UTC, the realized profit or loss will be calculated based on the price difference between $52,000 and the exit price. The fee to close will be charged. 

USDC Futures Contracts

The mechanics of  USDC Futures Contracts work in the same way as USDC Perpetual Contracts. However, if the trader does not manually close the USDC Futures position and holds it until the contract is settled, no settlement fee will be charged. 

For more information on the settlement rules for USDC Futures, please refer to here.