How to Open a Position

Dec 25, 2025 Perpetual Contract

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What is Opening a Position?

Opening a position refers to the action taken by a futures trader to buy or sell a futures contract.
Also known as establishing a position, it is the process of converting a certain portion of the cash assets in your account into futures contracts. In other words, it is turning money into futures contracts. There are two ways to open a futures position:

Operation 1:
If you expect the future price of a futures contract to rise, the corresponding action is to buy to open a long position. In trading jargon, this is called "going long." If your buy-to-open order is filled, you become a "bull" in the futures market.

Operation 2:
If you expect the future price of a futures contract to fall, the corresponding action is to sell to open a short position. In trading jargon, this is called "going short." If your sell-to-open order is filled, you become a "bear" in the futures market.

How to Open a Position on the Web？

Users can either buy to go long or sell to go short to profit from the rise or fall in digital asset prices.We will use BTCUSDT perpetual futures as an example.

Bullish – Buy to Go Long

Click Futures on the top of the homepage — select USDT-Margined Futures — Perpetual to enter the trading page.

Before opening a position, ensure there are funds in your futures account. You can either buy coins or transfer funds from your spot account. XT does not charge fees for internal transfers. For detailed instructions, refer to how to transfer and view futures account funds.

Next, select Cross/Isolated Margin and set your Leverage.

Choose the order mode: Limit, Market, or Trigger Order, then input the Price and Quantity.Finally, click Buy to Open Long.

Bearish – Sell to Go Short

Select Cross/Isolated Margin and set your Leverage.

Choose the order mode: Limit, Market, or Trigger Order — input the Price and Quantity, and click Sell to Open Short.

How to Open a Position on the App？

Take BTCUSDT perpetual contracts as an example:

Click on 'Contract' - Click on the double-sided arrow icon - Select the BTCUSDT contract under 'USDT-M Contract' - Enter the trading page.
Select 'Cross/Isolated Position', 'Leverage Multiplier' - Select the order mode 'Limit Price' or other options - Enter 'Price', 'Quantity'- Click 'Buy long' or 'Sell short'.

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