Binance launched USDT-settled perpetual futures referencing gold (XAUUSDT) and silver (XAGUSDT), introducing 24/7 access and crypto-style margining to two major commodity markets. The gold contract went live on January 5, followed by silver on January 7.
The two TradFi perpetuals reuse familiar perpetual mechanics while adding commodity-specific price controls. XAGUSDT supports up to 50x leverage for silver exposure; Binance’s highest-leverage crypto pairs remain higher, but this level still permits significant amplification of returns and losses. Funding settles every four hours and, at launch, Binance capped the funding rate at ±2% per interval for XAGUSDT, per product documentation and reporting.
The products settle in Tether (USDT) and are offered through Nest Exchange Limited, a Binance entity regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
To limit dislocations, Binance uses a Price Index sourced from multiple vendors and a Mark Price that runs an EWMA model during off-hours. Commodity contracts apply deviation constraints (noted at ±3% for XAUUSDT) to reduce divergence between mark and index prices.
Regulatory framing and market implications
Binance routed the contracts through Nest Exchange Limited, an ADGM-recognized exchange regulated by the FSRA, signaling an effort to pair product innovation with explicit oversight. That regulatory footing may ease entry for traditional institutional counterparties that require an identifiable regulated venue.
For traders and crypto treasuries, USDT settlement concentrates profit and loss into a single stablecoin unit. That simplifies accounting and liquidity management for crypto-native treasuries but also concentrates counterparty and stablecoin exposure.
Operationally, risk managers should watch funding-rate behavior and open interest closely: elevated funding or sudden OI swings would signal concentrated directional positioning and raise liquidation risk in highly leveraged silver positions. Treasury teams weighing these products must balance the convenience of USDT-settled exposure against settlement concentration and platform counterparty risk.
Binance has indicated more traditional-asset contracts are planned, and the coming weeks of volume, funding-rate patterns and open-interest trends will be the practical measures used to judge whether these products broaden institutional access or primarily serve retail and speculative flows.
