Binance will change how it calculates benchmark prices for commodity-based perpetual futures during off-hours. Effective this Friday at 9:00 pm UTC, the exchange replaces its current fixed pricing method with an Orderbook EWMA (exponential weighted moving average) model on Binance Futures. The update directly impacts margin calculations and liquidation triggers for these contracts during weekends, holidays, and maintenance windows.
Eight Commodity Contracts Affected
The change covers gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, crude oil, Brent crude, and natural gas. Binance said the same methodology will apply to future commodity-based TradFi perpetual contracts listed on the platform. Equity-based TradFi perps will keep the current fixed pricing method for now.
How the New Model Works
The Orderbook EWMA model uses orderbook data smoothed over time instead of relying on a fixed reference price when underlying markets are closed or less active. It applies to daily maintenance, weekends, and holidays. A Binance spokesperson said the fixed pricing model was designed for lower-liquidity periods, but stronger trading volumes and deeper orderbooks have made more flexible price discovery a natural next step for its TradFi perpetuals business.
The new model ties off-hours pricing more closely to exchange liquidity while smoothing transitions between closed and active market sessions. Binance said weekend margin requirements are not changing, but liquidation behavior outside regular hours will become more aligned with crypto perpetual markets.
What Traders Should Watch
Because the index price generated by the model is used to calculate margin and liquidation levels, leveraged positions may see different mark-to-market values during off-hours compared with the previous fixed-price system. Binance aims to reduce distortions between closed commodity markets and active crypto derivatives trading. The trade-off is that off-hours pricing may become more dynamic for leveraged traders.
Crypto derivatives venues commonly use index pricing models that draw from multiple inputs or orderbook-weighted data to reduce short-term pricing distortions during low-liquidity periods. Bybit, for example, uses an index price calculation framework that aggregates prices from external spot exchanges and applies weighting mechanisms. Binance said the change is limited to commodity-based TradFi perpetuals because their underlying markets close outside regular hours, while crypto perpetuals trade continuously.