Block trading FAQ

Q: What is block trading?

A block trade is a large, privately negotiated securities transaction. They are common among institutional investors, hedge funds and high-net-worth individuals deploying significant capital. When executing large orders on exchanges, traders risk impacting the market and causing price slippage. Alternatively, via private negotiations, they can predetermine a settlement price by requesting-for-quote from a market maker.

Q: What is an RFQ?

A request for quote, or RFQ, is an electronic notification sent to market makers expressing their intention to trade a specific instrument or strategy. Market makers will be alerted once an RFQ has been sent and will be prompted to quote a bid and ask for the requested strategy.

Q: What is the minimum size of a block trade?

Only in spot trading, the minimum notional size for the block trade is US$10,000 or equivalent. For other RFQs, the minimum block trading size is US$50,000 or equivalent. However, exceptions may occur during periods of market volatility.

Q: Can I submit a RFQ anonymously?

Yes, OKX's block trading platform supports anonymous RFQ submissions.

Q: How do I apply for block trading?

If you've completed identity verification and have more than $100,000 in your account, you'll arrive at the block trading section.

If you have not completed identity verification, or your assets do not meet the US$100,000 requirement, you need to complete identity verification and deposit more cryptos to meet the minimum asset requirement for block trading.

Q: How do I sign up as a maker for Block Trading?

First, the applicant's account must have assets over $200,000. Then, send an email to blocktrading@OKX.com to apply. After sending, the account manager will review and process your request.

Q: Will the price of block trading appear on the candlestick chart?

No

Q: Will block trading be partially filled?

No, block trading only has either not fill or fully filled, no partially filled.

Q: How are block trading conducted?

In block trading, taker will send a request for quotation first, maker will provide a quote based on the RFQ. The taker can freely select a suitable quote from the maker's offerings. Upon acceptance, the order will be fully filled. The decision to provide or accept a quote is entirely voluntary for both sides.

Q: How long is the validity period of RFQ and Quotation?

RFQ can be traded as long as its time limit. Generally, responses will remain active for two minutes, while for options trading it is 10 minutes. The validity of a quotation controlled by the market maker.

Q: How are the trading fee charged?

The trading fee rules of block trading are same as for other tradings. It based on your current fee rate. The RFQ will be charged according to the taker fee rate, while the maker's quote will be charged according to the maker fee rate.

Q: Are there any price limit of maker's quotation?

There are no price limit of maker's quotes, but when a fill, it must comply with the platform's price limit rules and platform risk control. Once violated, the order will not be filled.

Q: Will a block trading trigger forced liquidation?

Yes, after a block trading is filled, each leg will become the corresponding position or asset. According to the platform's liquidation rules, when the margin ratio is ≤ 100% will trigger forced liquidation

Q: What are the advantages of block trading?

① Block trading allow for the configuration of multiple complex strategies at once. Accepted quotes are fully filled, eliminating partial fills. This simplifies the deployment of strategies such as hedging.

② Block trading quotes and executions do not enter the market depth or appear on the candlestick chart. Therefore, it do not trigger market reactions that could affect the market price. The price accepted by the taker is the final execution price, with no slippage.

③Block trading allows to send RFQ anonymously and the taker can freely select maker to approach and choose among their quoted proposals. Both the transaction and preliminary negotiations are conducted privately, offering a high degree of freedom and confidentiality.