Symbol Specifications
Every symbol carries a set of specifications: how much one lot is worth, the smallest size you can trade, how much margin it ties up, when it trades, and what holding it overnight costs. Those figures are set per symbol and some of them change.
The live numbers for all 400 plus instruments are on the trading conditions page at xbtfx.com, and in your platform under the symbol’s specification. This page explains what the fields mean and the rules that hold across a whole group, so the live table is readable when you get there.
Contract size
Contract size is what one lot represents. It is the number that turns a lot into an amount of something.
| Instrument | One lot is |
|---|---|
| Forex pairs | 100,000 units of the base currency |
| Gold | 100 ounces |
| Silver | 5,000 ounces |
| Platinum, palladium | 100 ounces |
| Copper | 25,000 pounds |
| Crude oil (WTI, Brent) | 1,000 barrels |
| Natural gas | 10,000 units |
| Index CFDs | 10 index units |
| Micro index CFDs | 1 index unit |
| Share and ETF CFDs | 100 shares |
| Cryptocurrency | 1 coin |
So 1.00 lot of EURUSD is 100,000 euro of exposure, and 1.00 lot of BTCUSD is one bitcoin. The two are nothing alike in size, which is why lot counts do not compare across groups.
Lot sizes
Most symbols start at 0.01 lots and step in 0.01. The exceptions are the standard index CFDs and crude oil, which start and step at 0.10, and natural gas at 1.00. Micro index CFDs go back down to 0.01, which is the point of them.
Maximum position size per order is set per symbol and varies a lot: 100 lots on forex, 500 on gold and silver, 100 on US share CFDs, and figures in the thousands on most cryptocurrency symbols. The live table lists the maximum alongside the minimum.
Leverage and margin
Leverage at XBTFX is dynamic. Rather than one figure for the account, each symbol has a ladder of notional value bands, and the margin rate rises as the position gets bigger. The ceiling on any account is 1000:1, reached only on the first band of the major forex pairs.
Tiers apply incrementally. A larger position does not reprice the whole position at the worse rate, it only charges the worse rate on the part that sits in the higher band.
Take EURUSD, where the first band is 1000:1 up to $500,000 of notional value and the second is 500:1 from $500,000 to $2 million. A $1 million position is margined as two pieces:
- The first $500,000 at 0.1%, which is $500.
- The next $500,000 at 0.2%, which is $1,000.
Total margin $1,500, not the $1,000 a flat 1000:1 would suggest and not the $2,000 a flat 500:1 would.
Where each group starts:
| Group | First band | Up to |
|---|---|---|
| Forex majors | 1000:1 | $500,000 |
| Forex crosses | 500:1 | $250,000 |
| Forex exotics | 200:1 | $100,000 |
| US and European indices | 200:1 | $2M, $500,000 |
| Asia-Pacific indices | 100:1 | $500,000 |
| Gold, silver | 200:1 | $25M on XAUUSD, less elsewhere |
| Crude oil, natural gas | 40:1, 50:1 | $250,000 |
| Bitcoin, Ethereum | 50:1 | $250,000 |
| Other cryptocurrency | 10:1 or 20:1 | $25,000 |
| US share CFDs | 10:1 | $100,000 |
| European share CFDs | 4:1 | $100,000 |
| Asian share CFDs | 1:1 to 5:1 | $50,000 |
Individual symbols depart from their group. USDCHF starts at 500:1 rather than 1000:1, a handful of US shares sit at 5:1, 3:1 or 1:1 instead of 10:1, and the Swiss franc crosses are a band lower than the rest of the crosses. Check the symbol, not the group, before sizing a position on the assumption above.
Swaps
A position still open at the daily rollover is charged or paid a swap. Both directions have their own rate, and either can be positive.
Rates are quoted in points per lot for most instruments and they move, so the only figure worth trusting is the current one on the live table or in your platform. The Fees & Commissions page covers how swaps sit alongside spread and commission.
Rollover does not happen on a weekend, so one day of the week carries three days of swap to cover it. On forex, metals, indices and share CFDs that is Friday. Cryptocurrency varies by symbol, and a few symbols have swaps switched off entirely, so read the specification rather than assuming.
Trading hours
Forex and cryptocurrency quote continuously through the trading week. Most other instruments follow the market underneath them and take a daily break. Times below are GMT+0.
| Instrument | Hours |
|---|---|
| Forex | Continuous |
| US share and ETF CFDs | 13:30 to 20:00 |
| European share CFDs | 07:00 to 15:30 |
| US index CFDs | 00:00 to 21:00, then 22:00 to 24:00 |
| Gold and silver | 00:00 to 21:00, then 22:00 to 24:00 |
| Crude oil | 00:00 to 21:00 |
European and Asian index CFDs each keep their own hours, and the NDF symbols trade short windows that differ per pair. Those are on the live table.
Share CFD hours track the exchange, including its daylight saving changes, so a US share opens an hour earlier or later in GMT+0 terms depending on the time of year.
Two scheduled interruptions sit in the trading day, both brief:
- MT5 servers restart daily at 21:15 GMT+0, and at 20:00 on Sundays, for up to ten minutes.
- Liquidity bridge servers restart daily at 21:06 GMT+0, and at 20:00 on Sundays.
Stop and limit distance
Most symbols have no minimum distance, so a stop or limit order can sit as close to the current price as you want to put it. The micro index CFDs and the NDF pairs are the exception, with a minimum of 5 points. An order inside that distance is rejected.
Reading a specification in the platform
In MetaTrader 5, right click a symbol in Market Watch and choose Specification. The dialog lists contract size, lot limits, the swap rates for long and short, the trading sessions and the digits the price is quoted to. It is the same data the live table shows, for the one symbol you are looking at.
Pulling specs programmatically
The Trading API exposes the same symbol data through its symbols endpoint. See docs.xbtfx.com.
Conditions can change during high volatility or ahead of a major economic release. If a figure in your platform does not match what you expected, the platform is the one that is current.