Paradigm and FTX Team Up To Launch Crypto Futures Spread Trading

Deal to allow “cash-and-carry” trades follows liquidity platform’s integrations with Bybit and Deribit in February

article-image

FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried | Blockworks exclusive art by axel rangel

share

key takeaways

  • Partnership will help investors better “take advantage of pricing dislocations,” Paradigm co-founder says
  • Spread trades through the deal will be available on BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, APE, DOGE, LINK and LTC

Liquidity platform Paradigm has partnered with crypto exchange FTX to launch spread trading, allowing users to take advantage of pricing dislocations with “cash-and-carry” plays.

Spread trades involve buying one security and selling another related security — such as a futures contract — to produce an overall net trade with a positive value called the spread. 

A so-called cash-and-carry trade exploits variances in market prices and could entail taking a long position in an asset while simultaneously selling the associated derivative.

Paradigm users will be able to trade the spread between spot, perpetuals and futures instruments through FTX on bitcoin, ether, solana, avalanche, apecoin, dogecoin, chainlink, and litecoin, the companies revealed Friday.  

FTX is the third exchange to partner with Paradigm (not to be confused with the crypto investment firm of the same name) on futures spreads. Paradigm is integrated with Bybit and Deribit and started offering futures spreads cleared through those exchanges in February.

“Having more exchanges means Paradigm users have alternative venues to clear and custody assets, as well as take advantage of pricing dislocations,” Paradigm co-founder Micki Koonin told Blockworks in an email. “This is especially attractive when it is one of the largest global exchanges, like FTX.”

FTX is the first exchange through which Paradigm can offer spot trade as part of the spread — such as spot versus future trades — as well as perpetual and future combinations, Koonin added. The exchange also allows trading of futures spreads on more coins, such as APE and DOGE. 

Spread trading on Paradigm has guaranteed atomic execution of both legs, the company said. Spreads executed on Paradigm and cleared on FTX will be charged half the fees compared to executing two individual trades. 

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and Paradigm CEO Anand Gomes said in statements that the firms plan to work together on future products.

Paradigm has more than 1,000 institutional clients — such as hedge funds, over-the-counter desks, lends, structured product issuers, market makers and family offices — trading roughly $10 billion per month.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.jpg

Research

Bluefin possibly stands at an inflection point. The token is near an all-time low yet the protocol’s spot volume market share and derivatives exchange usage have been increasing month over month since its November launch. Given its current market position and the upcoming upgrades (for both Bluefin and SUI), there may be upside potential before the increased supply growth in December. However, strong opposition from existing competitors (like Cetus and Suilend), as well as new entrants (like Aftermath), pose key challenges to Bluefin’s medium-term success.

article-image

Top Committee Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren in her opening statement accused Atkins of “helping billionaire CEOs like Sam Bankman-Fried”

article-image

Introducing garbled circuits for enhanced privacy and regulatory compliance

article-image

Ross Ulbricht was a freedom maximalist building freedom tech, powered by Bitcoin

article-image

Solana validators can reap benefits including payments, votes and community clout

article-image

Sponsored

WalletConnect is cementing itself as the essential connectivity layer, ensuring wallets remain the entry point for billions of users

article-image

According to a legal filing, Galaxy Digital helped boost the price of LUNA while quietly selling its tokens