Long-Dated CDE Contracts: The 5-Year Universe
BIP, ETP, and 50+ long-dated contracts expiring Dec 2030. How they work, why they behave like perpetuals, and how to trade the full universe including commodities.
Long-Dated CDE Contracts: The 5-Year Universe
In 2024, Coinbase listed a suite of long-dated futures contracts expiring December 20, 2030 — roughly 5 years out. These aren't "perpetuals" in the technical sense (they do have an expiry date), but their multi-year horizon means you trade them like perpetuals in practice.
The BIP / ETP Contracts
BIP is the 5-year version of BIT (both are 0.01 BTC per contract). ETP is the 5-year version of ET (both 0.1 ETH). Same underlying, same contract size, massively different expiry date.
| Near-Term Ticker | 5-Year Ticker | Underlying | Size | Near Expiry | Long Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIT | BIP | Bitcoin | 0.01 BTC | ~monthly | Dec 20 2030 |
| ET | ETP | Ether | 0.1 ETH | ~monthly | Dec 20 2030 |
| AVA | AVE | Avalanche | 5–10 AVAX | ~monthly | Dec 20 2030 |
| LC | LCP | Litecoin | 5 LTC | ~monthly | Dec 20 2030 |
| LNK | LNP | Chainlink | 50 LINK | ~monthly | Dec 20 2030 |
| XRP | XPP | XRP | 500 XRP | ~monthly | Dec 20 2030 |
| ADA | ADP | Cardano | 1000 ADA | ~monthly | Dec 20 2030 |
| DOG | DOP | Dogecoin | 5000 DOGE | ~monthly | Dec 20 2030 |
| XLM | XLP | Stellar | 5000 XLM | ~monthly | Dec 20 2030 |
| SUI | SUP | Sui | 500 SUI | ~monthly | Dec 20 2030 |
Long-Dated-Only Assets (No Monthly Contract)
Some assets only have long-dated contracts with no monthly equivalent. These are effectively 5-year positions or nothing:
| Ticker | Asset | Contract Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZEC | Zcash | 1 ZEC | Only long-dated |
| SHP | Shiba Inu | 10,000 SHIB | Only long-dated |
| PEP | Pepe | 100,000 PEPE | Only long-dated — high nominal qty |
| ENA | Ethena | 5,000 ENA | DeFi yield token |
| NER | NEAR Protocol | 500 NEAR | Layer 1 |
| OND | Ondo Finance | 1,000 ONDO | RWA DeFi protocol |
| PAU | Palladium | 1 oz | Precious metal |
| SLP | Silver | 5 oz | Small silver contract |
Commodity Contracts
Among the most interesting additions are traditional commodity contracts. These trade alongside crypto on the same exchange with the same settlement mechanics:
| Ticker | Asset | Size | Type | Use Cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOL | Gold | 1 troy oz | Monthly | Safe haven, inflation hedge |
| SLR | Silver | 50 troy oz | Monthly | Industrial + precious metal |
| NOL | Crude Oil | 10 barrels | Monthly | Energy sector exposure |
| NGS | Natural Gas | 1,000 MMBtu | Monthly | Seasonal energy strategy |
| CU | Copper | 2,000 lbs | Monthly | Industrial activity proxy |
| PAU | Palladium | 1 oz | 5-year only | Rare, auto/industrial use |
| SLP | Silver | 5 oz | 5-year only | Smaller silver contract |
Natural Gas has seasonal patterns
NGS (Natural Gas) futures exhibit strong seasonality — prices spike in winter (heating demand) and summer (cooling/power generation). A simple seasonal strategy that goes long in October and exits in March has historically captured this pattern. Commodity algos on the CDE can exploit these cycles.
The 5-Year Basis: What You Pay to Hold
The BIP price is higher than spot BTC because it incorporates the expected cost of carry over 5 years. At launch, BIP might trade at 20–40% above spot BTC — representing the market's expectation of funding costs and risk premium.
- When you buy BIP, you pay the 5-year basis upfront in the price.
- If BTC rises faster than the basis implied, you profit. If it rises more slowly, the basis was expensive.
- Compare to buying spot: if BIP is 25% above spot, spot needs to stay flat for 5 years for BIP to break even relative to just holding spot.
- For directional trend strategies, the basis doesn't matter much — the percentage moves are roughly identical.
When to Use Long-Dated vs Monthly
| Situation | Use Long-Dated (BIP/ETP) | Use Monthly (BIT/ET) |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy horizon | Months to years | Days to weeks |
| Roll management | Not needed until Dec 2030 | Every month |
| Contango drag | Paid upfront in price | Ongoing monthly cost |
| Liquidity | Lower (use limit orders) | Higher |
| Bot simplicity | No rollover logic needed | Must handle contract cycles |
- BIP (BTC) and ETP (ETH) are 5-year futures expiring December 20, 2030 — no rolling until then
- The full long-dated universe covers crypto, DeFi tokens, Gold, Silver, Copper, Oil, and Palladium
- The 5-year basis (forward premium) is larger than monthly futures — factor it into your cost analysis
- Long-dated contracts are ideal for long-horizon algos that don't want to manage monthly rolls
- Commodity contracts (GOLD, SILVER, OIL) behave like their traditional futures equivalents