What is the tick value for BTC?

$25.00 per tick — a 5 tick size × a $5 multiplier (point value).

What is one BTC contract worth?

One contract represents 5 bitcoin. Notional value = price × $5; use the tick value calculator with the current price for an exact figure.

Which exchange lists BTC?

Bitcoin (BTC) trades on the CME.

What are the trading hours for BTC?

Sun–Fri 6:00pm–5:00pm ET, with a daily trading halt 5:00pm–6:00pm ET.

How much margin do I need to trade BTC?

Margin varies by broker and is a large share of notional compared with traditional futures, reflecting bitcoin's volatility.

What are the BTC contract months?

BTC lists January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December. Consecutive monthly contracts are listed a few months forward, along with the nearest December contracts.

What does BTCZ2026 mean?

It is one specific BTC contract: the root BTC, the delivery-month code Z, and the year. Z is December, so BTCZ2026 is the December 2026 contract. The codes run F G H J K M N Q U V X Z for January through December — I and L are skipped because they read as 1 and 7 on a ticker.

What is BTC00, BTC1! or /BTC?

All three name the same thing: the continuous front-month BTC contract, written differently by different platforms. Barchart uses BTC00, TradingView BTC1!, thinkorswim and tastytrade /BTC, Yahoo Finance BTC=F, and BTC on social media is usually written $BTC. None of them is a separate instrument — each stitches together whichever dated contract is currently the front month.

How is P&L calculated for BTC?

P&L = (exit price − entry price) ÷ 5 tick size × $25.00 tick value × number of contracts. Use the tick value calculator to compute this directly.

CME

Bitcoin (BTC) Tick Value & Contract Specs

Tick value $25.00 per tick — 5 bitcoin.

CME Bitcoin futures (BTC) are the full-size contract behind Micro Bitcoin: each one covers 5 bitcoin, fifty times MBT's 0.1. The minimum tick is $5 per bitcoin, so one tick is worth $25 per contract and a $1,000 move in bitcoin is $5,000 per contract. Contracts are cash-settled against the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate, so no coins are delivered and no wallet is involved at any point.

BTC is built for institutions and large accounts, and the arithmetic shows why. Five bitcoin is a large notional at any recent price, and bitcoin's daily ranges are wide, so even a modest stop measured in dollars per coin becomes thousands of dollars per contract. Most individual traders who want regulated bitcoin exposure use MBT instead, where the same move costs one-fiftieth as much. Note that ratio carefully: it is 50 to 1, not the 10 to 1 of the equity and metal micros. The contracts trade on CME Globex nearly around the clock on weekdays but stop at the weekend while spot bitcoin keeps trading, so the Sunday-evening reopen can gap. The calculator below is pre-filled with BTC's specs.

Exchange: CME
Contract size: 5 bitcoin
Tick size: 5
Tick value: $25.00
Point value (multiplier): $5
Trading hours: Sun–Fri 6:00pm–5:00pm ET, with a daily trading halt 5:00pm–6:00pm ET
Margin: Margin varies by broker and is a large share of notional compared with traditional futures, reflecting bitcoin's volatility.

Open in the tick value calculator, pre-filled for BTC View the live BTC chart on TradingView

How BTC tick value works

Tick value is the dollar amount one futures contract gains or loses when the price moves one minimum increment (one tick).

tick value = tick size × multiplier. For BTC, that is 5 × $5 = $25.00 per tick, per contract.

One contract represents 5 bitcoin. P&L for a move from entry to exit is (exit − entry) ÷ tick size × tick value × contracts.

BTC contract months and ticker symbols

A futures ticker is three parts: the root, a one-letter delivery month, and the year. BTCZ2026 is the December 2026 BTC contract. The month letters skip I and L, which would read as 1 and 7 on a ticker.

Delivery month codes, with the months BTC lists marked
Code	Month	Listed for BTC?
F	January	Yes — BTCF
G	February	Yes — BTCG
H	March	Yes — BTCH
J	April	Yes — BTCJ
K	May	Yes — BTCK
M	June	Yes — BTCM
N	July	Yes — BTCN
Q	August	Yes — BTCQ
U	September	Yes — BTCU
V	October	Yes — BTCV
X	November	Yes — BTCX
Z	December	Yes — BTCZ

Consecutive monthly contracts are listed a few months forward, along with the nearest December contracts.

Which BTC contract am I looking at?

Most charts default to the continuous front-month series rather than a dated contract — one stitched-together chart that rolls to the next month as the current one nears expiry. Every platform spells it differently, which is why the same contract appears under so many names.

Written as	Platform	Meaning
BTC1!	TradingView	Continuous front-month contract. "2!" is the next one out, and a dated contract is written in full, e.g. BTCZ2026.
BTC00	Barchart	Continuous front-month series. "BTCZ26" style codes name a specific month and year instead.
BTCc1	Refinitiv / Reuters	Continuous front month; c2 is the second month out.
/BTC	thinkorswim, tastytrade	The leading slash marks it as a future rather than a stock. A specific month is /BTCZ26.
BTC=F	Yahoo Finance	The "=F" suffix denotes the front-month futures series.
$BTC	StockTwits, social	A cashtag, not an exchange symbol. It usually means the front month, but it is informal and ambiguous.

A dated code such as BTCZ26 always means one specific contract; the continuous forms never do. Check which you are quoting before comparing a price to someone else’s — around a roll they differ.

Frequently asked questions

What is the tick value for BTC?: $25.00 per tick — a 5 tick size × a $5 multiplier (point value).
What is one BTC contract worth?: One contract represents 5 bitcoin. Notional value = price × $5; use the tick value calculator with the current price for an exact figure.
Which exchange lists BTC?: Bitcoin (BTC) trades on the CME.
What are the trading hours for BTC?: Sun–Fri 6:00pm–5:00pm ET, with a daily trading halt 5:00pm–6:00pm ET.
How much margin do I need to trade BTC?: Margin varies by broker and is a large share of notional compared with traditional futures, reflecting bitcoin's volatility.
What are the BTC contract months?: BTC lists January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December. Consecutive monthly contracts are listed a few months forward, along with the nearest December contracts.
What does BTCZ2026 mean?: It is one specific BTC contract: the root BTC, the delivery-month code Z, and the year. Z is December, so BTCZ2026 is the December 2026 contract. The codes run F G H J K M N Q U V X Z for January through December — I and L are skipped because they read as 1 and 7 on a ticker.
What is BTC00, BTC1! or /BTC?: All three name the same thing: the continuous front-month BTC contract, written differently by different platforms. Barchart uses BTC00, TradingView BTC1!, thinkorswim and tastytrade /BTC, Yahoo Finance BTC=F, and BTC on social media is usually written $BTC. None of them is a separate instrument — each stitches together whichever dated contract is currently the front month.
How is P&L calculated for BTC?: P&L = (exit price − entry price) ÷ 5 tick size × $25.00 tick value × number of contracts. Use the tick value calculator to compute this directly.

More futures contract specs

See all futures contract specs or use the futures contract & tick value calculator with any symbol or custom specs.

Specs last reviewed 2026-10-30. Exchanges can amend contract specs — always confirm against the exchange or your broker before trading.