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Key Takeaways

Binance Futures users can now trade natural gas perpetual contracts (NATGASUSDT), which track the Henry Hub spot price and settle in USDT, offering a way to gain exposure to energy markets with lowered barriers to entry.

Natural gas prices can be highly volatile, influenced by weather patterns, LNG export flows, geopolitical events, and weekly energy storage reports. For NATGASUSDT, leverage of up to 100x is available, which can amplify both potential gains and losses, so careful risk management is essential.

A funding rate, exchanged between long and short traders every four hours, helps keep the perpetual contract price aligned with the underlying natural gas market.

Introduction

Historically, trading natural gas meant navigating complex commodity markets with high capital requirements and limited trading hours. Binance Futures changes this by offering Natural Gas (NATGASUSDT) perpetual contracts, allowing users to gain exposure to a key global energy commodity with the flexibility of crypto technology.

What Are Natural Gas Futures on Binance?

On Binance, natural gas is traded as a USDT-margined perpetual contract. This means that while the price tracks the real-world value of natural gas (specifically the Henry Hub benchmark), the settlement is conducted in the stablecoin USDT.

Unlike traditional futures contracts that may involve physical delivery, these contracts are cash-settled. Traders can speculate on price movements without needing to deal with storage, transportation, or physical delivery constraints.

In other words, when you trade natural gas on Binance, you're not buying actual gas. Rather, you're trading a digital contract that reflects its market price.

The concept is simple:

If you think the price will go up, you buy (long).

If you think the price will go down, you sell (short).

All profits and losses are settled in USDT.

Natural gas futures ticker: NATGASUSDT

The contract trades under the ticker NATGASUSDT on Binance Futures. Each contract represents 1 million British thermal units (MMBtu) of natural gas. The contract size is designed to give traders access to natural gas price movements without the capital commitments typical of traditional commodity exchanges.

Benefits of Trading Natural Gas on a Crypto Exchange

The digitization of commodity trading offers several potential advantages over traditional futures markets.

24/7 market access

Traditional commodity markets operate on fixed schedules and close on weekends. If major geopolitical or weather-related news breaks outside trading hours, traders must wait. On Binance, natural gas contracts are available around the clock, allowing traders to respond to market developments as they occur.

Lower barriers to entry

In traditional commodities markets, trading natural gas futures often requires significant capital and access to specialized brokers. Binance Futures allows users to trade smaller contract sizes, opening the market up to even more participants.

Leverage

While not an exclusive advantage to trading on a crypto exchange compared to trading in traditional markets, futures contracts can allow traders to control larger positions with less capital. For example, with leverage, a trader can at 10x control $10,000 worth of natural gas contracts with approximately $1,000 in margin. NATGASUSDT supports leverage of up to 100x, though higher leverage levels also increase exposure to losses.

Understanding Funding Rates

If you're new to crypto futures, funding rates may sound complex, but the idea is straightforward. Since perpetual contracts don't expire, funding ensures the contract price stays close to the underlying natural gas market price. Take note that the funding rate is not a fee paid to the exchange. 

A funding payment is a periodic exchange between long and short traders:

A positive funding rate means long traders pay short traders.

A negative funding rate means short traders pay long traders.

Funding payments for NATGASUSDT are exchanged every four hours. 

You can check the real-time and historical funding rates by clicking the [Data] tab on the Binance Futures homepage, choosing [Futures Data], then selecting either [Real-Time Funding Rate] or [Funding Rate History].

Depending on your position and prevailing market conditions, these payments can result in credits or charges to your account. 

Risk Management

Trading natural gas can be accessible, but it carries significant risk. Applying appropriate risk management practices before opening positions is advisable.

Leverage risk

Leverage amplifies both potential gains and potential losses. With 20x leverage, for example, a 5% adverse price movement could result in the liquidation of your entire position.

Market volatility

Natural gas is known for being highly volatile. Price movements can be influenced by:

Weather patterns (for example, winter heating demand or summer heat waves)

Supply disruptions or changes in U.S. production levels

Global LNG export flows, particularly to European and Asian markets

Geopolitical developments affecting major energy supply hubs

Weekly U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage reports

How to stay safe

To help manage risk, traders often:

Set stop-loss orders to limit potential losses on each position

Calculate and manage position size carefully

Avoid using excessive leverage

How to Trade Natural Gas on Binance Futures

Step 1

Log in to your Binance account, navigate to the [Futures] tab, and choose [USDⓈ-M Futures].

Or, you can also search for “NATGASUSDT” directly on the Binance homepage. 

Step 2

Once on Binance Futures homepage, open the trading pair menu and search for NATGASUSDT. You may also find it under the [TradFi] category.

Step 3

Check your Futures account balance at the bottom right. If your balance is zero, you can fund it using:

Transfer

Buy Crypto

Swap

If this is your first time using Binance Futures, you'll need to open a Futures account and may be required to complete a short quiz.

Step 4

Use the order panel to place your trade (buy or sell).

Step 5

Choose between cross and isolated margin:

Cross Margin Mode: Uses your entire futures balance to support all positions. Losses in one trade can affect others.

Isolated Margin Mode: Limits risk to a single position. Each trade is independent and won't impact others.

Step 6

Monitor your positions at the bottom of the screen, including:

Positions

Open Orders

Order History

Natural gas is a highly volatile commodity. Make sure you understand how the product works and apply appropriate risk management before trading futures.

FAQ

What is NATGASUSDT on Binance Futures?

NATGASUSDT is a USDT-margined perpetual contract on Binance Futures that tracks the price of natural gas based on the Henry Hub benchmark. Each contract represents 1 MMBtu of natural gas and settles in USDT, so traders can gain exposure to natural gas price movements without physical delivery.

What factors can drive natural gas price movements?

Natural gas prices can be influenced by weather patterns (especially heating and cooling demand), U.S. production levels, global LNG export volumes, geopolitical events affecting major supply hubs, and weekly EIA storage reports. These factors can cause significant short-term price movements.

Is NATGASUSDT available in all regions?

NATGASUSDT may not be available in certain regions due to regulatory requirements. Log in to your Binance account and check the Futures section to confirm availability in your area.

Closing Thoughts 

Binance Futures’ NATGASUSDT contract trading lowers barriers to entry for users who want to gain exposure to commodities trading without hassles like physical deliveries. However, traders should verify specific contract details and employ proper risk management strategies given that high volatility and leverage can be involved. 

Further Reading

How to Trade Copper on Binance Futures

Five Risk Management Strategies

How to Calculate Position Size in Trading

What Is Margin Trading?

How to Trade Crude Oil Futures on Binance

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