Supported Instruments & Margin Mode
Sentinel is designed to work with specific types of trading instruments and margin modes. Understanding these limitations is crucial for interpreting the simulation results correctly.
Supported Features
| Category | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Instruments | Perpetual futures | We do not support dated/expiring futures (e.g., monthly or quarterly). |
| Margin mode | Isolated (segregated) | Each position has its own margin; risk is contained to that position. |
| Cross-margin | Not supported | Cross-margin accounts are not supported in our simulations. |
Why This Matters
Liquidation estimates, PnL paths, and funding calculations are based on isolated margin mechanics. Results may differ significantly under cross-margin or dated futures.
Contract Types
Sentinel supports both major types of perpetual futures contracts:
Linear (USDT-margined) Contracts
- PnL is denominated in USD/USDT
- Most common on exchanges like Binance, FTX, and others
- Simpler to understand as profits and losses are in stable currency
Inverse (Coin-margined) Contracts
- PnL is denominated in the underlying cryptocurrency
- Common on exchanges like BitMEX and Deribit
- Requires additional calculations to understand USD value of profits/losses
Funding Costs
Funding costs are a critical component of perpetual futures trading. Sentinel incorporates funding rates in the following way:
- Uses the most recent exchange-published rate from the last interval
- Applies the rate at each funding time (typically every ~8 hours)
- Accounts for both positive rates (longs pay shorts) and negative rates (shorts pay longs)
Limitations
It's important to understand what Sentinel does not currently include:
- Trading fees & slippage
- Order book liquidity limits or exchange outages
- Jumps or extreme shock events
If these factors are important for your specific use case, please contact us for customized solutions.