Strictly speaking, futures is not a commodity, but a standardized commodity contract, which stipulates that both parties to the transaction will trade a specific commodity or financial asset in the future according to the contents of the contract. Futures trading is developed on the basis of spot trading, and it is an organized trading method by buying and selling standardized futures contracts on futures exchanges. The specific differences between futures and spot are as follows: 1. The subject of spot trading with different attributes is the actual commodity that already exists in the market. Spot electronic transaction is to unify the existing commodities (spot) through e-commerce and call auction on the Internet according to certain standards, and the trade attribute of commodities is greater than the financial attribute. The object of futures trading is futures commodities. At present, non-existent commodities refer to the matching bidding between futures commodities and a standardized forward contract, and the financial attribute is greater than the commodity trade attribute. Second, the transaction contract is different. Futures trading contracts are mostly industrial materials and financial assets, while spot trading contracts include basic materials such as agricultural products, Chinese herbal medicines and metals. Third, the margin ratio is different. The margin ratio in the futures market is about 5%- 10%. The margin ratio is low and the leverage is high. At the same time, the risks and benefits of investment are magnified. The spot market margin is usually around 20%, and it will be increased under special circumstances (continuous ups and downs, near delivery, etc.). ), moderate leverage and moderate risk. Fourth, the smallest unit of futures markets with different trading bases is the hand. Under normal circumstances, each contract represents goods of 10 tons or more, that is, the trading base of the futures market is calculated in tons, and the threshold is higher, while the smallest unit of the spot electronic trading market is batches, and each batch of contracts represents goods of several kilograms to several hundred kilograms, that is, the trading base is calculated in kilograms, and the threshold is lower. 5. Different trading methods Spot trading is generally one-on-one negotiation and contract signing. The specific content shall be agreed by both parties. If the contract cannot be fulfilled after signing, you must resort to law. Futures trading is conducted in an open and fair manner, and one-on-one negotiation trading (or private hedging) is considered illegal. Six, trading places, different spot transactions are generally scattered, such as grain and oil, daily industrial products, production materials are scattered by some trading companies, manufacturers, consumers, only some fresh and individual agricultural and sideline products are concentrated in the form of wholesale markets. However, futures trading must be conducted in an open and centralized manner in the exchange according to law, and cannot be traded over the counter. Seven, the settlement method is different. Spot transaction is cash on delivery, no matter how long it takes, it is one or more settlements. Due to the implementation of the margin system in futures trading, it is necessary to settle profits and losses on a daily basis and implement the LT-day mark-to-market system.