Glossary
What is index price?
Also called: price index, oracle price, spot index
Updated Ninja Terminal team
Definition
Index price is a composite spot price calculated from multiple exchanges, used by derivatives venues as a fair reference for the underlying asset. It is not tied to one order book, so a single venue cannot easily move it. Exchanges use it to build the mark price and to compute funding rates on perpetual futures.
A perpetual contract’s own price can drift away from the real market. The index price is the anchor that shows where the underlying asset trades across venues.
How is it built?
Binance describes its price index as a weighted average of spot prices across multiple major exchanges, and says you can treat it as the spot price. Binance then uses the index as the main input for the mark price.
Hyperliquid uses the name oracle price. It is a weighted median of prices from centralized exchanges, updated by validators about every three seconds, and it does not use Hyperliquid’s own market data. Hyperliquid uses the oracle price to compute funding.
Why does it matter to a trader?
- The gap between the contract price and the index drives the funding rate.
- It anchors the mark price, which decides liquidations.
- It shows whether a perpetual trades at a premium or discount to spot.
Example: the index is 60,000 and the perpetual trades at 60,120. The premium is 0.2%. A positive premium pushes the funding rate up, so longs pay shorts.
Different venues build their index from different sources, so the index for the same coin can differ slightly between Binance, OKX, Bybit, and Hyperliquid.
Frequently asked questions
Is index price the same as spot price?
It approximates spot. It is a weighted blend of spot prices from several venues, so it can differ slightly from the spot price on any one exchange.
What is the difference between index price and mark price?
Index price tracks the underlying spot market. Mark price starts from the index and adds contract market data to value positions and trigger liquidations.