Engineering · TRUEFIX LABS

Designing an Instrument Master for Multi-Venue Trading

Instrument identity, venue mappings, asset classes, contract terms, precision, expiry, options, and provider-native symbols.

Short answer. An instrument master gives each tradable product a stable canonical identity while retaining venue-specific mappings and contract rules. A symbol such as BTCUSDT is a provider representation, not a universal instrument ID; the same text can mean different products across venues.

Canonical fields

Model InstrumentId, Venue, AssetClass, InstrumentType, BaseAsset, QuoteAsset, NativeSymbol, Provider, Currency, TickSize, LotSize, and ContractMultiplier. Derivatives also need expiry, strike, and option type.

Why symbols are not identity

Binance: BTCUSDT
OKX:     BTC-USDT
Bybit:   BTCUSDT

These strings can be mapped to a common spot instrument, but a perpetual swap, dated future, or inverse contract must not be collapsed into the same identity.

Mapping lifecycle

Mappings need source, validity, environment, verification time, and confidence. An execution request should require an exact fresh mapping for the selected provider and account context.

Failure modes

Accidentally treating an inverse contract as linear.
Ignoring contract multiplier or settlement currency.
Using a delisted or stale mapping.
Guessing a symbol after a provider rejects the first one.

Sources

Last verified: 2026-09-28. Provider capabilities can change by region, account, product, environment, and entitlement; verify the linked official documentation before production use.

Last updated: 2026-09-28