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What are the European derivatives exchanges?
Four venues cover most of it. Eurex, inside Deutsche Börse near Frankfurt, lists the DAX 40 future and the German bond complex. Euronext Derivatives covers national index and single-stock products from Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, Oslo and Milan. ICE Futures Europe, in London, holds energy and European rates. Cboe Europe Derivatives, launched in Amsterdam in 2021, lists pan-European contracts.
Eurex or CME: what changes for an order flow trader?
Three practical points. Tick value: 25 EUR on the FDAX against 5 USD on the NQ, so the same stop in points carries five times the risk. Hours: the DAX trades on European time, the Nasdaq on American time. Funding: nearly every prop firm covers the CME and very few cover Eurex, which is what keeps the FDAX book far less crowded.
Can you trade order flow on the DAX (FDAX)?
Yes. Eurex publishes MBO depth on the FDAX, which allows the same order-by-order read as on the CME. DeepCharts displays it with a Eurex depth subscription, billed around $65/month on top of the base feed. Few platforms offer it.
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Which prop firm gives access to Eurex and the DAX?
Few firms open Eurex: in our catalogue, Phidias Propfirm. The rest stop at the CME. It is a decisive criterion if you want to trade the FDAX, whose MBO depth is read with DeepCharts through the Eurex subscription, around $65 a month.
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The European derivatives exchanges, and what each is for
Europe does not have one derivatives exchange, it has several, and they do not compete on the same products. Knowing which venue lists what saves you a lot of time when you are looking for a contract to trade.
| Exchange | Group / place | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|
| Eurex | Deutsche Börse, Eschborn (Frankfurt) | European index futures (DAX, EURO STOXX 50) and the German bond complex (Bund, Bobl, Schatz) |
| Euronext Derivatives | Euronext, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, Oslo, Milan | National index and single-stock derivatives (CAC 40, AEX), plus agricultural commodities |
| ICE Futures Europe | Intercontinental Exchange, London | Energy (Brent, TTF gas), European interest rates and the FTSE complex |
| Cboe Europe Derivatives | Cboe, Amsterdam | Pan-European index and single-stock options and futures, launched 2021 |
Founded in 1998 from the merger of the German DTB and the Swiss SOFFEX, and wholly owned by Deutsche Börse since 2012, Eurex describes itself as the leading European derivatives exchange. For an order flow trader the reason is narrower than the marketing: it is the venue that lists the DAX 40 futures and the German bond complex, and the one whose order book is published order by order, which is what a liquidity heatmap actually needs.
Eurex is the largest European derivatives exchange, operated by Eurex Frankfurt AG within the Deutsche Börse Group, the European derivatives group behind Xetra and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It doesn't trade cash shares: it lists futures and options, which makes it the reference among European futures exchanges for index and fixed-income contracts.
Eurex products
Two families dominate. First, index derivatives: the DAX 40, EURO STOXX 50, MDAX and TecDAX, each with mini and micro sizes. Second, fixed-income futures on German government debt: Euro-Bund, Euro-Bobl, Euro-Schatz and Euro-Buxl, which are among the deepest interest-rate contracts in the world. Eurex also lists FX, dividend, volatility (VSTOXX) and ESG derivatives. For an order-flow trader, the star is the DAX future.
Eurex DAX futures (FDAX)
The FDAX is the futures contract on Germany's DAX 40 blue-chip index, plus its lighter cousins, the Mini-DAX (FDXM) and Micro-DAX. It's one of the most liquid European index futures and a magnet for order-flow traders, because Eurex publishes an unusually detailed order book. We decode a live FDAX session on the FDAX journal, and the whole method sits in our order flow and heatmap pillars. The full method for the DAX itself, from the Xetra open to the US handover, is the FDAX: order flow on Eurex course, with two lessons readable without an account.
Eurex or CME: what actually changes for an order flow trader
Both publish an order book fine enough to read. The differences that matter are not about prestige, they are about what a tick costs you, when you have to be at your desk, and whether anyone will fund you on the contract.
| Criterion | Eurex, FDAX | CME, NQ |
|---|---|---|
| Flagship contract | DAX 40 futures | E-mini Nasdaq 100 |
| Tick value | 1 point = 25 EUR | 0.25 point = 5 USD |
| Where the session lives | European hours, the move often happens before lunch | US hours, the move follows the New York open |
| Order-by-order depth | T7 EOBI, billed about 65 USD/month on top | MBO, about 39 USD/month |
| Prop firms offering it | Very few, which is the whole point of the niche | Nearly all of them, so the crowd is there too |
The tick line is the one that surprises people. A single FDAX tick moves your account by 25 EUR where an NQ tick moves it by 5 USD: the same stop distance in points is five times the risk, so position sizing that works on the Nasdaq will not survive on the DAX. Read the FDAX contract page before you size anything. The depth line is the second one: Eurex order-by-order data is an add-on, and without it there is no liquidity heatmap, only aggregated levels. What you gain in exchange is a book far less crowded with other retail order flow readers, and a session that ends when the American one starts.
Reading Eurex order-by-order (MBO) with DeepCharts
Eurex streams its most granular data through the T7 EOBI (Enhanced Order Book Interface): the order book order-by-order, i.e. market-by-order (MBO), every individual order, not just aggregated price levels. DeepCharts consumes that MBO feed and renders it as a live heatmap and footprint: you literally see each resting order appear, hold or vanish, and every execution hit the book. On a market as clean as the FDAX, that's the finest read of supply and demand you can get. To get equipped, the DeepCharts promo code is OFF, already filled in at the Payment step when you open DeepCharts through the button below (arriving without it, enter it there yourself); it takes an extra 10% off every plan, monthly or yearly, on top of any discount running. It applies to the license; the Eurex MBO depth (+$65/mo) is billed by the exchange. Plan-by-plan prices on the DeepCharts promo code page.
Trade Eurex funded, with controlled risk
You don't need a big account to trade the DAX. The smart combo: activate DeepCharts for the Eurex MBO read, then get funded by a prop firm so you start with controlled risk instead of your own capital. Few firms cover Eurex/DAX, Phidias does, with DeepCharts included. Compare it against the market in the comparator, or read the full order-flow prop firm guide.
FAQ
Which are the main European futures exchanges?+
Four venues cover most of European listed derivatives. Eurex (Deutsche Börse, near Frankfurt) lists European index futures, DAX, EURO STOXX 50, and the German bond complex. Euronext Derivatives covers national index and single-stock products across Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, Oslo and Milan. ICE Futures Europe, in London, is the energy and European rates venue. Cboe Europe Derivatives, launched in Amsterdam in 2021, lists pan-European index and single-stock contracts.
What is the largest derivatives exchange in Europe?+
Eurex, which describes itself as the leading European derivatives exchange. It was formed in 1998 by the merger of the German DTB and the Swiss SOFFEX, and has been wholly owned by Deutsche Börse since 2012. For futures order flow specifically it matters for two reasons: it lists the DAX 40 futures, and it publishes its order book order by order through the T7 EOBI feed.
Is Eurex the German futures exchange?+
In practice yes, and the wording is worth a correction. Eurex is domiciled at Eschborn near Frankfurt, inside Deutsche Börse Group, and it lists the German contracts a futures trader looks for: the DAX 40 future and the Bund, Bobl and Schatz complex. It is not, however, the German stock exchange: cash equities trade on Xetra and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, in the same group. Eurex lists derivatives only.
Eurex or CME, which one should I trade?+
Both publish a book fine enough to read order by order, so pick on three practical points. Tick value: one FDAX tick is 25 EUR against 5 USD on the NQ, so the same stop in points is five times the risk. Hours: the DAX moves on European time, the Nasdaq on American time. Funding: nearly every prop firm covers the CME, very few cover Eurex, which is exactly why the FDAX book is less crowded.
What is Eurex?+
Eurex is Europe's largest derivatives exchange, operated by Eurex Frankfurt AG within Deutsche Börse Group. It lists futures and options on equity indices, single stocks, fixed income and more: it is a derivatives exchange, not a cash stock exchange (that role belongs to Xetra/Frankfurt Stock Exchange in the same group).
What products does Eurex offer?+
Its flagship contracts are index derivatives, DAX, EURO STOXX 50, MDAX, TecDAX, plus mini and micro versions, and fixed-income futures on German government debt: Euro-Bund, Euro-Bobl, Euro-Schatz and Euro-Buxl. It also lists FX, dividend, volatility (VSTOXX) and ESG derivatives.
What is the Eurex DAX future (FDAX)?+
The FDAX is the futures contract on Germany's DAX 40 blue-chip index. It is one of the most liquid European index futures and a favorite of order-flow traders because Eurex publishes an exceptionally granular order book.
How do I get Eurex market-by-order (MBO) data?+
Eurex's ultra-granular feed is the T7 EOBI (Enhanced Order Book Interface), which streams the book order-by-order. A platform like DeepCharts turns that MBO stream into a live heatmap and footprint, so you see every resting order and every execution on the FDAX.
Can I trade Eurex futures with a prop firm?+
Yes. Few prop firms cover Eurex/DAX, but Phidias does, with DeepCharts included, so you can read the Eurex order flow and trade the FDAX on a funded account, starting with controlled risk instead of your own capital.
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