Binance Perpetual OHLCV: Event Time vs Retrieval Time
Binance USD-M klines share the spot format, and the same live-bar trap. Mark, index and premium klines add placeholder fields with their own timing.
Short answer
USD-M futures klines return open time, OHLC, volume, close time, quote volume, trade count and taker-buy volumes. As with spot, the last kline is usually live. Mark-price, index-price and premium-index klines use the same layout with 'Ignore' slots. For event time, use open and close times; for freshness, record retrieval time and compare. When joining trade klines with mark or premium klines, join on open time.
Which times the data carries
| Time | Present? | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Open / close time | Yes | Interval |
| Retrieval time | No | Record it |
| Mark/index klines | Same layout | Ignored slots |
| Live bar | Last row | Close time > now |
Test Binance Perpetual OHLCV on a perpetual chart; no account is needed to chart.
Launch ChartsPodWhat to record yourself
| Field to store | Why |
|---|---|
| retrieved_at | Live detection |
| open time | Join key across kline types |
| kline type | Trade / mark / index / premium |
| close time | Completeness |
| symbol | Contract |
Example
Illustrative: a basis series joins trade and index klines on close time; because the live bar's close time is the scheduled end, not the last update, the join pairs values read at different moments.
Related: Binance Spot OHLCV: Event Time vs Retrieval Time, Crypto Mark-Price Data: Null vs Zero - Handle Missing Fields Correctly.
When joining trade klines with mark or premium klines, join on open time.
See Binance Perpetual OHLCV on live data in the free ChartsPod terminal.
Open the ChartsPod terminalQuestions readers ask
How do I join different Binance kline types?
On open time.
Are mark-price klines live too?
Yes, the last one usually is.
What fields are placeholders?
'Ignore' slots in mark/index/premium klines.
Sources and methodology
Field definitions come from DEX Screener's API reference and CoinGecko's onchain API documentation, read 17 October 2026. Where a schema doesn't document a timestamp, this guide says so and recommends recording retrieval time yourself.
- Binance: USD-M Futures market data API — trades, depth, funding and open interest.
This article explains research tools and workflows. It is not financial advice, does not recommend buying or selling any asset and does not predict prices. Crypto derivatives carry a risk of rapid and total loss of margin.
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