Deriv trade typesUpdated 2 min readBy the FXNOD team
Touch/No Touch on Deriv: how barrier trades work
In Touch/No Touch you set a barrier and predict whether the market will reach it at any time before the contract ends. Touch wins the moment the barrier is reached. No Touch wins only if the price stays away for the whole period. The distance to the barrier, the time allowed and the market's volatility decide the odds.
How it differs from Higher/Lower
| Touch/No Touch | Higher/Lower | |
|---|---|---|
| Judged | At every moment of the contract | Only at the end |
| Can settle early | Yes, when the barrier is reached | No |
| Price touches then returns | Touch has won; No Touch has lost | Makes no difference |
What moves the odds
| Change | Touch | No Touch |
|---|---|---|
| Barrier further away | Less likely, pays more | More likely, pays less |
| Longer duration | More likely | Less likely |
| More volatile market | More likely | Less likely |
Why a touch is more likely than it looks
A price only has to reach the barrier once, at any moment. For a random walk, the chance of touching a level before a deadline is roughly twice the chance of finishing beyond it. People who judge a Touch barrier by where they expect the price to end underestimate it, and people who buy No Touch on a close barrier are surprised how often it loses.
The shape of the risk
- No Touch with a distant barrier wins often and pays little. A sudden move loses the whole stake and cancels many wins.
- Touch with a distant barrier loses often and pays well. Expect long losing runs.
- Moving a bot from one volatility index to another changes the odds of every barrier trade, even with identical settings.
In FXNOD
Touch/No Touch is in Trade Pilot and is a trade type a Bot Forge bot can buy. Read the quoted payout for the exact barrier and duration, and work out the win rate it requires by dividing the stake by the total return.
Questions people ask
- Does a Touch contract end as soon as the barrier is hit?
- Yes. Deriv's examples show a Touch trade winning and settling when the barrier is reached, and a No Touch trade losing at that moment.
- Is No Touch safer than Touch?
- It wins more often when the barrier is far away, and pays less. Neither is safer on average.
- What is the best market for Touch/No Touch?
- There is no best one. A more volatile index makes touches more likely and the payouts adjust to match.
Try this contract on demo
Every trade type in these guides is in Trade Pilot, and a bot in Bot Forge can buy it. Read the quoted payout and try it with Deriv's virtual funds.
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