# General

### **What is Perpetual Futures**

Perpetual futures, or perps, are a type of crypto derivative that lets you trade the price of a cryptocurrency without actually owning it.The main difference from regular futures contracts is that **perps never expire**.

* **Traditional futures**: These contracts have a fixed expiry date. At that point, the contract is either settled or rolled over into a new one. This can make trading more complex, because you need to manage contract rollovers.
* **Perpetual futures**: These contracts have no expiry date. You can keep your position open for minutes, days, or months — as long as you have enough margin to support it.

This “no expiry” feature makes perps much more flexible and easier to use than traditional futures, while still giving you access to advanced tools such as leverage, shorting, and hedging.

***

### **Why It’s Cool**

Perpetual futures give traders unique advantages compared to spot trading or traditional futures:

* **No expiry date** – you can hold your positions as long as your margin allows, without worrying about rolling into new contracts.
* **Flexibility** – you can trade in both directions: go long if you expect prices to rise, or go short if you expect prices to fall.
* **Leverage** – you can open larger positions with less capital. Even small moves in price can become meaningful.
* **Risk management** – you can hedge your spot holdings without selling them, by taking the opposite side in perps.

This mix of flexibility and simplicity is why perps have become one of the most popular trading tools in crypto.

***

### **What’s the Difference With Spot**

| Feature      | Spot Trading                          | Perpetual Futures (Perps)                      |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| Ownership    | You actually own the asset (e.g. ETH) | You don’t own the asset, just trade its price  |
| Expiry Date  | None                                  | None (can hold as long as margin allows)       |
| Direction    | Profit only if price goes up          | Profit if price goes up (long) or down (short) |
| Leverage     | Not available                         | Available (trade larger than your balance)     |
| Funding Fees | None                                  | Yes, periodic funding between longs and shorts |


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