Perpetual Futures

Perpetual futures ("perps") are leveraged bets on a token's price with no expiry date — you post margin, pick long or short, and a funding rate keeps the p

Perpetual futures (“perps”) are leveraged bets on a token’s price with no expiry date — you post margin, pick long or short, and a funding rate keeps the price tracking spot. dYdX and Hyperliquid brought them fully on-chain.

Why it matters

Perps are where most crypto leverage lives, which makes them where most retail money *dies*: high leverage + volatility + auto-liquidation is a designed wealth transfer from the impatient to the patient. Understand funding rates and liquidation prices before touching leverage — or better, don’t.

Related terms

DeFi · liquidation ·
volatility

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