Getting to Know "Perps" in Crypto: A Guide 🚀

Perpetual contracts (or "perps") changed everything in crypto trading 🔥. Perps let you trade crypto price movements forever without actually owning the coins. Unlike regular futures, they never expire.

The Perps Difference 💫

No expiry date. That's it. Hold as long as you want. Keep enough margin though.

How Perps Actually Work 📊

Leverage Power 📈

People love the leverage. BTC costs $87,300 right now. Too expensive? With perps, you control way more using just a bit of money. Like 10x leverage means if prices move 1%, you're looking at roughly 10% change in your position. Goes both ways, of course.

Funding Rates ⚖️

It seems this keeps everything balanced somehow. When perp prices get higher than spot, longs pay shorts. Or the other way around. Happens about every 8 hours. Kind of creates weird market moves around those times.

Real Example 🌍

Say Bitcoin's at $87,300. You think it's moon-bound to $100K 🌕. Instead of buying a whole Bitcoin, you grab a perp contract with leverage. BTC goes up just 5%? With 10x, your position might jump about 50%! Pretty wild.

Ways People Use Perps 🧠

1. Speculation: Bet on prices without all that money
2. Hedging: Protect your actual coins
3. Market Neutral Stuff: Something about trading between perps and spot

Perps are huge now. Not entirely clear on the numbers, but maybe 90% of crypto trading happens in derivatives? 🤯

Starting Out 🏁

You need to learn about funding rates and liquidation risks. Start small.

Perps are basically essential for crypto traders in 2025. That's just how it is now! 🚀