Perpetual Contracts: How They Work and Why Traders Use Them
When you trade perpetual contracts, a type of derivative contract that never expires and tracks the price of an underlying asset like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Also known as perps, they let you go long or short without owning the actual coin. Unlike regular futures that expire on a set date, perpetual contracts keep going—making them the go-to tool for crypto traders who want to hold positions for days, weeks, or months.
What keeps these contracts tied to the real price of Bitcoin? The funding rate, a periodic payment exchanged between long and short traders to align the contract price with the spot market. If longs pay shorts, it means the market is overbought. If shorts pay longs, the market is oversold. This mechanism stops the price from drifting too far from reality. You’ll see this in action on exchanges like DDEX, Bzetmex, and others reviewed here—where leverage can hit 100x, turning small moves into big wins or losses.
But leverage is a double-edged sword. A 5x position on Ethereum might seem safe until a 20% drop wipes you out. That’s why risk management, the practice of setting stop-losses, limiting position size, and avoiding over-leveraging, isn’t optional—it’s survival. Traders who ignore this end up liquidated. The posts below cover real cases: how DDEX offers zero withdrawal fees but tight liquidation bands, how Bzetmex’s Turkish regulation affects margin rules, and why funding rates on Skydrome can swing wildly on low liquidity.
Perpetual contracts aren’t for everyone. They’re built for active traders who watch charts, track funding rates, and understand volatility. If you’re new, start small. Use 2x leverage. Learn how liquidation prices work. Read the fine print on each exchange. The guides here don’t just explain how to open a trade—they show you how to stay in the game longer. Whether you’re tracking funding rates on PancakeSwap V3, comparing leverage on BL3P, or avoiding scams on TokenEco, the tools and risks are the same. Perpetual contracts give you power. But power without control is just noise.
Deri Protocol is a decentralized derivatives exchange for perpetual contracts built on BNB Chain and Arbitrum. With low liquidity and an anonymous team, it's innovative but not yet viable for mainstream traders.
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