Trading basics
What Are Perpetual Futures (Perps)?
A Perpetual Futures (Perps) contract is a type of derivative that allows traders to speculate on the price movements of an asset with leverage, without needing to own the underlying asset. Unlike traditional futures, Perps have no expiry date, enabling traders to maintain their positions indefinitely.
Key Advantages of Perps Trading vs. Spot Trading
Ability to Long or Short In the spot market, your profit depends solely on the asset's price appreciation. In contrast, Perpetual Futures enable you to benefit from both upward and downward price movements. For example, you can short BTC-PERP if you believe the price of BTC will fall, profiting from its decline.
Leverage for Capital Efficiency Perps provide access to leverage, allowing you to amplify your exposure with less capital. For instance, if BTC is priced at 90,000 USDC in the spot market, you would need 90,000 USDC to purchase 1 BTC. However, with 10x leverage on a BTC-PERP contract, you can open the same position with just 9,000 USDC as collateral.
Enhanced Liquidity Futures markets often exhibit significantly higher trading volumes than spot markets, offering deeper liquidity. This minimizes price impact, ensuring smoother and more efficient trading.
Raydium Perpetual Futures
USDC-Based Collateral and Settlement
Raydium perpetual contracts are quoted, collateralized, and settled entirely in USDC.
Cross-Margin Mode
Raydium Perp operates exclusively in cross-margin mode. Your USDC collateral is shared across all open positions, contributing to your overall margin ratio. To separate accounts' margins, you will need to register from a different SPL wallet.
Supported Leverage Options
Traders on Raydium Perp can select from the following leverage levels from 1x to 40x.
One-Sided Position Mode
Raydium Perp supports a one-sided position mode, meaning traders cannot hold simultaneous long and short positions on the same Perpetual Futures contract.
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