The difference between perpetual futures and expiry futures

Perpetual futures are a type of cryptocurrency derivative. While perpetual futures are very similar to expiry futures, they differ in two significant ways:

Expiry

Where expiry futures have expiry dates set in advance, perpetual futures don’t, meaning buyers and sellers can hypothetically keep their positions open 'perpetually' — as long as their account holds enough margin to cover losses and prevent liquidations.

Funding fees

To avoid perpetual futures diverging significantly from the asset’s spot price, funding fees help discourage major deviations. It's important to note that the funding rate is a fee exchanged between the long and short parties — not a fee collected by the exchange.

Disclaimer
This content is provided for informational purposes only and may cover products that are not available in your region. It is not intended to provide (i) investment advice or an investment recommendation; (ii) an offer or solicitation to buy, sell, or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Digital asset holdings, including stablecoins and NFTs, involve a high degree of risk and can fluctuate greatly. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances. Information (including market data and statistical information, if any) appearing in this post is for general information purposes only. While all reasonable care has been taken in preparing this data and graphs, no responsibility or liability is accepted for any errors of fact or omission expressed herein. Both OKX Web3 Wallet and OKX NFT Marketplace are subject to separate terms of service at www.okx.com.
© 2024 OKX. This article may be reproduced or distributed in its entirety, or excerpts of 100 words or less of this article may be used, provided such use is non-commercial. Any reproduction or distribution of the entire article must also prominently state: “This article is © 2024 OKX and is used with permission.” Permitted excerpts must cite to the name of the article and include attribution, for example “Article Name, [author name if applicable], © 2024 OKX.” No derivative works or other uses of this article are permitted.
Expand
Related articles
View more
View more
Sign up to OKX