Spot vs futures vs perpetuals: how they differ

Spot trading buys or sells the asset itself, with immediate settlement. Dated futures are contracts that track the asset’s price and settle on a fixed expiry date. Perpetual futures track the price with no expiry and use funding payments to stay near spot. Futures and perpetuals allow leverage and short positions directly; plain spot does not.

Examples use illustrative prices and a simplified model. Contract rules vary by venue.

Spot

A spot trade exchanges one asset for another at the current price, settled straight away.

Buying 0.1 BTC on a BTC/USDT spot market swaps USDT for BTC. The trader then holds the BTC. It can be kept, sold, transferred or withdrawn, where the venue allows.

• Ownership: yes, the asset itself.
• Leverage: none in a plain spot account. Some venues offer spot margin, which adds borrowing.
• Going short: only by selling coins already held, or by borrowing through spot margin.

Stablecoin quote currencies are common on spot markets; see stablecoin pairs: USDT and USDC explained.

Dated futures

A dated future is a contract to gain or lose on an asset’s price up to a fixed expiry date.

The contract does not deliver coins during its life. At expiry it settles, either in cash or by delivery of the asset, depending on the contract. Because the contract must match the underlying at expiry, its price tends to move toward spot as that date approaches.

The gap between a future’s price and spot is called the basis. A future priced above spot is said to trade at a premium; below spot, at a discount.

• Ownership: no, only price exposure, unless the contract is physically delivered at expiry.
• Leverage: yes, with margin.
• Going short: yes, directly.

Perpetual futures

A perpetual future tracks an asset’s price like a future, but never expires.

With no expiry to pull its price toward spot, a perp relies on funding. At set intervals, longs and shorts pay each other a funding payment. When the perp trades above the index, funding tends to be positive and longs pay shorts. What are perpetual futures covers the structure, and funding rates explained covers the payment.

• Ownership: no, only price exposure.
• Leverage: yes, with margin.
• Going short: yes, directly.

Comparison table

	Spot	Dated futures	Perpetual futures
Ownership of the asset	Yes	No (unless delivered at expiry)	No
Expiry	None	Fixed date	None
Leverage	None in plain spot; spot margin where offered	Yes	Yes
Funding payments	No	No	Yes, each interval
How price stays near spot	It is the spot price	Convergence at expiry	Funding
Settlement	Immediate exchange of assets	At expiry, cash or physical	No final settlement; closed by trading
Short positions	Only with borrowing	Yes	Yes
Liquidation risk	None without borrowing	Yes	Yes
Price used for P&L and liquidation	Trade price	Usually a mark price	Usually a mark price

On mark price, see mark price vs last price vs index price.

Worked example: $6,000.00 of BTC exposure three ways

BTC spot is $60,000.00. The goal is long exposure to 0.1 BTC.

Spot

• Cost: 0.1 × $60,000.00 = $6,000.00, paid in full
• Result: the trader holds 0.1 BTC
• If BTC moves to $63,000.00: value 0.1 × $63,000.00 = $6,300.00, a gain of $300.00
• If BTC moves to $54,000.00: value $5,400.00, a loss of $600.00, with no liquidation

Dated future, three months to expiry

• Illustrative futures price: $60,900.00
• Basis: $60,900.00 − $60,000.00 = $900.00, or $900.00 ÷ $60,000.00 = 1.5% above spot
• Notional value: 0.1 × $60,900.00 = $6,090.00
• Margin at 10x: $6,090.00 ÷ 10 = $609.00
• If spot is $63,000.00 at expiry, the future settles near $63,000.00: gain 0.1 × ($63,000.00 − $60,900.00) = $210.00

The future’s gain is $90.00 smaller than spot’s. That is the 0.1 × $900.00 premium paid up front through the basis.

Perpetual future

• Entry price: $60,000.00, notional value $6,000.00
• Margin at 10x: $600.00
• If price moves to $63,000.00: gain 0.1 × $3,000.00 = $300.00, before funding and fees
• Funding at +0.01% every 8 hours, on $6,000.00: $0.60 per interval, $1.80 per day
• Over 90 days at that constant rate: $1.80 × 90 = $162.00 paid by the long

Funding rates change constantly, so the 90-day figure is arithmetic, not an estimate of real costs.

A fall to $54,000.00 looks different on the leveraged structures. On the perp, the loss is 0.1 × $6,000.00 = $600.00, the whole $600.00 margin. On the future, it is 0.1 × ($60,900.00 − $54,000.00) = $690.00, more than the $609.00 margin. Under the simplified model in leverage, margin and liquidation explained, each 10x long is liquidated before that, near a 9.5% fall from its entry price.

When each structure applies

This is a description of how each structure is typically used, not a view on which to choose.

• Spot applies when the aim is to hold the asset itself: to withdraw it, transfer it, or use it outside the venue. It carries no funding, expiry or liquidation when no borrowing is involved.
• Dated futures apply when exposure is wanted up to a known date, or when the basis itself is part of the plan. Hedgers with a dated need, and traders comparing the basis across expiries, often use them.
• Perpetuals apply when leveraged or short exposure is wanted without an expiry date. Traders holding perps for long periods track funding, because it adds up over time.

Costs differ by structure too. Spot and derivatives pay trading fees, often at different rates; see maker vs taker fees. Futures carry the basis. Perps carry funding.

Common mistakes

• Treating a perp as owning the coin. Nothing can be withdrawn from a perp position.
• Ignoring the basis on dated futures. The entry price already includes it.
• Forgetting expiry. A dated future settles on its date whether or not the trader acts.
• Comparing margin with cost. $600.00 of margin is not a $600.00 position; the exposure is $6,000.00.

Related

For the direction of a position in each structure, see long vs short positions. More guides sit under trading concepts.