What perpetual futures are
A contract that follows a coin’s price, with no expiry date, that you can trade in either direction.
Key ideas
- 1A perpetual future (a “perp”) tracks the price of a coin like BTC. You never own the coin; you hold a position that gains or loses as the price moves.
- 2Unlike other futures, a perp never expires. You keep it open as long as your margin covers it.
- 3You can bet on the price rising (long) or falling (short), and use leverage to hold a bigger position than your margin.
- 4Funding payments every hour keep the perp’s price close to the coin’s real price.
A position on the price, not the coin
When you buy a coin, you own it. When you open a perpetual future (a perp), you own a position that follows the coin’s price: it gains when the price moves your way and loses when it moves against you. Everything is settled in USDC.
- BTC price
- 100,000
- Position
- 0.01000 BTC worth $1,000
- BTC rises 3%
- +$30.00
- BTC falls 3%
- −$30.00
You never hold the BTC itself: the result is paid in USDC when you close.
Why “perpetual”
Ordinary futures end on a set date. Perps never do: you can hold one for an hour or a month, as long as your margin covers its losses. Without an end date to pull the perp’s price back to the coin’s, Hyperliquid uses funding instead: small hourly payments between longs and shorts.
- You own it and can withdraw it
- Only gains if the price rises
- No leverage, no liquidation
- You hold a position, settled in USDC
- Gains either way: long or short
- Leverage, liquidation and funding
The prices you will see
- Last or mid price: where trades are happening on the book right now.
- Mark price: Hyperliquid’s fair price, used for your open PnL and for liquidations, so one odd trade can’t liquidate you.
- Oracle price: the coin’s price on other major exchanges, which funding is measured against.
Common mistakes
- Thinking you own the coin. A BTC perp pays out in USDC; there is no BTC to withdraw.
- Treating a perp like a savings account. Positions cost funding while open and can be liquidated.
- Forgetting that losses come out of your margin in real time, not just when you close.
Check yourself
What do you hold when you open a long BTC perp?
Try it in Lance
Each row is a perp: its price, 24-hour change, funding and volume, live from Hyperliquid.
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