What Are the Advantages of Perpetual Trading?
Perpetual trading has no expiration date since Pluang only offers perpetual contracts, so you can hold a position as long as you want, and it lets you profit whether the market is bullish or bearish by opening a long or a short. It can also offer deeper liquidity than the Crypto Assets (spot) market at times, while leverage of up to 25x on most of the 49 active contracts boosts potential profit and gives your capital more flexibility than an unleveraged trade would. These advantages come with a corresponding set of risks — leverage that increases potential profit increases potential loss by the same measure, and a position with no expiration date still needs active monitoring, since nothing about the contract closes it automatically on your behalf.
Four advantages perpetual trading offers:
- No expiration date — hold a position indefinitely rather than being forced to close or roll it over, since Pluang only offers perpetual contracts.
- Profit potential in both directions — long positions profit from a rising market, short positions from a falling one.
- Liquidity that can rival or exceed spot — on some occasions offers deeper liquidity than the Crypto Assets (spot) market.
- Leverage improves capital efficiency — greater potential profit from the same capital, plus more liquidity and flexibility, up to 25x on most contracts and 10x on BAT, FIL, and ZRX.
Related questions:
Q: Do perpetual contracts have an expiration date?
No. Perpetual contracts have no expiration date, so you can hold a position for as long as you choose. This is the only contract structure Pluang offers, so unlike some traditional derivatives markets, there's no separate dated product to compare against or roll a position into when a settlement date approaches. Because there's no dated alternative on Pluang, comparing costs or features between a perpetual and a dated contract isn't something you need to factor into your decision at all.
Q: Can I profit in perpetual trading during a market downturn?
Yes. Opening a short position lets you profit when the market is bearish, not just when it's bullish. This is one of the clearest advantages over a Crypto Assets (spot) strategy, where a falling price only produces a loss on your holdings rather than a potential source of profit. It's a structural difference worth keeping in mind if you're used to spot-only strategies, since it opens up a way to respond to a downturn instead of simply waiting it out.
Q: Is perpetual market liquidity always deeper than the spot market?
Not always — on some occasions the perpetual market offers deeper liquidity than spot, but this varies by market conditions. Liquidity can shift depending on which contract and time period you're looking at, so it's worth checking current order book depth rather than assuming futures liquidity is uniformly better across all 49 contracts. Checking the order book before placing a large order is a more reliable way to judge execution quality in the moment than assuming perpetual liquidity is always the deeper option.
Q: Does leverage only affect potential profit?
No. Leverage also increases the liquidity and flexibility of your capital, on top of boosting potential profit. Freeing up capital that would otherwise sit in a single unleveraged position means you can allocate the difference elsewhere, though this same mechanism also means losses are magnified at the same rate as gains. This is why leverage is often described as a double-edged tool — the same mechanism that frees up capital for other use also means a losing trade erodes that capital faster.