What's the Difference Between Crypto Spot and Crypto Futures?
Crypto Spot means buying or selling a crypto asset directly at its current price, so you actually own the asset afterward and can only profit when its price rises. Crypto Futures means trading on the asset's price movement without owning it, using leverage and USDT-margined perpetual contracts that let you profit from both rising and falling prices, but that also carry a higher risk of liquidation. On Pluang, Crypto Assets (spot) is an IDR-denominated product where you hold real crypto in your wallet, while Crypto Futures is a completely separate, USDT-margined derivative product with no expiry date. The two products serve different goals: spot suits longer-term ownership and accumulation, while futures suits shorter-term speculation or hedging an existing spot position. Because futures lets you apply leverage, a relatively small price move can produce a proportionally larger gain or loss than the same move would on spot, and liquidation triggers once your losses bring your margin down to the maintenance margin, before it is fully used up — a risk that simply doesn't exist when you hold crypto outright on spot.
Spot Trading example: If you buy 1 BTC at a price of Rp 950,000,000, you pay Rp 950,000,000 and own the BTC. If the price rises to Rp 1,100,000,000, you can sell for a profit of Rp 150,000,000. If the price falls to Rp 800,000,000, selling means a loss of Rp 150,000,000 — your maximum possible loss is capped at what you paid.
Crypto Futures example: If you open a Long position with an initial margin of USDT 2,000 and use 25x leverage, you control a position worth USDT 50,000. As the position moves against you, your Margin Level rises from 0% — if it passes 75% (the Final Margin Call threshold), you can only close positions or reduce exposure. If it keeps rising toward 100%, your position is automatically liquidated, meaning you can lose your margin faster than the equivalent spot move would cost you.
| Aspect | Spot Trading | Crypto Futures |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Buy or sell a crypto asset directly. | Trade on an asset's price movement without owning it. |
| Asset Ownership | You own the asset. | No asset ownership. |
| Currency | IDR-denominated. | USDT-margined. |
| Leverage | Not available. | Available. |
| Risk | Relatively lower risk. | Higher risk due to leverage and possible liquidation. |
| Objective | Longer-term investing. | Shorter-term speculation or hedging. |
Related questions:
Q: Do I own the crypto asset when I trade Crypto Futures?
No. Crypto Futures lets you speculate on price movement without owning the underlying asset, unlike Crypto Spot where you take actual ownership. Your futures position exists purely as a contract tracking price, settled in USDT rather than the crypto itself.
Q: Is leverage available on Crypto Spot?
No. Leverage is only available on Crypto Futures; Crypto Spot transactions use only the funds you put in, so your maximum loss on spot is capped at your purchase amount, unlike a leveraged futures position.
Q: Which carries more risk, Crypto Spot or Crypto Futures?
Crypto Futures carries higher risk because leverage amplifies both gains and losses, and positions can be liquidated if the market moves against you. Crypto Spot has no liquidation risk since you simply hold the asset you paid for.
Q: What currency are Crypto Futures contracts priced in on Pluang?
Crypto Futures contracts on Pluang are quoted and settled in USDT, while Crypto Spot only trades in IDR pairs. This currency difference is one of the clearest structural distinctions between the two products.
Q: Can I use Crypto Futures to manage risk on my Crypto Spot holdings?
Yes. Opening a Short Crypto Futures position on an asset you hold in spot is a common hedging technique to offset potential losses during a price drop, though it introduces leverage-related risk that spot alone doesn't carry.