Stock perpetuals, explained

How a perpetual works

You post collateral (USDC on the venues we track), open a long or short position, and the contract’s price floats on its own order book. Because there is no expiry, nothing forces the contract price toward the share price at settlement — funding does that instead: whichever side of the market is trading rich pays a small periodic fee to the other side, nudging the contract back toward its reference.

Size a position at 1x and it moves dollar for dollar with the stock. Leverage multiplies both directions and adds a liquidation price, which the exchange shows before you confirm.

What you hold — and what you don’t

A perpetual gives you price exposure only. No shareholder rights, no dividends, no claim on the company. In exchange you get a market that never closes, no account application on decentralized venues, and position sizes that start near zero.

Perpetuals vs CFDs vs tokenized stocks

• CFDs: broker-issued contracts, priced by the broker, usually closed on weekends and unavailable to U.S. residents.
• Tokenized stocks: blockchain tokens meant to be backed by real shares; depend on the issuer’s custody and often trade thinly.
• Perpetuals: exchange order-book contracts with transparent funding and open interest, trading 24/7 with deep books on the largest venues.

Mark price vs last price

Venues publish a mark price (a smoothed, manipulation-resistant reference used for liquidations) beside the raw last trade. We display marks, which is why our figure can differ a few cents from the most recent trade you see on the venue.