The Economics of Perpetual Futures, and Who Pays for the Leverage

Traders have used futures for centuries to control large positions with small amounts of capital. Crypto exchanges removed the expiry date, which turned the contract into a leveraged position that can stay open indefinitely. Perpetual futures, or perps, let traders bet on Bitcoin, Ether, and hundreds of other assets without owning them and without a futures expiry date. They have become one of the largest products in the crypto derivatives market. CoinGlass reports that crypto derivatives traded about $85.7 trillion in 2025.