Crypto Traders Weigh Perpetual Futures’ Benefits and Funding Risks

Perpetual futures emerged from crypto as a way to offer continuous, leveraged exposure without the expiry and rollover costs of conventional futures. BitMEX launched its XBTUSD perpetual swap on May 13, 2016, using funding payments between longs and shorts to keep the contract near spot. The format has since become crypto’s dominant derivatives product: global perp volume roughly tripled from $30 trillion in 2023 to $93 trillion in 2025, creating a proven template for round-the-clock trading across other asset classes.

The model is now moving into equities and pre-IPO markets through Hyperliquid’s permissionless HIP-3 infrastructure. Trade.xyz launched the SPCX-USDC perpetual tracking SpaceX’s implied share price on May 18, 2026. It opened at $150, jumped to $216 within hours and ended its first day at $202.89 after more than $33 million of trading. By June 12, 24-hour volume had topped $300 million, showing how crypto venues can establish continuous price discovery for traditional assets before investors can buy the underlying shares.

Perpetual swaps are crypto derivatives with no expiry date, allowing traders to maintain leveraged exposure to assets such as bitcoin without owning them directly. BitMEX introduced the product in 2016, combining continuous trading with periodic funding payments between long and short positions to keep contract prices aligned with spot markets. That structure helped perps become a cornerstone of round-the-clock crypto trading.

CoinDesk reported on July 27, 2026, that annual trading in perpetual swaps is estimated at $40 trillion to $50 trillion, making them crypto’s largest financial instrument by volume. The market has expanded from BitMEX to centralized and decentralized exchanges serving retail traders, professional firms and hedgers. Their growth has broadened access to leverage, while also magnifying risks from volatile funding rates and forced liquidations.