What Are Perpetual Futures (Perps)?

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Updated on

November 24, 2025

5 min read

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Atomic Perps is now live in Atomic Wallet, bringing perpetual futures trading directly into your non-custodial wallet. You can open, manage, and close long or short positions on top markets like BTC and ETH with full on-chain execution and zero dependence on centralized exchanges. No accounts, no KYC, no custodians — just fast, transparent trading powered by Hyperliquid infrastructure.

Perpetual futures themselves are a core instrument in modern crypto trading. They let you speculate on price movements without owning the underlying asset and without dealing with expirations or contract rollovers. Perps are designed for flexibility, allowing you to react instantly to market shifts while keeping full control of your wallet and funds.

Why Traders Choose Perpetual Futures

Perpetuals provide the best of both worlds – perpetual liquidity of spot markets and the flexibility of futures. Perpetuals allow traders to profit during both bull and bear markets, manage risk, and hedge other positions in real-time. Professional traders use them for high-precision strategies – scalping, arbitrage, and leverage-based setups – and retail players get in on round-the-clock opportunities.

Another reason why they're so favored: perps offer a level playing field. You don't have to sit around waiting for contract expirations, monitor delivery dates, or roll positions manually.

How Perpetual Futures Work

The core idea behind perpetual futures is straightforward: they have no expiration date, yet their price stays closely aligned with the spot market. This is achieved through the funding rate – a periodic payment exchanged between long and short traders. Depending on the platform, funding occurs at different intervals: on-chain systems like Hyperliquid settle funding once per hour, while major centralized exchanges typically apply it every 4 to 8 hours. These payments help keep the perpetual price anchored to the underlying asset.

That push-and-pull balance keeps the market stable, without expiration dates or contract resets. Execution is instantaneous on most platforms. You can open or close positions at any time, using leverage that makes profits and losses bigger. Essentially, perps create a synthetic spot market with built-in leverage fueled by continuous liquidity.

Perpetual vs Regular Futures

Both are derivatives that track an underlying asset’s price – but their mechanics differ in crucial ways:

Expiration: traditional futures have a fixed expiry date; perps don’t.
Funding mechanism: perps use ongoing funding payments to stay in sync with spot prices; regular futures settle at expiration.
Flexibility: perps let traders hold positions indefinitely, while traditional futures require rollovers.
Market behavior: perps trade more like spot markets, reacting instantly to news and volatility.

That makes a huge difference to crypto traders. Instead of straddling rollovers or expiry dates, you can have your strategy forever – with full control in a fast-moving market.

Perps vs Spot — Which Is Riskier?

Perpetual futures are capable of really amplifying profits and losses – and that's what makes them so powerful but so risky. When you're trading spot, you're literally holding the underlying asset. The worst that could possibly happen? The token's value goes down, but you still have it.

With perps, you’re trading price exposure – not ownership. Using leverage means even small moves can trigger liquidation, automatically closing your position if losses exceed your margin. That’s why perps attract experienced traders who understand risk management:

Use small leverage (2–5×) instead of maxing out.
Always set stop-losses.
Track funding rates – they can erode profits over time.

Handled wisely, perps are an incredible tool for hedging or amplifying returns. Handled recklessly – they can wipe your balance in minutes.

Trade Perps in Atomic Wallet — Secure & Fast

Atomic Perps brings perpetual futures directly into your non-custodial Atomic Wallet. You trade on-chain, maintain full ownership of your keys, and never interact with centralized intermediaries. All execution is powered by Hyperliquid, providing deep liquidity, fast fills, and transparent pricing.

Getting started is simple:

Navigate to the Perps section
Choose a market such as BTC, ETH, SOL, or any supported pair
Select Long or Short, depending on your market view
Set your leverage and review margin requirements
Open your position instantly on-chain
Manage or close your trade at any time directly from the same interface

With self-custody, fast execution, and a streamlined design, Atomic Perps makes perpetual futures accessible to both experienced traders and beginners looking to explore more advanced strategies.

Conclusion — The Future of Trading Is Perpetual

Perpetual futures have revolutionized modern crypto trading marrying the liquidity of spot markets with the flexibility of futures. They enable 24/7 strategies, from short hedges to longs, with neither rollovers nor settlement pressure. With markets maturing, perps are part and parcel no more for pros only – they're becoming the instrument of choice for active crypto traders.

With Atomic Perps now live inside Atomic Wallet, the next generation of perpetual trading is accessible to everyone. No accounts, no KYC, and no centralized custody — just fast, on-chain execution from your own wallet. It’s a seamless way to explore perps and stay in full control of your trading.