What Are Perpetual Futures?
How perps work, what funding rates are, and why prop firms use them.
Last updated 2 Oct 2026Futures with no expiry
A perpetual future is a derivative that tracks an asset like BTC without ever expiring. Instead of rolling contracts, a funding payment between longs and shorts every few hours keeps the price near spot.
Funding rates
When perps trade above spot, longs pay shorts; below spot, shorts pay longs. On a prop account, funding is usually simulated and shows up in your P&L.
Why prop firms offer them
Perps trade 24/7 with deep liquidity and adjustable leverage, which makes them easy to simulate. Check the pairs list, BTC/ETH leverage and the daily loss reset time before you buy.
A funding rate example
Say funding is +0.01% every 8 hours and you hold a $10,000 BTC long. Longs pay shorts, so you pay $1 at each funding time, $3 a day. Short the same size and you receive it instead. Rates change every period and turn negative when shorts are crowded.
Leverage and prop loss limits
On an exchange, leverage decides how close your liquidation price sits. On a prop account the daily and max loss limits come first: with a 5% daily loss on 25K you can lose $1,250 in a day, whatever the leverage. Higher leverage only lets you reach that limit with a smaller move.
- Pairs offered: 20 to 170 at the firms we track.
- Leverage: usually 1:5 to 1:20 on BTC/ETH.
- Payouts: mostly USDT or USDC.