Perpetual futures have been in the shadows for some time now. It’s a derivative market that allows traders to predict the price directions of assets and has no expiry date, among several other benefits.
You’ll need to trade on the best perpetual futures prediction market sites if you want a rewarding experience. This guide explains how perpetual futures work and why they might be a good idea to try. We recommend three sites where you can trade perpetual futures and also offer mini reviews of their services. There’s more, so keep reading.
With perpetual futures (also known as perps) contracts, you take a position on the price of crypto assets such as Litecoin, Ethereum, or Bitcoin without owning the assets. They are derivative contracts and don’t have an expiry date, so they offer some flexibility when trading. For instance, you could go long if you expect the price of the asset you’re speculating on to go up. On the other hand, you could also go short if you expect the price to drop.
Depending on the market forces, you may be required to pay a small funding rate to the trader on the other side of the contract. With its leverage feature, you can hold a larger position than your margin (the amount you put on the trade). However, if the trade moves in a manner where the margin of your trade runs out, your position on the contract is automatically closed.
Although perpetual futures and prediction markets both involve taking positions and trading contracts, they are different types of markets. Here’s a look at the key differences between them:
| Prediction markets | Perpetual futures |
|---|---|
| Involves trading on the outcomes of specific real-world events | Involves trading on potential price directions of crypto assets |
| Resolves on a specified date | No expiry date |
| Settles when the outcome of the event occurs | Continues running |
We’ve curated some reasons why you might want to trade contracts on perpetual futures. Here they are:
There are no expiry dates when trading perpetual futures contracts. That way, you can manage the volatility of the asset you’re speculating on and take advantage of changes in price over several trading sessions. Let’s say you’re trading on the price of Bitcoin, which is quite volatile. With a perps contract, you won’t be forced to close your position on a determined date. Rather, you can hold your position for as long as you think is necessary to get the results you want. The only caveat is that your margin should support the position.
Crypto markets are constantly on round-the-clock, so you can speculate on price directions 24/7 if you’re up for it. This unlimited access to the markets allows you to maximize price fluctuations as they occur in real time. For instance, if you’re big on swing trading with a perps contract, you won’t have to bother with opening or closing positions during market hours. You’d be able to act on any price fluctuations as they occur.
This benefit dovetails into the other two we just mentioned. That’s because we found several trusty perpetual futures prediction market apps that allow you to trade your perps contract whenever you want. Wherever you are. These apps offer the same level of functionality as their desktop versions and come with notifications that keep you updated on the goings-on in the markets. No need to turn on your PC before you can act on the latest price changes. Simply log in to your account via the mobile app. Plus, you’d be able to trade on the go or when you’re out with friends.
To help keep market prices and the futures prices aligned, traders are required to pay a funding rate. It’s a small, periodic fee that traders holding short or long positions pay each other during a trade. If the perpetual futures prices exceed the current spot price of the asset being speculated on, the trader with the long position pays the trader with the short position the funding rate. On the flip side, if the futures price drops below the spot price, the trader with the short position pays their counterpart a fee. That way, the market forces are in sync, and there are no significant deviations between the asset’s market price and the futures price.
In the context of perpetual futures contract trading, “leverage” refers to a feature that allows you to control a large position with a small margin. That way, you can potentially get better returns from your trade. There’s a caveat to using leverage when trading. You risk incurring significant losses if the asset's price moves against your position.
There are several reasons to predict the price movements of assets. To help you make informed decisions when trading, here are a couple of things to note before you start trading.
The first is for you not to go leverage chasing. Granted, using it could come with potential rewards. However, large leverage can lead to significant losses if the markets aren’t in your favor. Our advice? Stick to using manageable leverage so that if things don’t go as planned with your trade, the losses won’t be too large. For instance, Robinhood offers 10x leverage, which is fair.
Another thing to note is that if you’re speculating on the prices of crypto, then you should consider the volatility of the tokens before picking them. Do your research on how volatile the available crypto assets are so you can pick the most stable one.
Lastly, always trade responsibly. We recommend creating a budget for how much you’re willing to spend for each session and on each contract. Although perps trading isn’t online gambling, it’s easy to get engrossed in it to the point where it loses its entertainment value. So, always stick to your trading budget and try to manage the amount of time you spend trading.
If you’re looking to trade a perps contract but don’t know where to do so, here are three sites that passed our tests. Note that all three sites also offer prediction market products. That said, here’s what they offer perpetual futures traders:
It’s easy to trade perps at Kalshi. The site has a dark interface that’s both welcoming and highly intuitive. Besides its ease of use on mobile and desktop devices, we like that the site dedicates a page to its perpetual futures product. The page details everything you need to know about trading in the prices of its available assets.
That way, new traders have access to an actionable resource that makes it easy for them to start executing perps trades once they sign up to the site. We also found handy tools such as the take profit and stop loss tools, which help improve your experience with its perps product.
At the time of writing, you can speculate on the prices of 10+ crypto assets, including Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP, at Kalshi.
Polymarket’s perpetual futures product wasn’t fully live at the time of writing. What we found was an early-access version that offered a 20x leverage and required a code to activate. Traders who don’t have the code had to join a waitlist to get one.
That said, going by how well its prediction markets product works, we expect to find a perps product that’s just as good or even better. For instance, its prediction markets product features one of the top sports prediction market apps, multiple rewards, and lots of events to trade on. When the product finally launches, you should have access to the prices of several crypto assets to speculate on, among other things.
We observed that Robinhood’s perps product is somewhat different from that of other sites in terms of the available assets you trade on. One of the things we noticed was that the site supports perpetuals on crypto, commodities, ETFs, and currency. It also offers a 10x leverage on trades.
Another thing we found peculiar about the site was that you had to complete an onboarding process before using its product. This process includes applying to the site and answering questions about whether you have access to perps. If you don’t pass the tests, the site will provide learning resources to help you understand its operations and pass its tests. Lastly, Robinhood offers traders several perps-related tools such as take profit and stop loss tools, risk alerts, and margin health indicators.
It’s easy to trade contracts at perps prediction market sites, as we’ve saved you the grunt work of looking for the best sites to trade at. Take the following steps to get signed up at any of our recommended sites:
Click the on-page banner to visit the official website of any of our recommended sites.
Hit the appropriate button to start the sign-up process.
Provide the required information and verify your account.
Make your first deposit.
Head over to the site’s perpetual futures page to find the available assets.
Pick your preferred market and review the contract details before you start trading.
Select either the “Long” or “Short” button to select a position on the contract.
Input the amount you’d like to trade with.
Click the appropriate button to start the trade.
After taking the steps above, keep an eye on the contract to know if you’ll receive a funding rate or pay one.
Here’s the part of this guide where we describe the upsides and downsides of perps trading:
You could have a rewarding experience making predictions on the price movements of assets at the right site. Kalshi, Polymarket, and Robinhood are our top picks for the best sites to trade perps contracts.
Kalshi’s perps product is most beginner-friendly as it offers great usability on PC and mobile devices. It also provides tools and a dedicated page to improve your experience with its product. You’d have a similar experience at Robinhood with regard to ease of use on multiple devices. However, it takes things further. It supports different types of assets that you can make price predictions on and requires you to pass an onboarding test before you can use its services.
Polymarket’s perpetual futures prediction markets product was still in the works at the time of writing, but you can get on its early access version. That said, if its prediction markets product is anything to go by, then you might have a rewarding experience predicting asset prices there.
In the meantime, Kalshi and Robinhood currently offer great perps products. You don’t have to take our word for it. Hit our on-page banners, follow the prompts to sign up, and see how things work.
Yes, you can. Our recommended sites have fluid apps that make trading on the go convenient. These apps mirror the functionality of their desktop versions and allow you to trade perps whenever you want or wherever you are.
Kalshi, Polymarket, and Robinhood often have some of the best apps for predicting assets’ prices.
These are markets where you try to predict the prices of assets without having to purchase the asset. Depending on the site, you could try to predict prices on assets in crypto, commodities, ETFs, and currency.
Prediction markets involve financial risk, and outcomes are never guaranteed. In light of this, trading should always be controlled and enjoyable. Keep your activity in check by following responsible trading practices such as:
Only trade money you can afford to lose and stop when your budget is reached.
Avoid increasing trade size or frequency to recover losses.
Don't trade when stressed, tired, emotional, or under the influence.
Take breaks and avoid letting trading interfere with daily life.
Learn how contracts, pricing, fees, and settlement work before trading.
Use spending limits, account history, or self-exclusion tools where available.
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Jason Bevilacqua as part of our fact-checking process.
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