🌠Perpetual

At LN Exchange, you can trade two types of perpetual contracts: USDT-margined and ALTCOIN-margined.

These contracts allow you to trade on the price movements of crypto assets like Bitcoin, with or without leverage, and without an expiration date.


USDT-M Perpetual Contracts

Also known as Linear Pepertual

In USDT-margined perpetual contracts, you use USDT as collateral. This means your profit and loss (PnL) is also settled in USDT. It’s a simple type of contract, where everything — from the collateral to the payout — is in USDT. This makes it easy to track how much you’ve gained or lost based on the price of the asset in USDT.

Example: You trade a BTC-USDT perpetual contract using USDT as collateral.

If Bitcoin goes up and you’re in a long position, your profit is settled in USDT. If the price goes down and you’re in a short position, your loss is also calculated in USDT.


ALTCOIN-M Perpetual Contracts

Also known as Quanto Perpetual

In ALTCOIN-margined perpetual contracts, you use an ALTCOIN (like BURGER) as collateral, but you’re still trading contracts based on the price of another asset like Bitcoin (in USDT). The unique thing is that even though the trade is based on Bitcoin’s price in USDT, your profit or loss is settled in the ALTCOIN you used as collateral.

This setup allows you to use other cryptocurrencies to trade, without worrying about how the collateral’s price changes during the trade.

Example: You open a BURGER-BTC-USDT contract. BURGER is used as the collateral. Your profit or loss will be settled in BURGER based on how Bitcoin’s price moves in USDT, but you don't have to worry about BURGER's price fluctuations during the trade.

Let’s break this down with a simple example:

Scenario:

You open a BURGER-BTC-USDT perpetual contract where the notional size is based on BTC.

  • Underlying Asset: BTC

  • Settlement or Collateral Currency: BURGER

  • Bitcoin Multiplier or Contract Size = 0.01 (varies by the underlying asset & settlement or collateral currency)

  • 1 contract size = 0.01 BTC or ( 0.01 × BTC price ) BURGER

  • You enter a long position on BTC when BTC = 50,000 USDT.

  • At the time of opening the trade, 1 BURGER = 1 USDT, so the contract size in BURGER is 0.01 × 50,000 = 500 BURGER per contract.

After the Trade:

  • BTC’s price increases from 50,000 USDT to 60,000 USDT (a 20% increase).

Calculating Profit:

  • Contract Size in BURGER: At the new BTC price of 60,000 USDT, the contract size in BURGER changes to: 0.01 × 60,000 = 600 BURGER per contract.

  • Profit in BURGER: Your profit is based on the increase in the contract size in BURGER due to the BTC price change: PnL in BURGER = ( New contract size − Old contract size ) × Number of Contracts. PnL in BURGER = ( New contract size−Old contract size ) × Number of Contracts. If you have 1 contract, the PnL would be:

    PnL in BURGER = ( 600 − 500 ) = 100 BURGER.

Thus, with the 0.01 BTC multiplier, and given the 10,000 USDT increase in BTC price, your profit would be 100 BURGER per contract. If you hold multiple contracts, this profit scales accordingly.

Why BURGER Price Doesn’t Matter During the Trade:

  • Even if BURGER’s price fluctuates during the trade, the calculation of profit or loss is always based on BTC’s price in USDT.


Key Benefits


When engaging in perpetual contract trading, traders must grasp several mechanics of the futures market.

Key components traders should understand

Multiplier

This indicates the value of one contract. You can find this information in the Contract Specifications for each instrument.

Position Marking

Perpetual contracts follow the Fair Price Marking method. The mark price determines Unrealised Profit and Loss (PNL) as well as liquidations.

Initial and Maintenance Margin

These margins are pivotal as they determine the level of leverage available for trading and the threshold for liquidation.

⚡Funding

Funding occurs every 8 hours. Any position held in a perpetual swap during this period will either pay or receive funding. Traders can monitor the current funding rate for a contract in the "Contract Details" section at the bottom left of the Trade tab. Additionally, historical rates can be found in the Funding History or in the individual "Contract Specifications".

⚡Symbol

A symbol in trading identifies a specific financial instrument, combining both a base currency and a quote currency. BTC/USD indicates the price of one Bitcoin quoted in US dollars.

Understanding these components is essential for effective and informed trading in perpetual contracts. Below outlines the comparison of the three support payout types:

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