Perpetual Futures (Perps)
In DeFi (Decentralized Finance)
Plain English
A futures contract with no expiration date, letting you bet on price movements with leverage. You can go "long" (betting price goes up) or "short" (betting price goes down) without actually owning the asset. Funding rates keep the contract price close to actual market price.
Technical
Derivative contracts enabling leveraged exposure to assets without expiration. No delivery/settlement - positions held indefinitely via funding rate mechanism (longs pay shorts when mark > index price, vice versa) keeping perpetual price anchored to spot. Popular venues: Drift, Mango, Zeta Markets on Solana. Offers leverage (5-20x typical), long/short positions, and efficient capital usage.