Core Pages

Perpetual Futures Trading

10 min read

What it is

Trade perpetual futures with up to 125x leverage on 8 connected exchanges (Binance, Bybit, OKX, KuCoin, Gate.io, Bitget, HTX, Kraken). Real CCXT execution. Includes live ticker pricing, deterministic Pre-Trade Risk Check (rule-based, NOT AI), Liquidation Calculator with distance %, Risk/Reward Visualizer, Position Size Calculator (1/2/3/5% risk presets), 4-step partial close (25/50/75/100%), Portfolio Heat Map, Liquidation Cascade Alert, and Close-All kill switch.

How to think about it

Futures trading requires Pro tier or higher. Connect a futures-capable exchange in Settings → Connections, then open /futures. This is the highest-risk feature on the platform — read the warnings before placing your first trade.

Step-by-step

  1. Connect a futures-capable exchange

    Only 8 of the 15 supported exchanges support perpetual futures: Binance, Bybit, OKX, KuCoin, Gate.io, Bitget, HTX, Kraken. Settings → Connections → enable FUTURES permission when creating the API key on the exchange. Never enable Withdrawals.

  2. Stats bar — Margin Balance / Positions / P&L / Exposure / Exchange

    5 cards at the top: margin balance available for trades, count of open positions, total unrealized P&L (green/red), total notional exposure across all positions, currently-selected exchange. Refresh button next to the exchange selector pulls fresh data.

  3. Symbol picker (12 popular pairs)

    BTC/ETH/SOL/BNB/XRP/DOGE/ADA/AVAX/LINK/DOT/MATIC/ARB — preset perp symbols. Custom symbol picker available for less-common pairs. Live price refreshes every 15s; the page handles symbols where the exchange has no ticker gracefully.

  4. Side toggle (Long / Short)

    Long = profit if price goes UP, loss if DOWN. Short = profit if price goes DOWN, loss if UP. Shorting is what makes futures useful — you can profit in falling markets, which spot trading can't do.

  5. Leverage slider (1x to 125x)

    Presets: 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125. At Nx leverage, a 1/N % move against you = 100% loss of margin (full liquidation). 10x = 10% adverse move liquidates. 50x = 2% move liquidates. 125x = 0.8% move liquidates. Pre-Trade Risk Check warns above 20x and above 50x.

  6. Margin mode (Isolated / Cross)

    ISOLATED (recommended) — losses are capped at the margin allocated to that single position. If it liquidates, you only lose that position's margin. CROSS — uses your ENTIRE account balance as margin; a single bad position can wipe out all your capital. Always isolated for memecoins or experimental tokens.

  7. Set Stop Loss + Take Profit

    ALWAYS set both. The Risk/Reward Visualizer renders a green/red bar showing the ratio in real-time — aim for 1:2 minimum (twice the upside vs. downside). 1:3 is professional standard. Without an SL, your position runs to liquidation when wrong — and liquidations are guaranteed losses, not paper drawdowns.

  8. Trailing Stop (optional)

    Set a % trailing distance that moves with price as it goes in your favor. Locks in profits without you watching. Example: trailing stop = 3% means once price moves 3% in your favor, your stop ratchets up to "current price - 3%". Doesn't help if price moves against you from entry; only ratchets the SL favorably.

  9. Liquidation Calculator (live)

    Shows your exact liquidation price + distance % from current. Red when distance < 5% (extreme danger), amber when < 15% (caution), gray-default when > 15% (safe buffer). Adjust leverage DOWN if the distance is too close.

  10. Pre-Trade Risk Check (rule-based, NOT AI)

    Deterministic score 0-10 computed from your leverage selection: ≤10x scores 3, 10-20x scores 5, 20-50x scores 7, >50x scores 9. Warnings appear above 20x and again above 50x. Suggestions list. This was renamed from "AI Pre-Trade" to be accurate — nothing here looks at real market data, it's purely a leverage-based heuristic.

  11. Position Size Calculator

    1% / 2% / 3% / 5% risk-per-trade presets. Takes your margin balance + your stop loss + leverage and computes the qty you should open so a stop-out costs exactly that % of your account. Professional traders use 1-2% max per trade.

  12. Submit + monitor positions

    Open Long / Open Short executes the order via CCXT. Position appears in the right panel with entry, mark, liquidation, P&L, and 4 partial-close buttons (25/50/75/100%). The Portfolio Heat Map tab visualizes all positions as colored tiles (green = profit, red = loss, size = notional).

  13. Liquidation Cascade Alert (top of page)

    Auto-appears when ANY position is within 15% of liquidation. Yellow warning at 15%, RED CRITICAL at <5%. Shows count of at-risk positions + total $ at risk. Acts as a wake-up alarm before you wake up to liquidated positions.

  14. Close All — emergency kill switch

    Closes EVERY open position on the selected exchange. Confirmation prompt prevents misclicks. Used for: panic-exit during flash crash, end-of-day flat, exchange-specific emergencies. Closes sequentially — if one fails, the rest still execute.

  15. Partial Close (25/50/75/100%)

    4 buttons on each position. Lock in profit gradually rather than all-or-nothing. The "Half at 1.5x R:R, half at 3x R:R" pattern is common — first half pays for the trade; second half is "free upside."

Tips & pitfalls

  • Most retail accounts at 50x+ leverage are wiped within 24 hours. The math is brutal: at 50x, a 2% adverse move = 100% loss. Random intraday noise on BTC is regularly ±2%. Start at 5x or below.
  • ALWAYS use isolated margin for any position you're not 100% confident in. Cross margin uses your entire account; a single bad trade in cross mode can liquidate ALL your positions simultaneously.
  • Funding rate is the #1 hidden cost. Long during high positive funding = paying ~0.01-0.03% every 8 hours = 1-3% per month just for holding. We don't yet show funding rates in the UI — check the exchange directly before holding long-term.
  • The Pre-Trade Risk Check is rule-based, NOT AI. It only looks at the leverage value you picked. It does NOT analyze market conditions, news, or anything else. It's a sanity-check sticker, not a buy/sell signal.
  • Partial close 50% at 1.5x R:R locks in profit and turns the rest into a "free trade" — you can't lose money on the remaining half even if it stops out.
  • The Portfolio Heat Map shows position concentration risk at a glance. If one tile is 5× larger than the others, you have a concentration problem before you have an account problem.
  • Liquidation Cascade Alert is the most important banner on this page. If you see it, REDUCE leverage or close positions immediately. Cascading liquidations happen in minutes during flash crashes — don't wait.
  • Close All is the safest button on the page. If you don't know what to do during a crash, click Close All, walk away, decide later when you're calm. Re-entering a position is free; chasing a losing one is expensive.