Perpetual futures contracts rely on a funding rate mechanism to keep their prices in line with the spot market price, giving traders exposure to wild swings without asset ownership. The cumulative trading volume of these non-expiring derivatives since 2020 has transcended $60 trillion, far exceeding trading volumes of both the underlying cryptocurrencies and conventional futures contracts.
After years of operating in a gray zone and showing a flat growth curve, 2025 marks a turning point for the crypto perpetual futures markets. At the time of writing this, the perpetuals trading volume stands at its highest at $1.05 trillion.