Horizon Academy
English V3
English V3
  • Horizon Academy
  • Horizon Protocol
    • Introduction
      • Tokenomics
      • Business Model
      • Synthetic Assets - zAssets
    • Security Audit
    • Community
      • How to Initiate a HIP
      • HIPs
        • HIP-23 Revenue Sharing Model: Intent-based System Phase one
        • HIP-22: Create a zUSD - USDC pool on Pancakeswap V3
        • HIP-21: Stop Incentives to the zBNB - BNB pool on Wombat Exchange
        • HIP-20: Suspend zMATIC Market and Introduce zPOL Ahead of MATIC to POL Migration
        • HIP-19: Temporarily reduce C-Ratio to 350%
        • HIP-18: Add DOGE and SHIBA to Horizon Futures
        • HIP-17: Add DOT, AVAX, and MATIC to Horizon Futures
        • HIP-16: Add XRP, ADA, and LINK to Horizon Futures
        • HIP-15: Add SOL to Horizon Futures
        • HIP-14: Reduce Trading Fees during Horizon Futures Promotional Period
        • HIP-13: Suspend zNVDA market ahead of Stock Split and convert zNVDA to zUSD
        • HIP-12: Updated Utilization of zUSD & zBNB Liquidity
        • HIP-11: Redirect HZN from EARN Pool to PancakeSwap as ‘Bribe’ using Cakepie
        • HIP-10: Use zAssets from Community Fund staking to provide liquidity on Wombat via Yield Aggregator
        • HIP-9: Redirect HZN from EARN Pools to Wombat Exchange as ‘Bribes’
        • HIP-8: Move the zUSD-BUSD and zBNB-BNB Liquidity Pools to Wombat Exchange
        • HIP-7: Utilize the Community Fund for Additional Liquidity
        • HIP-6: Lower Target C-Ratio to 600% from 700%
        • HIP-5: List New zAssets
        • HIP-4: Use Keepers to Close Weekly Fee Periods
        • HIP-3: Suspend zTSLA ahead of Stock Split
        • HIP-2: Lower Target C-Ratio to 700%
        • HIP-1: Create incentivized zBNB/BNB pool
      • Community Grant Program
    • FAQs
  • Stake & Earn
    • Introduction
    • Staking on Horizon Protocol
      • Staking and Rewards
      • Mint, Burn, and Claim
      • Collaterialization and C-Ratio
      • Liquidation
      • Managing Risk
      • C-Ratio Strategies
      • Hedge your Portfolio
    • Interfaces
      • Account - Escrow
      • Account - Authorize
      • Account - History
    • Guides
      • How to Stake by Minting zUSD
      • Adding Liquidity for zUSD and zBNB pools
      • Add Liquidity for HZN-BNB
      • Remove LP Tokens for zUSD-BUSD Pool
      • Setting Up Chainlink Automation
  • Educational Articles
    • Glossary and Definitions
    • What are DeFi Derivatives and how are they used
    • A Brief History of Synthetic Assets and Financial Derivatives
    • DeFi Derivative Projects
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  1. FUTURES
  2. Introduction

What is a Perpetual Future?

Perpetual futures are financial instruments, specifically derivatives, that allow traders to speculate on the future price of an asset. Derivatives in DeFi, or synthetic assets, allow for speculation on the price of an underlying asset without directly owning the asset itself, which opens the way to greater degrees of leverage and is often much more liquid than spot markets.

When compared to traditional futures, perpetual futures have one key difference, which is that it does not have an expiration date and can be held indefinitely.

Centralized vs. Decentralized Futures Exchanges

Perpetual futures were first introduced in crypto by a centralized exchange, BitMEX, back in 2016. Currently, the majority of perpetual futures trading is done in centralized exchanges.

Decentralized futures exchanges are growing in popularity, as unlike centralized futures exchanges, they allow traders to maintain full custody of their assets. As it is permissionless and non-custodial, decentralized futures exchanges also do not require KYC, allowing for a high degree of anonymity. Lastly, decentralized futures exchanges tend to have lower fees due to lower overhead costs.


Continue exploring the Academy to learn more about how a decentralized future exchange like Horizon Protocol works, or jump right into trading futures on .

Horizon Protocol Dapp