Trading Guide

Learn how perpetual trading works and how to use leverage effectively.

What Are Perpetual Contracts?

Perpetual contracts (perps) let you trade an asset's price without owning it. Unlike futures, they never expire - you can hold a position indefinitely.

Key benefits:

Trade with leverage (amplify your buying power)
Go long (bet price goes up) or short (bet price goes down)
No expiration dates

Understanding Leverage

Leverage multiplies your market exposure. With 10x leverage, $100 controls a $1,000 position.

The Formula

Position Value = Margin × Leverage

Example:

You have $100 (your margin)
You use 10x leverage
Your position value = $100 × 10 = $1,000

How Profits and Losses Work

Your profit or loss is calculated on the full position value, not just your margin:

P&L = Position Value × Price Change %

Example with 10x leverage on BTC:

BTC Price Move	Position P&L	Return on $100 Margin
+5%	+$50	+50%
+10%	+$100	+100%
-5%	-$50	-50%
-10%	-$100	-100% (liquidated)

Key insight: Leverage amplifies both gains AND losses equally.

Margin Types

Isolated Margin

Each position has its own separate margin. If liquidated, only that position's margin is lost.

Best for: Limiting risk on individual trades

Cross Margin

All positions share your total account balance as margin. Profits from one position can offset losses in another.

Best for: Experienced traders running multiple positions

Order Types

Market Orders

Execute immediately at the current best price.

Pros: Guaranteed fill, instant execution Cons: May get worse price in volatile markets (slippage)

When to use: When you need to enter/exit quickly

Limit Orders

Execute only at your specified price or better.

Pros: Control your entry/exit price exactly Cons: May not fill if price doesn't reach your limit

When to use: When you have a specific price target

Liquidation

If your losses approach your margin, your position gets liquidated (force-closed) to prevent negative balance.

Liquidation Price Formula

For a long position:

Liquidation Price = Entry Price × (1 - 1/Leverage + Maintenance Margin)

For a short position:

Liquidation Price = Entry Price × (1 + 1/Leverage - Maintenance Margin)

Simplified example (ignoring maintenance margin):

Entry: $50,000 BTC
Leverage: 10x
Liquidation: ~$45,000 (10% drop from entry)

The bot shows your liquidation price in /positions.

Fees

Trading Fees

Fees are charged when you open and close positions:

Order Type	Fee
Market (Taker)	~0.035%
Limit (Maker)	~0.01%

Fees are calculated on the position value, not margin.

Example:

$1,000 position value
Market order fee = $1,000 × 0.035% = $0.35

Funding Rate

Perpetual contracts have a funding rate that balances longs vs shorts:

Positive funding: Longs pay shorts
Negative funding: Shorts pay longs

Funding is paid/received every 8 hours based on your position size.

Placing Orders

Quick Order Syntax

/long SYMBOL [LEVERAGE]x [SIZE]
/short SYMBOL [LEVERAGE]x [SIZE]

Examples:

/long BTC           # Start order flow for BTC
/long BTC 10x       # 10x leverage, prompts for size
/long BTC 10x 100   # Instant order: 10x, $100 size
/short ETH 5x 50    # Short ETH, 5x leverage, $50 size