> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.nexus.xyz/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.nexus.xyz/exchange/trading/perpetuals.md). # Perpetuals Perpetual futures are the first market type on the Nexus Exchange and are **live on testnet** across 3 markets today (BTC, ETH, SOL), expanding to 32 and beyond. A perpetual is a leveraged long or short position with no expiry; it tracks an underlying index price through a periodic funding payment between longs and shorts. Perpetuals are implemented natively in the exchange engine — matching, margin checks, funding, and liquidation all run in-protocol and settle deterministically, rather than through a smart contract on a general-purpose VM. ### Market structure * **3 markets live today** — BTC, ETH, SOL — all quoted and collateralized in synthetic USDX. Expanding to 32 and beyond. * Planned categories as the set expands: major crypto, altcoins, FX, commodities, and equity indices. * Each market has its own contract specification — tick size, minimum/maximum order size, maximum leverage, maintenance margin rate, funding interval, and open-interest cap. See Market Specifications for the full table. ### How a position works 1. **Fund collateral.** Deposit (or, on testnet, faucet) synthetic USDX into your account. Collateral is shared across all positions (cross-margin). 2. **Open a position.** Submit a buy (long) or sell (short) order via the API. The engine checks initial margin atomically before accepting the order — see Margining. 3. **Hold.** Your position accrues unrealized PnL as the mark price moves and pays or receives funding each interval. 4. **Close or get liquidated.** Close by submitting an opposing order. If your account equity falls below maintenance margin, the position is liquidated. ### Pricing Each market has a **mark price** derived from an external index feed, used for margin, funding, and liquidation. Mark price is independent of the last trade price on the book, which prevents thin-book trades from triggering unfair liquidations. See Price Oracles. ### Leverage and margin Maximum leverage is **up to 50x**, set per market. Margin is whole-account (cross): your entire USDX balance backs all open positions. Maximum leverage and the maintenance margin rate for each market are listed in Market Specifications. See Margining for how initial and maintenance margin are calculated. ### Sub-pages * Margining * Order Types * Positions * Funding Rates * Liquidations * Price Oracles --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.nexus.xyz/exchange/trading/perpetuals.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.