> 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/trading/trading.md).

# Trading

What the Exchange trades, how orders are matched, and what is live on testnet today.

The Nexus Exchange is a **central-limit order book**: orders rest at a price, match on price-time priority, and every market is quoted, margined and settled in [USDX](/overview/usdx.md).

**Trading is live on Nexus Testnet today** as a development preview. Order entry is over the REST and WebSocket APIs; the web front end is a market and portfolio view rather than a trading interface.

| Property      | Today                                                                                                                                        |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Product       | Perpetual futures. No expiry, no daily settlement window — funding tethers the contract to its index                                         |
| Matching      | Price-time priority CLOB, in the exchange engine                                                                                             |
| Order types   | Eight, plus four time-in-force policies including post-only — see [Order Types](/trading/trading/perpetuals/order-types.md)                  |
| Margin        | Whole-account cross margin; per-market isolated margin is reachable over the API — see [Margining](/trading/trading/perpetuals/margining.md) |
| Collateral    | **Synthetic** USDX on testnet, claimable from the faucet. It has no real-world value                                                         |
| Risk controls | Per-market price band and a max-move circuit breaker, both armed — see [Discovery Bounds](/trading/trading/perpetuals/discovery-bounds.md)   |

## Which markets

Three crypto perpetuals are live — `BTC`, `ETH` and `SOL`, each quoted and margined in USDX. `GET /markets` is the authority for what is live now, and [Market Specifications](/trading/trading/perpetuals/market-specifications.md) carries the contract specification of every market a trader can currently trade. The [Asset Directory](/asset-directory/asset-directory.md) sets out the classes that follow.

**The live markets trade continuously** — no daily break, no weekend close. Classes whose underlyings do not trade continuously need session handling the venue does not enforce yet, which is covered in [Trading Hours](/trading/trading/perpetuals/trading-hours.md).

## Where to go next

|                              |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Place your first order**   | [Quickstart](/trading/trading/quickstart.md)                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| **Understand the mechanics** | [Margining](/trading/trading/perpetuals/margining.md) · [Funding Rates](/trading/trading/perpetuals/funding-rates.md) · [Liquidations](/trading/trading/perpetuals/liquidations.md) · [Price Oracles](/trading/trading/perpetuals/price-oracles.md) |
| **Integrate**                | [APIs & Rates](/apis-and-rates/apis-and-rates.md) · [API Reference](https://docs.nexus.xyz/api-reference)                                                                                                                                           |
| **Spot**                     | [Spot](/trading/trading/spot.md) — planned; perpetuals are the first market type                                                                                                                                                                    |


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