Glossary
Perpetual future
A derivative contract with no expiry date that tracks an underlying price using periodic funding payments between longs and shorts.
A perpetual future ('perp') tracks an asset's price indefinitely. Instead of expiring, it uses periodic funding payments between long and short traders to keep its price close to the underlying.
Equity perps — such as the on-chain Tesla or Nvidia perps on Hyperliquid — give leveraged price exposure with no ownership, no dividend and the risk of liquidation.