BRVX course: Perp trading basics · 7 min read · Updated September 25, 2026
A perpetual future is a contract that tracks an asset's price with no expiry date; a funding payment, settled every hour on most BRVX markets, keeps it close to the underlying price. This first lesson follows one position from opening to closing.
On this page
Perpetuals appeared in crypto in 2016 and now carry most crypto derivatives volume. The same mechanics are applied on BRVX to stocks such as NVDA, to gold as XAUT and to oil, which is why a lesson on one BTC position transfers to every market on the venue.
Futures started as agreements to trade something on a fixed date. Crypto venues removed the date: a perpetual stays open until you close it or it is liquidated. Everything else in this lesson follows from that one change.
Key takeaways
- A perpetual tracks a price; you never receive the asset.
- Without expiry, funding payments do the job of pulling the contract towards the index.
- Profit and loss is counted on the full position size, not on your margin.
The life of one position
Say you open a 1,000 USDT long on BTC with 100 USDT of margin — 10x leverage. The venue records your entry price and your size. From then on your profit or loss is the price change times the size: a 2% rise is +20 USDT, a 2% fall is −20 USDT, which is 20% of the margin.
What replaces the expiry date
A dated future converges to spot at expiry because it settles against it. A perpetual never settles, so something else must stop it drifting away. That is funding: a periodic payment between the position and the venue or other traders, set by how far the contract trades from its index.
- When the perpetual trades above the index, longs usually pay.
- When it trades below, shorts usually pay.
- The payment is a percentage of the full position size.
Mark price and why it matters
Venues value open positions at a mark price derived from index prices rather than the last trade, so one odd print cannot liquidate a position. Your unrealised PnL and your distance to liquidation are measured against it.
How it looks on BRVX
BRVX lists 41 perpetual markets, each quoted against USDT. Funding settles every hour, except XYZ100, which settles every 3 hours. BRVX sets the rate per market and per side, and per the public API both longs and shorts currently pay it. BRVX perpetuals are synthetic: no coins or shares are held behind a position.
Check yourself
Checked in your browser; nothing is saved.
How perpetual futures work: common questions
Do perpetual futures expire?
No. A perpetual stays open until you close it or it is liquidated.
Who receives the funding payment?
On most venues it passes from one side to the other; on BRVX the public API shows both sides paying, and whether anyone receives it is not published.
Do I own the asset with a perpetual?
No. You hold a contract that tracks the price.
Lesson 1 of 15 done. Next: How leverage works on BRVX
Open BRVXTrading crypto assets and using leverage involve significant risk. You may lose funds. BRVX does not provide investment advice or guarantee returns. Not available to US persons.