Perpetual futures on gold, bitcoin, and oil
Futures trading is a rather specific activity; you can't simply buy gold, Bitcoin, or oil and wait for the price to rise.
Unlike many other contracts, a futures contract has its own expiration date, when the transaction closes not when you decide, but on a specific date.
This is a rather unpleasant situation, which often leads to losses.
This problem can be solved by using so-called perpetual futures.
A perpetual futures contract is an exchange-traded contract with no expiration date that allows you to trade on the rise or fall of an asset's price without owning the asset itself.
The position can be held without time limitation as long as there are sufficient funds to support it.
Where can I trade perpetual futures?
Not all brokers and exchanges allow trading perpetual futures, so you should choose the right company for this type of trading:
| Broker | Available assets | Type of instrument |
|---|---|---|
 Alpari |
Gold, Bitcoin, Brent and WTI Oil |
Perpetual futures CFD without expiration |
 RoboForex |
Gold, Bitcoin, Brent and WTI Oil |
Perpetual Futures Spot CFDs |
 AMarkets |
Gold, Bitcoin, Brent and WTI Oil |
equivalent to a perpetual futures contract ; oil – with rollover without closing the position |
 Forex Club |
Gold, Bitcoin, Brent and WTI Oil |
equivalent to a perpetual futures contract ; oil – with automatic rollover of the trade to a new contract when the function is enabled |
Differences between trading perpetual and regular futures
Unfortunately, this type of contract isn't as rosy as it might seem at first glance. Despite the obvious advantages of no contract deadlines, there are the following disadvantages:
Swap fees – you'll have to pay a certain percentage of the trade amount for each overnight transaction. It's not a huge amount, but it's worth considering when planning your trades.
For example, we looked at how gold swaps affect financial results in this article.
Additional costs for automatic contract renewal—that is, when one futures contract expires and the trade is transferred to the next contract—are incurred. This option is available at Forex Club.
The pricing calculation process is specific to AMarkets, for example. For continuous spot contracts, a combination of two nearby futures is used. The price includes a daily adjustment and the liquidity, so the result may differ from the price change of a single exchange-traded futures contract. The adjustment itself does not necessarily imply a loss.
Perpetual futures significantly simplify the trading process and are ideal for short-term trading. For longer-term trades, it's advisable to consider the swap charged for rolling over positions.
