Polymarket Perps: perpetual futures, explained

What is a perpetual future?

A perpetual future ("perp") is a derivative contract that tracks an asset's price without an expiration date. Unlike a prediction market — where a Yes share on an election resolves to $1 or $0 on a fixed date — a perp just keeps running. You open a long (profit if the price rises) or a short (profit if it falls), and the position stays open as long as you maintain enough margin.

Because there's no expiry forcing convergence with the real price, perps use funding payments: periodic transfers between longs and shorts that nudge the contract price back toward the underlying index. On Polymarket Perps, funding settles hourly, with the hourly rate capped at ±4%.

What launched, and what's tradeable

Polymarket announced Perps on September 3, 2026, opening with 10 contracts and expanding to 67 live markets within hours:

• 24 crypto contracts — Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, BNB, Dogecoin, and more. See also our crypto markets guide.
• 36 equity-linked markets — Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, Amazon, Meta, Coinbase, Robinhood, and others.
• 3 indices — including S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 trackers.
• 4 commodities — gold, silver, WTI and Brent crude oil.

Trading runs on a central limit order book (like the prediction markets), and positions are margined in pUSD. One detail power users love: cross-margining — a single balance can support positions across many markets, and the same account balance works for both Perps and prediction markets. That means you can pair an event contract (say, a Fed decision market from our politics guide) with a short on the S&P 500's reaction — all from one balance.

Leverage: how much, and what it costs

Leverage lets you control a large position with a small deposit — and it magnifies losses exactly as much as gains:

• Up to 20x on major crypto contracts (BTC, ETH, SOL), the S&P 500, oil, gold, and silver.
• Up to 10x on individual stock contracts.

At 20x leverage, a 5% move against you wipes out your margin — that's a liquidation, where the position is forcibly closed and your collateral is gone. Reported fees start at 0.04% taker / 0.0125% maker at standard volume, stepping down for very large traders. Funding is an additional running cost: if you're on the crowded side of a trade, you pay the other side every hour you hold.

Perps vs prediction markets: key differences

• Expiry: prediction markets resolve on a date; perps never expire.
• Payoff: prediction shares pay $1 or $0; perps pay out proportionally to price movement, scaled by leverage.
• Liquidation: a Yes share can't be liquidated — your max loss is the purchase price. A leveraged perp can be liquidated, losing your margin even if the price later recovers.
• Costs: prediction markets have spreads and small fees; perps add funding payments and margin requirements.
• Skill set: prediction markets reward research and judgment about events; perps reward timing, risk management, and discipline under leverage.

Who can trade Perps?

Important: Perps are not available in the United States, Canada, or sanctioned jurisdictions. US traders are directed to Polymarket's separate CFTC-regulated exchange (polymarket.us), which offers prediction markets but no leverage. Check our country availability page before planning around this product — access rules for Perps are stricter than for the main prediction markets.