Your complete beginner's guide to decentralized trading with leverage, deep liquidity, and full control of your assets
Start Trading NowPerpetual futures are derivative contracts that allow you to speculate on cryptocurrency prices without an expiration date. Unlike traditional futures, perpetuals never settle, letting you hold positions indefinitely as long as you maintain required margin.
On dYdX, you can trade perpetual contracts with up to 20x leverage, meaning you can control a larger position with less capital. This amplifies both potential profits and losses, making risk management essential.
Hold positions as long as you want without worrying about contract expiry dates or settlement procedures.
Perpetuals use funding payments exchanged between long and short positions to keep the contract price aligned with the spot price.
dYdX uses a robust price oracle system to ensure accurate index prices and prevent market manipulation.
Follow these steps to begin trading perpetual futures on dYdX:
dYdX supports various Ethereum wallets like MetaMask, WalletConnect, and Coinbase Wallet. Connect your preferred wallet to get started.
Deposit cryptocurrency from your wallet to your dYdX trading account. The platform supports ETH, USDC, and other major assets.
Familiarize yourself with the trading dashboard, including order books, price charts, position management, and order placement panels.
Use dYdX's testnet environment to practice trading with virtual funds before risking real capital.
Leveraged trading carries significant risk. You can lose more than your initial investment. Never trade with money you cannot afford to lose, and always use stop-loss orders to manage risk.
Main interface for trading perpetual futures and spot markets
Comprehensive guides, API documentation, and trading concepts
Educational resources for traders of all experience levels
Official announcements, updates, and community engagement
Forums and discussion boards for dYdX traders
Platform status, maintenance schedules, and incident reports
dYdX offers one of the most sophisticated yet accessible platforms for decentralized perpetual futures trading. With its non-custodial approach, deep liquidity, and professional trading tools, it bridges the gap between traditional finance and DeFi.
As a beginner, take time to understand the mechanics of perpetual contracts, practice risk management, and start with small positions. The decentralized nature of dYdX means you maintain control of your funds while accessing advanced trading capabilities previously available only on centralized platforms.
Remember that successful trading requires continuous learning, discipline, and emotional control. Utilize the educational resources provided by dYdX and never stop improving your trading strategy.
Begin Trading on dYdX