Learn about perpetual futures

What happens when a futures contract expires?

Every standard futures contract has an end date. As that date approaches, it helps to know exactly what comes next. Do you get paid out in cash? Do you have to take delivery of a physical asset? This guide walks through the mechanics, the key deadlines and the choices you have when a futures contract expires.

Leverage and margin in futures trading: How do they work?

Leverage and margin sit at the heart of futures trading, and getting them wrong is one of the fastest ways to run into trouble. This guide breaks down what margin actually is, how leverage amplifies both sides of a trade and how the whole system is built to keep the market solvent.

How to short futures and what a short futures position means

A short futures position is a legal agreement to sell an asset at a set price on a specified future date, taken by a trader who expects the market to fall rather than rise. This guide walks through what shorting futures involves, including how a position opens and closes, how margin and leverage work, how futures shorting differs from shorting stocks and what the risks are.