Stock and commodity perpetuals are derivative contracts that track the price of traditional market assets, including publicly traded stocks, ETFs, and commodity benchmarks, settled entirely in USDT on the LeveX platform. This guide explains how they work, how they differ from traditional stock trading, and what you need to know before opening a position.
What Are Stock and Commodity Perpetuals?
A perpetual futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell an asset at its current price, with no fixed expiration date. Unlike traditional futures that settle on a specific date, perpetuals remain open indefinitely as long as the trader maintains sufficient margin.
Stock and commodity perpetuals on LeveX apply this same mechanism to traditional market assets. Each contract tracks the price of an underlying stock, ETF, or commodity and allows traders to go long (profit from price increases) or short (profit from price decreases) with adjustable leverage up to 50x.
These contracts do not involve ownership of the underlying asset. You are trading the price movement of the asset, not buying shares, physical commodities, or ETF units.
Available Assets
LeveX currently offers 22 stock and commodity perpetual contracts:
Stocks: NVDA/USDT, TSLA/USDT, AAPL/USDT, MSFT/USDT, AMZN/USDT, GOOGL/USDT, META/USDT, AMD/USDT, AVGO/USDT, TSM/USDT, INTC/USDT, MU/USDT, MSTR/USDT, COIN/USDT, HOOD/USDT, BABA/USDT, CRCL/USDT, SNDK/USDT
ETFs: SPY/USDT, QQQ/USDT
Commodities: CL/USDT (WTI Crude Oil), BZ/USDT (Brent Crude Oil)
Each pair is denominated in USDT, meaning both collateral and settlement are handled in USDT regardless of the underlying asset's native currency.
How Stock Perpetuals Differ from Buying Stocks
Understanding the differences between stock perpetuals and traditional equity ownership is important for managing expectations and risk.
No Ownership or Shareholder Rights
When you buy stock through a brokerage, you become a partial owner of the company. You may receive dividends, vote on corporate decisions, and your shares are held in your name. Stock perpetuals on LeveX confer none of these rights. You are trading a derivative contract that tracks the stock's price, not holding the equity itself.
No Dividends
Dividends declared by the underlying company do not pass through to perpetual contract holders. This applies to all stock perpetuals, including those tracking companies that pay regular dividends like Apple, Microsoft, and Broadcom. Your returns come exclusively from the contract's price movement and funding rate dynamics.
Leverage Up to 50x
Traditional stock trading in a cash account offers no leverage. Margin accounts at brokerages typically allow 2x leverage, with more available through options strategies. LeveX stock perpetuals offer adjustable leverage up to 50x, allowing traders to significantly amplify their exposure to price movements. Higher leverage increases both potential profits and the risk of liquidation.
24/7 Trading
US stock markets operate from 9:30am to 4:00pm Eastern, Monday through Friday, with limited pre-market and after-hours sessions. Commodity markets have their own restricted hours. Stock and commodity perpetuals on LeveX trade continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Positions can be opened, closed, and managed at any time, including weekends, holidays, and overnight sessions.
USDT Settlement
All margin, profit, and loss are denominated in USDT. There is no currency conversion between USD and USDT, no wire transfer delays, and no T+2 settlement periods. Capital remains in the crypto ecosystem at all times.
How the Funding Rate Works
The funding rate is the mechanism that keeps the perpetual contract price aligned with the underlying asset's market price. It works through periodic payments between long and short holders:
When the contract trades above the underlying price: Long holders pay short holders. This discourages excessive long positioning and pushes the contract price back toward the underlying.
When the contract trades below the underlying price: Short holders pay long holders. This discourages excessive short positioning and lifts the contract price back toward the underlying.
Funding payments are calculated and applied at regular intervals. The rate fluctuates based on the balance of demand between long and short positions. During periods of heavy directional conviction, such as earnings announcements or major macro events, funding rates can become elevated.
Traders holding positions across funding intervals should factor these payments into their overall trade economics, as persistent funding costs can erode returns on positions held over extended periods.
Leverage and Margin
Initial and Maintenance Margin
Opening a position requires initial margin, which is the minimum collateral needed to establish the trade at your chosen leverage level. Maintenance margin is the minimum amount required to keep the position open. If your account balance falls below maintenance margin due to adverse price movement, the position may be partially or fully liquidated.
Choosing Your Leverage
Leverage is adjustable per position and can be set before opening a trade. Higher leverage means less capital is required to open the same size position, but it also means smaller price moves can trigger liquidation. Consider the following when selecting leverage:
Lower leverage (2-10x) suits longer-duration positions and assets with high volatility, such as individual tech stocks around earnings.
Higher leverage (10-50x) suits short-duration trades and assets with lower volatility, such as broad index ETFs like SPY and QQQ.
Risk Management Tools
Stop-loss orders automatically close a position when the price reaches a specified level, limiting downside. Take-profit orders automatically close at a target profit level. Using both in combination defines the risk-reward parameters of every trade before entry.
Trading Hours and Price Reference
Stock and commodity perpetuals trade 24/7, but the underlying assets they track do not. During periods when the underlying market is closed (weekends for stocks, certain hours for commodities), the perpetual price may drift from the last closing price based on after-hours sentiment, global events, and overall crypto market activity.
When the underlying market reopens, the perpetual price typically reconverges with the stock or commodity's actual trading price. This gap between perpetual price and underlying price during off-hours is normal and is managed through the funding rate mechanism.
Who Are Stock Perpetuals For?
Stock perpetuals serve several types of traders:
Crypto-native traders who want exposure to traditional markets without opening brokerage accounts or moving capital out of the crypto ecosystem.
Active traders who want to capitalize on stock price movements with leverage and the ability to trade outside regular market hours.
Short sellers who want straightforward access to downside exposure without the borrow mechanics and restrictions of traditional short selling.
Macro traders who want to express views on the US economy, tech sector, or commodity markets through familiar perpetual contract mechanics.
Important Considerations
Stock perpetuals are leveraged derivative products and carry meaningful risk. Key points to keep in mind:
Liquidation risk increases with leverage. Positions can be liquidated if price moves against you sufficiently to deplete your margin.
Funding costs accumulate over time and can reduce returns on positions held for extended periods, particularly when holding the crowded side of the market.
No ownership benefits. You do not receive dividends, voting rights, or any shareholder protections.
Price gaps. Underlying stock prices can gap significantly at market open after weekends or holidays, which may cause rapid margin depletion on leveraged positions.
For specific questions about stock and commodity perpetuals, see our FAQ guide. To start trading, visit the LeveX perpetuals interface.