Futures
A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a future date, used to bet on price moves with leverage.
Also known as: futures contract, derivatives
In crypto, futures let a trader go long or short a coin without owning it, often with high leverage. Contracts that expire on a date are called dated or quarterly futures; the more popular kind never expires and is called a perpetual.
Futures make it possible to profit from falling prices and to hedge a holding, and they also bring liquidation risk. The exchange quotes a futures price that tracks the spot price, with differences driven by funding and demand for leverage.