A perpetual futures screen asks several questions before you ever type a price: which contract family, which margin mode and which position mode. Each choice changes how the position is funded and how gains and losses are counted. Below, each setting is broken down with the futures screen of BYDFi, which has operated since 2020, as a reference point. The aim is to make the settings readable, not to recommend a trade.

Step 1: The contract family

BYDFi lists perpetual futures in three families. USDT-M contracts are settled in USDT, and USDC-M contracts are settled in USDC. COIN-M contracts are settled in crypto, so the margin and the result of the trade are counted in the coin itself rather than in a stablecoin. The practical question is which asset you want to hold as margin. With a stablecoin family, your margin balance is counted in that stablecoin; with COIN-M, the value of your margin also moves with the price of the coin.

Step 2: Cross or isolated margin

Cross margin is the default on BYDFi, and isolated margin is available. With cross margin, the available balance in the futures account supports open positions together. With isolated margin, each position has its own margin, and only that amount is committed to it. Isolated margin makes it easier to see exactly what one position can lose; cross margin shares the balance across positions. Check which mode is selected before you open a position.

Step 3: One-Way or Hedge mode

The position mode decides what happens when you trade in the opposite direction. In One-Way mode, a contract has a single position, so an opposite order reduces or reverses it. In Hedge mode, long and short positions on the same contract can be held separately. If you plan to hold both directions at once, Hedge mode is the setting that allows it.

Putting the three together

Before the first order, write the three settings down in one line, such as "USDT-M, isolated, One-Way". If the line does not match what you intended, change it before entering a size. BYDFi is available on the web as well as in iOS and Android apps, and newer traders can practise futures first in its Demo Trading environment. You can find the futures markets at BYDFi.