Perpetual Futures (Perps) have become the new talk of this crypto cycle. With the amazing rise of Hyperliquid and the recent launch of CZ-backed-perps platform called "AsterDEX", we're seeing an incredible race to market to see who can build the best UI/UX.
The key differentiator is how decentralized these perps truly are. With LeoDex, we wanted to launch with the most decentralized perps product possible. This is why we chose to launch exclusively with Rujira Network perps from the THORChain Ecosystem.
RUJI Perps are built on the THORChain network and they utilize THORChain's deep cross-chain liquidity as the backbone for Perps Trading. Securing assets on the network via the fully decentralized node ecosystem that has been running THORChain flawlessly for years.
LeoDex Perps leverage these tools to bring you the most decentralized, onchain perps experience that is available today.
The LEO Mission is to democratize financial knowledge and access. Releasing Perps trading on our DEX is a MAJOR leap in this direction of democratizing access to finance. The average retail user doesn't have access to things like Perps and with new onchain solutions like Rujira on THORChain, LeoDex is proud to be the first interface to bring you this experience.
Important PSA: Today's LeoDex Perps launch is V1 Open Beta. Please use it as such. Try with small amounts. Play and have fund with them. If you don't know how Perps work, please research before using the Perps experience on LeoDex. Perps carry greater risk than spot trading as it utilizes 4x margin and can liquidate you instantly if you are inexperienced.
Our Perps UI is in early access Open Beta. Please give us your feedback Via Discord so that we can improve the Perps Experience going forward! We hope to see you testing and giving feedback so we can make the best experience imaginable.
Introducing LeoDex Perps | Trade Perpetual Futures on LeoDex
On LeoDex, you can now trade Perpetual Futures! Our perps are exclusively powered by Rujira Network and THORChain. These perps are fully onchain and decentralized. Assets are secured on the THORChain network and no exchange has access to your funds.
In this post, we'll walk you through Perps - what they are and how they work on LeoDex.
What Are "Perps"?
Perps are perpetual futures. Essentially, they allow you to trade crypto with leverage. You deposit collateral and then can lever up a position as much or as little as you'd like. The more leverage you use, the more risk of liquidation you'll have.
People trade perps to get leverage on crypto trading. You utilize them (typically) if you want to make a short-term bet on the price of a crypto token going up or down in a short period of time.
Perps markets have a few other key pieces of terminology:
- Funding Rate = the cost of capital. If you are long or short, there is a peer-to-peer funding rate that must either be paid (or get paid to you). Check the Funding Rate display on LeoDex for the current Funding Rate of any long/short asset position. Funding rates pay every 8 hours and are dynamically changing based on P2P position sizing
- Collateral = the amount of USDC you post as margin for a trade. This is your total amount at risk
- Deposit = on LeoDex, depositing means "Securing" your assets on the THORChain network. LeoDex does not ever have access to capital. We are merely an interface for Perps on THORChain via Rujira Network. When you deposit USDC, you are actually securing it on the network as secured USDC inside of your own wallet
- Withdraw = as said in the part above, deposits are always inside of your own wallet. You can withdraw (aka unsecure) your assets from the THORChain network and get your USDC back as Ethereum USDC at any time by using the Withdraw button
- Active Collateral = the total amount of collateral you have across all your positions
- Available Collateral = total collateral you have available for new positions
- Limit order = place an order at a predefined price
- Market order = place an order that fills at the market price
- Quantity = the size of your trade. For example, if you do $100, then your trade size will be $100 (after leverage). The margin (collateral) used if using 4x leverage = $25 on this example trade
- Borrow Fee = the amount of USD you pay or get paid for holding a position (based on funding rate)
- Trade Fee = the cost of opening a trade
- Long = opening a position that wins if the asset goes up
- Short = opening a position that wins if the asset goes down
- SL or Stop Loss = a stop loss automatic exit price if your losses reach a predefined amount
- TP or Take Profit = an automatic exit price if your gains reach a predefined target
- Notional Size = the size of the position in terms of the asset you're trading (i.e. "56.75 DOGE" = a position size representing 56.75 DOGE coins)
- Entry Price = the price when you executed the trade
- Fair Price = the current market price
19 Liquidation Price = the price at which your position would be liquidated and you lose 100% of your collateral
How to Trade Perps on LeoDex
To trade perps on LeoDex, we recommend the Keplr Wallet. Keplr is incredibly intuitive and easy to use. The second best choice in our opinion is a Keystore Wallet.
1). Go to the Perps UI
Navigate to the Perps UI on LeoDex using the main menu on LeoDex or directly via this link.
2). Deposit Collateral
Remember: LeoDex Perps are fully onchain and decentralized. When you "Deposit" you are actually securing USDC on the THORChain network. This turns your ETH.USDC (for example) into Secured USDC on THORChain. This secured USDC can then be used for Perps trading.
3). Choose a Network and Amount
Choose a network and then type an amount that you want to secure onto THORChain's network to use for Perps trading. You'll need USDC in your wallet for one of the chosen networks before doing so. We recommend using ETH.USDC for this part. Then click "Deposit USDC".
4). Wait About 30 - 60 Seconds
It can take about 30-60 seconds for secured USDC to appear in your wallet and materialize on the LeoDex Frontend. If it doesn't automatically show in your balance on the right side of the screen, then refresh the page (or go to a different page and come back to the Perps page).
5). Once You Have Collateral, Open Your First Position
Remember: Perps trading is highly volatile and is likely to lead to a loss of all your collateral. Whether you're new or experienced in Perps trading, you should try small amounts and only risk what you're willing to lose.
In this example, I'll open a long XRP position:
- Select The XRP/USDC Market
- Enter a Limit Price (or use Market Order to just fill it at the market)
- Set a Quantity for the trade (this is the total USDC amount of XRP you want to trade)
- Determine Leverage (the max leverage is currently 4x. This will rise as the Perps market grows on THORChain. You can set leverage to either 1x, 2x, 3x or 4x currently)
- Click Open Long
After clicking Open Long, you'll see a confirmation window. Once you like all the details, hit "Open Long" and it will create your position.
Note: since LeoDex Perps are fully onchain, it can take up to 30 seconds for your position to appear on the frontend. Just scroll down to Open Positions and wait about 30-60 seconds and the page will automatically refresh to show you your position.
Tracking Open Positions
Now that you've opened a Perps Position, you can track it in the Open Positions section at the bottom of the page.
Here, you can see the XRP/USDC Long that we just opened. The position size is $40 which has a notional size of 14.44 XRP.
Our average entry was $2.77 USDC per XRP and the current price of XRP is $2.73.
The collateral used for this trade (USDC from our wallet) is $10 USDC. Our unrealized PnL is $0.059 which is the same amount as the fees we paid (since we just opened this position).
Editing a Position
Editing your Perps position can get deep into the weeds of mechanics. We will briefly show this but if you want a more full tutorial on position editing, view Our Docs or reference the glossary of terms in this post.
You can adjust 4 things:
- The collateral used in your trade (or notional size of the trade)
- The Leverage you're using
- The Take Profit price of your trade
- The Stop Loss price of your trade
Closing a Position
To Close a position and either realize a loss/gain, click "Close" to the right of that position. This will show you a confirmation window with all the key details. If everything looks right to you, click "Close Position" and it will close your perps trade at the market.
Withdrawing
You can withdraw available collateral at any time. Remember: all USDC is on the THORChain network and is inside of your own wallet. LeoDex NEVER has access to your funds. You can Withdraw (aka Unsecure) your USDC from the THORChain network using the Withdraw button on LeoDex. This will send a memo to the THORChain network with your secured USDC to unsecure it back to ETH.USDC inside of your wallet.
Ready to Leap Into the Future With LeoDex?
The market has been waiting for fully onchain and decentralized perps that gives the UI/UX of a CEX. This is what LeoDex has built thanks to the Rujira x THORChain-powered backend of Perps onchain.
LeoDex Perps are one of the first fully onchain and decentralized perps markets on the planet. We are proud to be on the bleeding edge of markets.
Since this technology is so new - both our frontend and the backend of THORChain Perps on Rujira - please be mindful of the disclaimer at the bottom of the page: utilize this carefully and if you are inexperienced with perps, you are at risk of losing any USDC you put into a perps position.
As always, comment below or jump into our Discord with any questions or feedback.
V1 Open Beta for LeoDex Perps is now LIVE! We'd love for you to try it and give your candid feedback on how we can improve it.
Try Perps on LeoDex -> https://leodex.io/trade/perps/XRP_USDC
