A five-part guide to onchain perpetual futures: how perp DEXs work, orderbook versus AMM design, the Solana perps stack, funding and liquidations, and the self-custody risks of trading derivatives onchain.
What perpetual futures are, how they differ from spot and dated futures, and the key mechanics — leverage, margin, and funding rate — every new trader must understand.
8 min read · beginner
Onchain perp DEXs split into two families — orderbook venues and pool/oracle venues. Each trades price-discovery quality and LP risk profile against infrastructure complexity.
8 min read · intermediate
Drift's JIT auction and Jupiter's JLP pool define Solana perps — and the April 2026 Drift exploit shows the $285M cost of human-layer failure.
8 min read · intermediate
How three interlocking mechanisms — funding rates, a tiered liquidation engine, and backstop layers — keep perpetual futures tethered to spot and what happens when all three are stressed at once.
9 min read · intermediate
Self-custody removes the exchange counterparty but not the risk. Map bridges, validator sets, oracles, and key delegation before your first onchain perps trade.
9 min read · advanced
