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Perps vs Spot: Which Crypto Trading Strategy Is Best?
Key Takeaways:
- Spot trading involves actual ownership of the asset, making it ideal for long-term holding without liquidation risk.
- Perpetual Futures (Perps) allow for high leverage and shorting, but they introduce complex risks like funding rates and margin calls.
- Effective risk management, including the use of Stop-Losses and Isolated Margin, is non-negotiable when trading derivatives.
In the high-speed world of cryptocurrency, how you buy is just as important as what you buy. The Perps vs Spot decision is the first filter every trader must apply to their strategy.
Spot trading is the traditional way of investing. You pay cash, you get the asset. Perpetual Futures, or "Perps," are the financial rocket fuel that powers the massive volume numbers you see on exchanges. They offer superpowers like leverage, but they also expose you to risks that simply do not exist in the spot market. Understanding the mechanics of both is non-negotiable for survival in the 2026 market.
What Is Spot Trading?
Spot trading is the simplest form of commerce. It is "on the spot" settlement. When you buy Bitcoin on the Spot market, you take actual delivery of the digital coins.
You own them. You can withdraw them to a hardware wallet, send them to a friend, or use them to buy coffee. In the Perps vs Spot comparison, Spot is the clear winner for safety and simplicity.
The biggest advantage is the lack of liquidation risk. Even if Bitcoin drops 99%, you still own the Bitcoin. You are never forced to sell. You can simply wait for the market to recover, making it the only logical choice for long-term investors or "HODLers" who want to sleep soundly at night.
What Are Perpetual Futures?
Perpetual Futures are a unique crypto invention. They are contracts that track the price of the asset, but they never expire (unlike traditional futures). When you trade Perps, you never touch the actual Bitcoin.
You are betting on the price movement. Because you don't need to take delivery, exchanges allow you to use "Leverage." This separates it from Spot trading, where you typically need 100% of the cash upfront to buy the asset.
What Are the Benefits of Using Leverage?
The primary allure of the Perps vs Spot debate is capital efficiency. Leverage allows you to do more with less.
Imagine you have $1,000 to trade.
- On Spot: If Bitcoin goes up 10%, you make $100.
- On Perps (10x Leverage): You control a $10,000 position. If Bitcoin goes up 10%, you make $1,000. You have doubled your account in a single trade.
Leverage also allows for "Shorting." In Spot, you can only make money if the price goes up. With Perps, you can sell contracts you don't own, allowing you to profit when the market crashes. This makes Perps essential for hedging a portfolio during a bear market.
What Is a Margin Call?
With great power comes great responsibility, and in crypto, that responsibility is maintaining your margin. A Margin Call is the warning shot before the disaster.
When you trade with leverage, you must keep a certain amount of collateral (Margin) in your account to keep the trade open. If the price moves against you, your margin balance shrinks.
A Margin Call occurs when your equity falls below the "maintenance margin" requirement. The exchange is effectively telling you: "Add more money immediately, or we will close your trade." In the fast-moving crypto market, margin calls often happen seconds before a total liquidation, giving traders very little time to react.
What Is Liquidation Risk?
This is the danger zone that Spot traders never have to worry about. In Spot trading, your account balance only goes to zero if the asset goes to zero (which is rare for major coins).
In Perp trading, your account can go to zero even if the asset only drops 5% or 10%. If the price moves against your leveraged bet and you fail to meet the margin call, the exchange forcefully closes your position.
This is called Liquidation. You lose your entire collateral instantly. The exchange takes your money to ensure the winner on the other side of the trade gets paid. This binary outcome—win big or lose everything—is the defining risk of the Perps vs Spot dynamic.
How Do I Manage Risks in Crypto Trading?
Because Perps are dangerous, risk management is not optional; it is survival.
1. Use Stop-Losses: Never open a leveraged trade without a hard Stop-Loss order. This automatically sells your position if the price drops to a specific level, capping your loss at 1% or 2% of your portfolio rather than 100%.
2. Isolated vs. Cross Margin: Always use "Isolated Margin" when starting out.
- Cross Margin: Uses your entire wallet balance as collateral. A bad trade can wipe out your whole account.
- Isolated Margin: Only risks the specific amount you allocated to that single trade.
3. Position Sizing: Just because you can use 100x leverage doesn't mean you should. Professional traders rarely use more than 3x or 5x leverage. High leverage is gambling, not trading.
What Are the Hidden Costs of Perps?
The most critical difference in the Perps vs Spot debate is the "Funding Rate." Since Perps never expire, a mechanism is needed to keep the contract price close to the real Spot price.
This mechanism is a fee exchanged between traders every 8 hours. If the market is bullish, Longs pay Shorts. If you hold a Perp position for weeks, these fees can bleed your account dry. Spot positions have no ongoing fees; you can hold them for ten years for free.
How Do I Start Trading Perps?
If you have weighed the risks and are ready to trade, the process is straightforward but requires specific steps.
Step 1: Choose a Derivatives Exchange
You need a platform that supports futures, like BYDFi. Not all exchanges offer this feature due to regulations.Step 2: Transfer Funds
Most exchanges have separate wallets for "Spot" and "Futures/Derivatives." You must transfer your USDT or BTC from your Spot wallet to your Futures wallet.Step 3: Select Your Pair and Leverage
Choose the asset (e.g., BTC/USDT). Then, select your leverage slider. Start low (e.g., 2x or 3x) to get comfortable with the volatility.Step 4: Place Your Order
Decide if you are going Long (betting up) or Short (betting down). Enter your amount, set your Stop-Loss immediately, and confirm the order.Conclusion
Ultimately, the Perps vs Spot debate isn't about one being "better" than the other. It is about matching the tool to the job. Spot is for owning and sleeping well. Perps are for trading and active income.
Most professional traders use both. They keep their long-term savings in Spot cold storage and use a small portion of funds to hedge or speculate on Perps. Register at BYDFi today to access a platform that integrates both Spot and Derivatives markets in one seamless interface, giving you the power to choose the right strategy for every market condition.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Can I go short on Spot?
A: No. Spot trading only allows you to buy and sell what you own. To "Short" (profit from price drops), you must use Perps or Margin trading.Q: Do I need a wallet for Perps?
A: No. Perps are traded entirely within the exchange's internal ledger. You do not need a MetaMask or Ledger wallet to trade futures.Q: Are taxes different for Perps vs Spot?
A: In many jurisdictions, yes. Spot trading is often treated as property (Capital Gains), while frequent Perp trading might be classified as business income or gambling winnings depending on your country. Always consult a tax professional.2026-02-02 · 2 days ago0 035EMA vs SMA: Which Crypto Moving Average Is Best?
Key Takeaways:
- The Simple Moving Average (SMA) is calculated by strictly averaging past prices, giving equal weight to old and new data.
- The Exponential Moving Average (EMA) applies a multiplier to give more weight to recent prices, reducing lag.
- Traders choose between EMA vs SMA based on volatility; EMAs are better for fast scalping, while SMAs are better for long-term trends.
When you open a crypto price chart for the first time, the first indicator you should learn is the Moving Average (MA). But immediately, you are faced with a choice that sparks endless debates in trading communities: EMA vs SMA.
Choosing between the Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and the Simple Moving Average (SMA) might seem like a minor technical detail. However, in the volatile cryptocurrency markets of 2026, this choice dictates your entry and exit points.
One is slow and steady, while the other is fast and reactive. Understanding the mathematical difference between them is the key to building a strategy that actually works.
How Do You Calculate the SMA?
The Simple Moving Average is the easiest to understand because it is basic arithmetic. It treats the price from 50 days ago with the exact same importance as the price from yesterday.
To calculate it, you simply sum up the closing prices of the asset over a specific number of periods and divide by that number of Periods.
- The Formula: SMA = (Sum of Closing Prices) / (Number of Periods)
Because it gives equal weight to old data, the SMA moves slowly. It acts like a heavy tanker ship that takes a long time to turn, which is great for avoiding false signals in choppy markets.
How Do You Calculate the EMA?
The EMA calculation is more complex because it aims to fix the "lag" problem. It applies a weighting factor to the most recent price data.
The formula involves three steps. First, you calculate the SMA to get a starting point. Second, you calculate the "Multiplier" (smoothing factor). Finally, you apply that multiplier to the current price and the previous EMA value.
- The Multiplier Formula: Multiplier = 2 / (Selected Time Period + 1)
- The EMA Formula: (Current Price x Multiplier) + (Previous EMA x (1 - Multiplier))
If Bitcoin crashes $5,000 today, the EMA will turn down immediately to reflect that new reality because the "Current Price" carries more mathematical weight than the "Previous EMA."
Which One Should You Use for Crypto?
The winner of the EMA vs SMA battle depends entirely on your time horizon. If you are a swing trader holding positions for weeks or months, the SMA is superior.
The 200-day SMA is widely watched by institutions. When the price touches the 200 SMA, it often bounces because thousands of traders and bots are treating it as a major support level.
However, if you are trading volatile altcoins on the 15-minute chart, the SMA is too slow. By the time it signals a buy, the pump might be over. For short-term action, the EMA is the standard choice because it hugs the price action tighter.
Can You Use Both Together?
Many professional strategies combine them. A popular setup involves using the EMA for entry signals and the SMA for overall trend bias.
For example, a trader might only take aggressive EMA crossovers if the price is trading above the 200-day SMA. This gives you the best of both worlds: the speed of the exponential calculation with the safety of the simple long-term trend.
Conclusion
There is no perfect indicator, but understanding the EMA vs SMA dynamic allows you to match your tools to your trading style. Don't let lag eat your profits, but don't let noise fake you out.
To test these indicators in real-time without doing the math yourself, you need a charting platform with professional overlays. Register at BYDFi today to access advanced technical analysis tools and trade with precision.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is the Golden Cross?
A: It is a bullish signal that occurs when a short-term moving average (usually the 50 SMA) crosses above a long-term moving average (usually the 200 SMA).Q: Which settings are best for day trading?
A: Most day traders prefer the 9-period and 21-period EMA to capture quick trend changes on short timeframes like the 5-minute chart.Q: Is the EMA always better?
A: No. Because the EMA is so sensitive, it can produce more "false signals" (whipsaws) during sideways markets compared to the stable SMA.2026-02-02 · 2 days ago0 034UK Banks Harden Their Anti-Crypto Position Despite Regulatory Progress
UK Banks Tighten the Screws on Crypto as Regulation Inches Forward
The United Kingdom’s ambition to become a global hub for cryptocurrency innovation is facing a growing contradiction. While lawmakers and regulators are slowly laying down a clearer legal framework for digital assets, the country’s banking sector appears to be moving in the opposite direction, increasingly restricting access to crypto markets for everyday users and businesses alike.
Industry insiders warn that this widening gap between regulation and banking practice risks undermining the UK’s competitiveness in the global crypto economy, pushing innovation and capital toward more accommodating jurisdictions.
A Banking Environment Turning Cold on Crypto
Despite progress on the regulatory front, British banks have intensified their restrictions on cryptocurrency-related transactions over the past year. According to a recent report from the UK Cryptoasset Business Council, the majority of major crypto exchanges operating in the country are experiencing growing resistance from domestic banks, even when those exchanges are fully registered with the Financial Conduct Authority.
The findings paint a stark picture. Most exchanges surveyed reported a noticeable rise in customers facing blocked or delayed bank transfers in 2025, with a significant portion of attempted transactions failing to go through. For many users, this has translated into frustration and uncertainty, as access to legitimate and regulated crypto platforms becomes increasingly unreliable.
FCA Registration Offers Little Relief
The Financial Conduct Authority currently lists dozens of crypto firms that have met the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements. These include some of the largest and most reputable names in the global crypto industry. In theory, registration should provide reassurance to banks and customers alike.
In practice, however, FCA approval has done little to ease banking restrictions. Crypto exchanges report that even after complying with regulatory requirements, they continue to face blanket limits, heightened scrutiny, or outright blocks imposed by major banks. For businesses that invested heavily in compliance, the disconnect is difficult to justify.
Several exchanges have quietly acknowledged that the situation has forced them to rethink their UK strategies, with some prioritizing expansion in other regions where access to banking services is less constrained.
Billions in Transactions Left in Limbo
The economic impact of these restrictions is far from trivial. One crypto exchange disclosed that it recorded close to $1.4 billion in declined transactions over the course of 2025, solely due to bank-side rejections. Industry representatives argue that such figures highlight a systemic issue rather than isolated risk management decisions.
From their perspective, what is unfolding amounts to a form of debanking that threatens the growth of the UK’s digital asset ecosystem. As transaction limits tighten and blocks become more common, both retail investors and crypto firms are finding it harder to operate within the traditional financial system.
Why Banks Are Standing Firm
UK banks, for their part, show little sign of backing down. Major institutions such as HSBC, Barclays and NatWest have implemented caps on how much customers can transfer to crypto platforms. Others, including Chase UK, Metro Bank, TSB and Starling Bank, have gone further by blocking crypto-related payments altogether.
Banks justify these policies by pointing to fraud prevention, consumer protection and the inherent volatility of digital assets. Starling Bank, for example, has publicly stated that it does not allow customers to buy or sell cryptocurrencies via bank transfer or debit card, framing the decision as a protective measure rather than an ideological stance against crypto.
Industry bodies representing the banking sector echo this reasoning, emphasizing that individual institutions are obligated to make risk-based decisions in response to scams, financial crime and regulatory uncertainty.
Regulation Moves Forward, But Trust Lags Behind
Ironically, these banking crackdowns are unfolding just as the UK’s regulatory roadmap for crypto becomes clearer. The Treasury has already moved to extend existing financial rules to cover digital assets, and the FCA has begun consultations on a new regulatory framework expected to be implemented by 2027.
Regulators have signaled a more open and pragmatic approach compared to earlier years, particularly in areas such as stablecoins and crypto custody. Yet, the banking sector’s cautious stance suggests that regulatory clarity alone may not be enough to restore trust.
For crypto firms, the message feels mixed. On one hand, the government promotes innovation and leadership in digital finance. On the other, access to basic banking services remains uncertain, even for compliant businesses.
A Risk to the UK’s Crypto Ambitions
As global competition for crypto talent, capital and innovation intensifies, the UK faces a critical test. If banks continue to restrict access faster than regulation can reassure them, the country risks losing its appeal as a destination for digital asset companies.
For now, the tension between regulators, banks and the crypto industry remains unresolved. Whether upcoming rules will ease banking fears—or further entrench them—may determine whether the UK truly becomes a leader in the next phase of global crypto finance, or watches that opportunity slip away.
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned investor, BYDFi gives you the tools to trade with confidence — low fees, fast execution, copy trading for newcomers, and access to hundreds of digital assets in a secure, user-friendly environment.
2026-01-29 · 6 days ago0 034
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