Phantom perps are powered by Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange for perpetual futures. When you open a position, you're entering a contract with another trader who takes the opposite side—one long, one short. You never take custody of the underlying asset.
Positions sync between the Phantom mobile app and Phantom Terminal when using the same account.
If you've previously used Hyperliquid with your Phantom wallet, your existing positions and balances appear automatically in Phantom.
Long vs short
- Long: You profit if the price rises.
- Short: You profit if the price falls.
Market vs limit orders
- Market order: Executes immediately at the current price.
- Limit order: Executes when the price reaches your target. Available on mobile only.
Leverage and margin
Margin is the USDC you post as collateral. Leverage multiplies your exposure, letting you control a larger position with less capital.
Example:
- You deposit 100 USDC as margin.
- You use 5× leverage to open a $500 long position.
- If the price rises 1%, your gain is $5 (5% return on margin).
- If the price falls 20%, your margin is wiped out and the position is liquidated.
Phantom uses isolated margin—only the funds assigned to a specific position are at risk. Your other funds aren't affected.
Leverage limits vary by market. Equity perps typically support lower maximum leverage than crypto perps.
Liquidation
Liquidation occurs when your margin can no longer cover potential losses. The system automatically closes your position to cap losses at your committed margin.
Example:
- At 3× leverage, a ~33% price move against you triggers liquidation.
- At 20× leverage, a ~5% move triggers liquidation.
Funding rate
The funding rate keeps perp prices aligned with spot prices. It's a small, hourly payment exchanged between longs and shorts.
- Positive rate: Longs pay shorts (most traders are long).
- Negative rate: Shorts pay longs (most traders are short).
Example:
- Position size: $100,000
- Funding rate: +0.00125% per hour
- Duration: 4 hours
- You're long, so you pay: $100,000 × 0.0000125 × 4 = $5
Funding payments are reflected in your PnL, not as separate transactions.
Position metrics
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| PnL | Profit or loss in USDC |
| ROI | Profit or loss as a percentage of margin |
| Size | Total position value (margin × leverage) |
| Margin (Isolated) | USDC collateral backing this position |
| Direction | Long or short, with leverage |
| Entry Price | Price when opened (or average if added to) |
| Liquidation Price | Price at which position auto-closes |
| Funding | Current hourly rate |
| Funding Payments | Total funding paid or received |
Equity perps
Equity perps are perpetual futures that track US equities and market indices. Available assets include GOOGL, AMZN, AAPL, META, MSFT, and the XYZ100 index, with up to 10× leverage.
Trading an equity perp gives you exposure to a stock's price movement, but not ownership of actual shares.
Equity perps in Phantom are deployed by XYZ using Hyperliquid's HIP-3 framework. Phantom doesn't issue or control these contracts. For more details, see XYZ perps documentation.
Pricing
- During market hours: Equity perps track stock prices using real-time oracle feeds. Small price differences may occur due to liquidity and funding rate imbalances.
- After hours: When equity markets are closed, the perp price reflects expected movement rather than real trades and may deviate from traditional exchange prices.
Risks and how to manage them
Price volatility
Perp markets move quickly, and leverage magnifies those moves.
Manage it: Use lower leverage and set a stop-loss.
Liquidation
Higher leverage brings liquidation closer to your entry price.
Manage it: Monitor your liquidation price, add margin for buffer, and set a stop-loss.
Funding rates
Funding payments flow hourly and can add up over time.
Manage it: Check the current rate, watch cumulative payments, and reduce or close if funding becomes costly.
After-hours pricing (equity perps)
Equity perp prices can deviate from traditional exchange prices when markets are closed.
Manage it: Be aware that after-hours pricing reflects expected movement, not actual trades. Consider this when opening or holding positions outside market hours.
Why use perps
- Trade both directions: Profit from rising or falling markets without selling spot holdings.
- Leverage: Control larger positions with less capital (increases both gains and losses).
- Hedge: Offset spot exposure (for example, short SOL while holding SOL).
- Liquidity: Perps often have more volume than spot markets.