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Freedom251 › Blog › Bitcoin derivatives

Crypto Perpetual Futures vs. Quarterly Futures: Fees, Funding and Expiration Compared

By Freedom251 Team · · 11 min read

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Perpetual futures never reach a scheduled expiry. Instead, exchanges use periodic funding transfers between long and short traders to keep the contract close to an index price. Quarterly (or other expiry) futures end on a specified date, normally have no recurring funding transfer, and are settled or delivered then. Both products charge execution commissions, and expiry contracts can add settlement or delivery fees.

For a long-running Bitcoin position, the practical choice is between open-ended exposure with variable funding and a defined maturity with basis risk, a possible roll, and a known settlement event. The cheapest product depends on expected holding time, funding or basis conditions, liquidity, margin rules and the exact venue contract—not on the word “futures” alone.

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What each contract actually is

Perpetual futures

A perpetual future is a derivative with no scheduled expiration date. You can keep the position open while maintaining the required margin, or until you close it, are liquidated, or the venue delists the contract. Because there is no final settlement date pulling the price toward spot, the exchange uses a funding mechanism to encourage convergence with an index or spot reference.

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Quarterly and other expiry futures

An expiry future specifies a calendar settlement time. A quarterly contract is simply an expiry contract with a roughly three-month cycle; other products may expire weekly, monthly or on another schedule. The contract cannot remain open beyond settlement. You must close it, allow automatic settlement, or replace it with a later-dated contract if you want to preserve exposure.

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Binance describes a quarterly contract as an agreement to buy or sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price before a specified period, while its perpetual contract has no expiration date. Those definitions describe the operational difference, not a guarantee about profitability or risk.

Perpetual versus quarterly: the decision table

Axis Perpetual futures Quarterly or expiry futures
Expiration No scheduled expiry; the position can remain open until you close it, are liquidated, or the contract is delisted. Fixed calendar settlement; the position cannot be carried beyond the settlement time.
Carrying cost Variable funding is transferred between longs and shorts. You may pay or receive it. No recurring funding transfer in Binance’s comparison; carry appears in the contract’s basis and in eventual settlement or delivery costs.
Trading fees Maker/taker commission applies whenever you execute. Maker/taker commission applies; some venues also charge a settlement or delivery fee at expiry.
Price behavior Funding helps pull the perpetual toward its index. Funding can become expensive when one side is crowded. The contract can trade above or below spot (its basis), then normally converges as expiry approaches.
Operational work No scheduled roll, but you must monitor funding, margin and liquidation risk. You must close, settle or roll before or at expiry to maintain exposure.

How the two prices relate to spot

Perpetual premium and discount

A perpetual’s quoted price can trade above (premium) or below (discount) the exchange’s index. Funding is the balancing transfer: when the perpetual is generally above the index, the funding rate is usually positive and longs pay shorts; when it is below, the rate is usually negative and shorts pay longs. Funding does not make the contract identical to spot at every instant. It is an incentive that acts over the funding interval, while the mark price and margin system continue to determine liquidation.

Expiry-futures basis

An expiry future embeds its expected carry in the difference between the futures price and spot, called the basis. A contract priced above spot has positive basis; one below spot has negative basis. That difference can widen or narrow before settlement. As expiry approaches, the futures price is expected to converge with the settlement reference, but your realized result also depends on your entry price, the settlement calculation and trading costs. “No funding” therefore does not mean “free to hold.”

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Every cost to include in a comparison

Execution commission

Both products incur a maker or taker commission when you open, reduce or close a position. Binance defines commission as notional value multiplied by the applicable fee rate. For a USDⓈ-margined contract, notional is the number of contracts multiplied by trade price. For a coin-margined contract, Binance defines notional as (contracts × contract size) divided by trade price. The same percentage can therefore produce different coin amounts as the market price changes.

Funding transfers

Funding is normally a transfer between position holders, not an exchange service charge. If you are on the paying side, it reduces your account balance; if you are on the receiving side, it increases it. The exchange sets the rate and interval for each contract. Binance commonly uses eight-hour or four-hour settlements depending on the pair, while other venues can use different schedules or update the rate during an interval. Read the contract specification rather than assuming an eight-hour cycle.

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Settlement and delivery charges

An expiry contract may impose a fee when it is settled or physically delivered. Bybit’s non-VIP example lists a 0.05% settlement fee for expiry contracts. Deribit lists a 0.025% delivery fee for standard BTC and ETH futures and 0% for its weekly BTC and ETH futures. These are venue- and product-specific examples, not universal market rates.

Liquidation and collateral charges

Liquidation costs, insurance-fund deductions and collateral charges depend on the venue and the margin currency. Deribit lists a separate liquidation fee for futures and perpetuals and a daily collateral fee when a settlement currency has negative equity. Do not add those figures to another exchange’s cost estimate; verify the relevant schedule and the account’s margin mode.

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Funding mechanics, step by step

  1. Reference prices are established. The venue compares the contract’s mark or trading price with an index built from underlying markets.
  2. A premium or discount is calculated. A positive premium indicates that the perpetual is trading above its reference; a negative value indicates the opposite.
  3. Dampers, caps or other limits may apply. Deribit, for example, applies a damper and cap to its premium calculation. The exact formula is contract-specific.
  4. The funding rate is published or updated. Some venues update during the interval and use the resulting rate at settlement; others calculate continuously.
  5. Payment is exchanged. Positive funding normally moves money from longs to shorts. Negative funding reverses that direction.
  6. Your position size determines the amount. A rate applies to the position’s notional, not simply to the margin you deposited. Leverage can make a small margin balance support a much larger funding transfer.

Deribit’s worked specification uses a 0.05% funding rate after a 0.075% BTC perpetual premium and a ±0.025% damper. For a USD 100,000 position held through an eight-hour interval, the example payment is 0.0005 BTC. That is an illustration of the calculation, not a forecast of the rate you will receive.

What happens when an expiry contract reaches its date

Automatic settlement

Bybit states that open expiry positions are automatically settled, profit and loss is realized, a settlement fee may apply, and the contract is then delisted. Its inverse expiry example settles at 08:00 UTC using an index-price average from 07:30 to 08:00 UTC. The averaging window and timestamp are part of that contract’s rules; another venue may use a different index, window or time zone.

Closing before settlement

You can usually close an expiry position before the final timestamp by trading the contract. Doing so avoids the automatic-settlement event but incurs another execution commission and exposes you to the available order-book spread. If liquidity thins near expiry, a market order can cost more than the quoted commission alone.

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Rolling exposure

To remain invested after expiry, close the expiring contract and open a later maturity. This “roll” creates two trades, two sets of execution costs and a new basis. If the next contract is priced at a premium or discount, the roll can add or subtract value even when spot is unchanged.

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Margin, leverage and liquidation do not disappear

Both contract types require collateral and maintenance margin. A perpetual has no calendar deadline, but it can still be liquidated when losses reduce equity below the venue’s maintenance requirement. A quarterly contract can be liquidated before expiry for the same reason; having a known settlement date does not protect against interim price moves. Funding payments can reduce a perpetual account’s equity, while an adverse basis move can reduce an expiry position’s mark-to-market value.

Check whether the contract is USDⓈ-margined, coin-margined or settled in another currency; how the venue calculates mark price; the initial and maintenance-margin tiers; cross versus isolated margin; and the liquidation fee. These parameters determine the position size that a given cash deposit can safely support.

Which is better for a long-term Bitcoin position?

Perpetuals fit open-ended exposure

  • You do not know the exit date and want one continuously traded contract.
  • You value avoiding scheduled rolls and usually deep liquidity.
  • You can monitor funding, margin and liquidation levels and accept that funding may turn expensive.

Quarterly futures fit a defined horizon

  • You are hedging a known date, such as a quarter-end liability.
  • You prefer a fixed maturity and want to avoid recurring funding transfers.
  • You can manage basis risk, settlement rules and the possibility of rolling into a later contract.

Neither structure is automatically superior for a multi-month Bitcoin view. Compare the expected cumulative funding on the perpetual with the entry-to-settlement basis and all fees on the expiry contract. A perpetual with a low current rate can become costly if market positioning changes; an expiry contract with a small initial basis can still require an expensive roll later.

A practical cost-estimation worksheet

  1. Define the notional and holding period. Use the position’s full contract value, not just posted margin, and specify the dates or number of funding intervals.
  2. Add entry and exit commissions. Apply the venue’s maker or taker schedule to each execution. Include an extra pair of trades if you expect to roll an expiry.
  3. Estimate perpetual funding. Gather the contract’s historical rates, interval and caps. Model separate positive, zero and negative-rate cases because funding can change direction.
  4. Estimate expiry basis. Record the futures price versus spot at entry, then test outcomes if the basis narrows, stays constant or widens before settlement.
  5. Add settlement or delivery charges. Use the exact product schedule, such as Bybit’s documented 0.05% example or Deribit’s 0.025% standard BTC/ETH delivery example where applicable.
  6. Stress margin and liquidation. Recalculate equity after a sharp adverse move, funding deductions or a basis change. A low headline carry is irrelevant if the position is liquidated first.
  7. Convert currencies consistently. Keep USD, BTC or another settlement currency separate until the final calculation so a changing coin price does not hide the true fee.

Venue examples and what they do—and do not—prove

Venue and product reference Published figure or rule How to use it
Bybit, non-VIP inverse perpetual and expiry example 0.055% taker; 0.02% maker Illustrates execution fees for that example tier and products; your account or contract may differ.
Bybit expiry-contract example 0.05% settlement fee Include at expiry when the stated contract schedule applies.
Deribit standard BTC/ETH futures 0.025% delivery fee Applies to the standard contracts listed in its fee schedule.
Deribit weekly BTC/ETH futures 0% delivery fee Specific to the weekly contracts identified by Deribit.
Deribit funding specification Worked example: 0.05% rate and 0.0005 BTC on a USD 100,000 position over eight hours Shows the arithmetic; it is not a guaranteed live rate.

These numbers demonstrate why there is no universal crypto-futures fee. Product type, settlement currency, VIP tier, contract cycle and venue rules all matter. Check the current contract page immediately before trading.

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Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Calling funding an exchange commission

Funding usually moves between traders. Treat it as a variable carry transfer in your return calculation, not as a fixed fee paid to the venue.

Assuming no funding means no carry

An expiry future embeds carry in its basis. A premium to spot can erode a long position if convergence occurs, while a discount can benefit it. The absence of an interval payment does not remove that economic cost.

Ignoring the expiry timestamp

Record the exact UTC settlement time, index source and averaging window. A position left open can be settled automatically and delisted, even if you intended to close it later.

Comparing percentages without notional

A 0.02% maker rate on a large notional can exceed a seemingly higher rate on a small position. Calculate each charge from the contract’s notional definition and include both entry and exit.

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Using a perpetual as a set-and-forget investment

Funding, leverage and liquidation are active risks. Set a margin buffer, monitor the funding direction and define an exit or de-leveraging rule before opening the trade.

Checklist before opening either contract

  • Confirm the contract type, underlying index and settlement currency.
  • Read the maker/taker schedule for your account tier.
  • For a perpetual, verify funding interval, historical range, caps, mark-price method and payment timing.
  • For an expiry future, verify settlement date, UTC time, index averaging window, automatic-settlement behavior and delivery or settlement fee.
  • Check minimum order size, liquidity, leverage limits, maintenance-margin tiers and liquidation charges.
  • Calculate the result in both percentage and currency terms, including a roll if your exposure extends beyond expiry.
  • Confirm that the product is legally available in your jurisdiction and that the venue’s current rules have not changed.

Bottom line for choosing a structure

Use a perpetual when you need open-ended exposure and can actively manage variable funding and liquidation risk. Use a quarterly or other expiry future when the hedge or investment has a defined date and you prefer to avoid recurring funding transfers, provided you budget for basis movement, settlement or delivery costs and a possible roll. The correct comparison is total expected carry plus execution, margin and settlement costs under the exact contract specification—not a simple perpetual-versus-quarterly label.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do quarterly futures pay funding?

Binance’s comparison says quarterly contracts do not carry a recurring funding fee. Their carry is reflected in the futures basis and realized through trading, settlement or delivery, and any roll.

Can a perpetual future expire because of time?

It has no scheduled expiration date. It can still be closed by you, liquidated for insufficient margin or removed under a venue’s delisting rules.

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Is a negative funding rate good for a long position?

A negative rate normally means shorts pay longs, so a long receives funding during that interval. The rate can change at the next update, and price losses or liquidation risk can outweigh the payment.

What is the main risk when rolling a quarterly Bitcoin future?

You must execute two trades and accept the new contract’s basis. The later maturity can be priced at a premium or discount, creating a gain or loss unrelated to the spot move.

Why can two exchanges show different funding rates?

Funding formulas, index construction, dampers, caps, update frequency and settlement intervals differ by contract. Compare the complete specification rather than one displayed percentage.

Are the quoted 0.055%, 0.05% and 0.025% fees universal?

No. They are venue- and product-specific examples published by Bybit and Deribit. Your contract, account tier, jurisdiction and current fee schedule may use different rates.

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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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