> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.arcus.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Perpetuals overview

> What perpetual futures are on Arcus, the asset classes they cover, and how 24/7 trading works across crypto and real-world assets

A **perpetual future** ("perp") is a contract that tracks the price of an underlying asset without an expiry date. You take a long or short position with leverage, post collateral as margin, and pay or receive [funding](/concepts/perpetuals/funding) to keep the contract's price anchored to the underlying. There is no settlement date and no delivery of the underlying — you hold the position as long as your margin supports it.

<Note>
  This section is conceptual. For request formats, fields, and live values, see the [API reference](/api-reference/introduction).
</Note>

## What you can trade

Arcus offers perps across several asset classes from a single account and a single collateral balance:

| Class          | Examples                                        | Underlying market hours                   |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| Crypto         | BTC, ETH, SOL, and other digital assets         | 24/7 — always liquid, no off-hours regime |
| Equities       | Single-stock perps (e.g. NVDA, TSLA, AAPL)      | US trading hours, with pre/post market    |
| Commodity ETFs | Gold, silver, oil exposure (e.g. GLD, SLV, USO) | The referenced market's hours             |
| Index ETFs     | Broad-market exposure (e.g. SPY, QQQ)           | The referenced market's hours             |

New markets are added on an ongoing basis. The tradable set and per-market parameters (leverage, tick/step sizes) are served by the [`GET /v1/markets`](/api-reference/public/get-markets) endpoint.

## Always-on markets

All Arcus perps trade **24/7** — including overnight, weekends, and holidays. Liquidity is deepest when the underlying market is open and can thin outside those windows, which widens spreads.

Crypto perps run continuously with no special handling. For perps whose underlying has set trading hours (equities, commodity and index ETFs), Arcus applies an **off-hours regime** when that market is closed:

* **Funding** switches from a live, market-driven rate to a fixed off-hours rate.
* **Initial margin** requirements rise, so opening or growing a position off-hours takes more collateral.
* **Price bands** limit how far the market can move while the underlying is closed, to curb liquidation cascades in thin liquidity.

See [Funding](/concepts/perpetuals/funding) and [Margin](/concepts/perpetuals/margin) for how each behaves.

## How the pieces fit together

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Margin & leverage" icon="scale-balanced" href="/concepts/perpetuals/margin">
    Initial vs. maintenance margin, leverage, and the off-hours margin regime.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Liquidations" icon="triangle-exclamation" href="/concepts/perpetuals/liquidations">
    What happens when a position can no longer support its margin.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Oracle prices" icon="tower-broadcast" href="/concepts/perpetuals/oracle-prices">
    How the reference price for each market is determined.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Funding" icon="arrows-rotate" href="/concepts/perpetuals/funding">
    How perps stay anchored to the underlying, including real-world assets.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Real-world asset perps" icon="building-columns" href="/concepts/perpetuals/real-world-assets">
    24/7 leveraged exposure to equities, commodities, and indices.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Order types" icon="list-check" href="/concepts/perpetuals/order-types">
    Order types, time-in-force, and take-profit / stop-loss.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Fees" icon="receipt" href="/concepts/perpetuals/fees">
    Trading fees and the fee-tier model.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>