PerpAtlas

PerpAtlas Research

Original data on perp market structure. Every figure comes from exchange APIs or official fee schedules, is dated, and can be re-checked — no recycled comparison-site numbers.

Funding & market structure

Which Exchange Pays Shorts Most Often? 12 Months of Realized Funding
On a basket of major coins, funding was positive (shorts get paid) in 63–76% of settlement periods depending on the venue. Built from 200k+ realized settlements, ranking flips by regime. Charts for 30 days and 12 months.
How Perp Funding Payments Actually Work — With Real Numbers
Who pays whom, when, and how much: a $100k BTC long paid $287–474 in funding last month depending on the venue — several times the fee to open the position.
Most Perps No Longer Fund Every 8 Hours: a 6-Exchange Interval Census
47–63% of USDT perps now settle every 1h or 4h, and 22% of cross-listed coins fund on different schedules on different venues. Why raw rates are no longer comparable.
The Same Coin Funds Differently on Every Exchange
The cross-venue funding spread runs a median of 17 annualized points across majors, over 30 on mid-caps. What the spread is, why it exists, and what it isn't.
Funding-Rate Arbitrage, Honestly
Real strategy, not free money: funding signs on Binance vs Bybit agree only ~74% of the time for BTC, so the spread flips often. The delta-neutral trade and its real costs.

Fees & cost

USDT-Perp Fees at VIP 0: How Little the Venue Actually Matters
Verified base-tier table: 0.02% maker everywhere, taker 0.05–0.06%. The cheapest and priciest venue differ by just $100 per $1M — your maker/taker split matters far more.
The Cheapest Perp Exchange Depends on How You Trade
Scalper: Binance/OKX/Gate tie at 0.05%. Maker: 0.02% everywhere, so the venue doesn't matter. Position trader: funding dwarfs any fee. Worked numbers.
Binance vs OKX Futures: Identical Base Fees, So What Actually Differs
Both 0.02%/0.05% at VIP 0 — the fee comparison is a tie. What separates them is realized funding, number of listings, settlement intervals and regional availability.
Bybit vs Bitget for Perpetual Traders
Bybit's taker is lower (0.055% vs 0.060%); Bitget's 150x BTC applies only to $200k while Bybit keeps 100x to $2M; Bybit is EEA-eligible. A verified side-by-side.
How to Cut Perp Trading Fees Without Trading More
Five levers ranked by impact — trade as maker, take on the lowest-taker venue, mind funding over fees, right-size leverage — none of which require more volume.
How to Read an Exchange Fee Schedule: Maker, Taker and the Fine Print
What maker/taker mean, how VIP tiers work, and the fine print that trips people up — including why a raw API fee field can differ from the tier you actually pay.
How Much Volume Until Perp Fees Actually Drop? The First Tier Needs $5M/Month
The first VIP tier needs ~$5M/month and barely helps (maker 0.02%→0.018%, taker often unchanged); halving your taker takes $100M–$1B a month. For almost everyone, base is your fee.

Leverage, risk & the basics

Max Leverage Is a Marketing Number: Maintenance Margin Tiers Compared
Bitget's 150x BTC applies only to $200k; on SOL, 100x holds only to $50k. Real maintenance-margin tiers from venue APIs show how fast the effective cap falls with size.
How Perp Liquidation Actually Works — and What Differs by Exchange
Maintenance breach → partial liquidation by tier → liquidation fee → insurance fund → auto-deleveraging. The full pipeline, and the parts that genuinely differ.
What Is a Perpetual Futures Contract? A Plain, Honest Explainer
A leveraged bet with no expiry, tethered to spot by funding. The three costs (fees, funding, liquidation) and an honest look at why most leveraged traders lose.