Perpetual Futures vs. Dated Futures: Funding, Expiry, and Price Anchoring
Compare perpetual and dated futures by expiry, funding, final settlement, price reference, margin cash flows, and the contract details that make similar quotes different.
Direct answer
A perpetual future has no scheduled expiration, while a dated future names a particular contract month and final process. That difference changes how the derivative is kept near its reference price: perpetual products commonly use venue-defined funding transfers, whereas a dated futures contract has a contract-specific final settlement or delivery process as expiry approaches. Neither label tells you the exact collateral, mark price, funding interval, margin rule, close-out policy, or price source. Read the named product and venue documents before treating two similar chart symbols as interchangeable.
A perpetual contract has no scheduled expiry; a dated future names one
A dated futures contract identifies a product and a month or other defined expiry. Its specification states the unit, price convention, final settlement or delivery method, and dates that govern its end. Keeping a chosen market exposure beyond that end requires an actual change from one listed contract to another.
A perpetual product does not have that scheduled contract-end date. That does not turn it into the underlying asset, a spot purchase, or a single universal kind of futures contract. Its venue still defines the underlying reference, multiplier, collateral, margin treatment, mark, settlement adjustments, and how an open position may be handled.
Futures contract roll mechanics explains the two-contract process for a dated future. A perpetual product may remove that particular expiry roll, but it does not remove the need to identify the exact agreement held in an account.
Funding and final expiry are different ways to anchor a derivative price
A dated futures price can differ from a spot reference because it belongs to a contract with a specified future endpoint. As that endpoint approaches, the contract's own final settlement or delivery process becomes increasingly important. The gap is a relationship between named references, not a promise that one quote will move to another on a particular path.
Perpetual-product venues can instead use periodic funding transfers designed to help keep a perpetual price close to a referenced spot or index price. For example, Coinbase documents a funding mechanism that derives a rate from the gap between its futures and spot marks. The formula, observation window, interval, caps, price inputs, and sign convention belong to that venue and product; they must not be copied to every product called “perpetual.”
Futures versus spot markets separates an immediate-delivery reference from a dated agreement. The same discipline helps here: name the exact perpetual mark, spot or index reference, dated month, timestamp, and quote side before interpreting a price gap.
Funding cash adjustments, mark-to-market, and final settlement are separate records
Funding is a periodic transfer under a perpetual product's rules. It is not automatically the same thing as a price change, realized trading result, commission, interest rate, exchange fee, or final settlement. A platform can also mark a position and apply margin controls on its own schedule, so the account's displayed equity and cash fields can move for more than one reason.
Open dated futures positions also have a cash path before expiry. Futures are marked to market through the margin process, while the contract's final settlement or delivery terms remain a separate event. Futures margin and leverage explains why collateral is neither a purchase price nor a maximum-loss estimate.
A perpetual, a dated future, and spot can show different prices without an error
Three price labels can refer to three different things at the same moment: a spot or index reference, a venue's perpetual mark or trade, and a named futures month. They can differ because their contract terms, timestamps, liquidity, price fields, funding inputs, final process, or quote sides differ. A chart alone cannot establish that the prices were simultaneously executable or economically identical.
Futures basis and fair value gives the framework for recording a price relationship rather than treating it as a direction call. A continuous chart needs similar care: continuous futures charts versus tradable contracts shows why a smooth line is not an order ticket or an account ledger.
Read the venue's full specification and account policy before comparing a quote
Use a compact quote record whenever a price or funding figure is being compared:
- Venue and exact product code
- Perpetual/no-expiry label or full dated contract month
- Price field, quote side, index or spot reference, and timestamp
- Funding rule and scheduled payment time if the product has funding
- Multiplier, collateral, margin, fee, and account-close rules from the current documents
The guide describes contract mechanics, not a recommendation to select a venue, hold a position, use leverage, or rely on a price relationship. Current product terms and the account agreement control the actual treatment.
Common questions
Do perpetual futures expire?
Not on a scheduled contract-expiry date in the way a dated future does. The product can still have venue-defined funding, margin, mark-price, and close-out rules that affect an open position.
Does a positive funding rate mean longs pay shorts?
Some venue rules use that convention when the perpetual price is above its reference, including Coinbase's documented mechanism. The actual sign, calculation, interval, and payment direction are product-specific, so read the current venue specification.
Are dated futures always physically delivered?
No. A dated future can be cash settled or physically delivered. Its specific contract specification states the final process, so a product category or chart label is not enough.
Can a perpetual future and a dated future trade at different prices?
Yes. They can have different contract terms, price inputs, timestamps, liquidity, price fields, funding treatment, and final-process rules. The gap does not by itself establish an error, forecast, or executable opportunity.