# Spot vs Futures ### What is the difference between Spot and Futures Trading? {% hint style="info" %} * **Spot**: Buy/sell crypto for immediate delivery * **Futures**: Buy/sell leveraged derivatives that represent the value of an asset {% endhint %} #### Spot Market Trading In a spot market, assets are being traded with instant delivery. This implies that those assets, for example, ETH, BNKD, or XBNK, are exchanged directly between market participants. Buyers and sellers have direct ownership of the underlying assets and will be able to utilize them in whatever way they want. **Futures Market Trading** In a traditional Futures market, the delivery of underlying assets and Futures contracts are settled on a predetermined future date, instead of directly trading assets (as in a spot market). **Perpetual Futures Trading** Perpetual Futures contracts allow traders to speculate on the future price of a given asset by buying (going long) or selling (going short) perpetual futures contracts. Unlike typical futures, perpetual Futures do not expire and remain effective until the trader closes their position. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.bit-bank.io/confidential-futures-and-exchange-platform-tech-docs/futures/basics-of-futures-trading/spot-vs-futures.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.