Futures: a tool of risk or profit?

💹 Futures are not magic and not a casino, but a contract. The idea is simple: today you agree to buy or sell an asset in the future at a fixed price. Oil, gold, stocks, or cryptocurrency — the tool is universal.

The difference from the spot market is that futures allow you not only to “hold and wait,” but to actively work with price movement. And in both directions: if you want — profit from growth, if you want — from decline. That’s why traders’ eyes light up, while long-term investors quietly clutch their hearts.

An experienced crypto trader noted with irony: “As much as I may dislike futures, this is the only tool where you can really make money. Everything else is either for pensioners or romantics.”

It sounds harsh, but there’s truth to it: futures allow you to react to the market instantly and sometimes show returns you would never see while “classic assets” politely grow by a few percent a year.

Futures as esports

To understand the level of intensity: at Korea Blockchain Week futures trading was broadcast live on stage — like an esports match. Traders sit, click, the audience applauds and cheers as if it were the finals of a Counter-Strike championship. Only here, the bullets are prices, and a loss can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

You can watch the video fragment in our Telegram channel.

Why futures are a tool for making money

Leverage. With futures, you can control large sums with a relatively small deposit. For example, with $1,000 you can control a $10,000 contract. If the price moves 5% in your favor — you double your capital.

Profit both on growth and decline. Buy a contract (long) — betting on growth. Sell (short) — betting on decline. Futures let you profit in any market phase, unlike investors who only wait for growth.

Liquidity and speed. On the largest exchanges, futures are among the most liquid instruments. Deals are executed instantly, spreads are minimal.

But let’s be honest: this is not a toy. Futures are a leveraged instrument, which means you can win fast, but you can also go to zero just as quickly. Statistics are merciless: most beginners lose their deposits here faster than they can Google “what is liquidation.”

So why bother?

Because without futures it’s impossible to build a full market strategy:

• Hedging risks: companies insure oil prices, grain, or exchange rates.
• Speculation: traders profit from fluctuations.
• Arbitrage: smart guys find price differences across markets.

And most importantly: futures give you the chance to earn here and now, instead of waiting decades for stocks to “someday go up.”

Simply put, futures are the boxing ring of the financial world. Some walk out with a champion’s belt, others fall in the first round. For some — too risky, for others — the only chance to truly get into the game.

🛡️ Advice for beginners

If you’re just entering futures, remember three rules:

1. Minimum leverage — start with 2x-3x, not with the “romantic” 50x promising quick millions.
2. Stop-losses are not a toy. Without them, your deposit lives only until the first sharp market move.
3. Trade only with what you are ready to lose. Futures are not the place for your last savings or “vacation money.”

Then you have a chance to turn futures not into a lottery, but into a tool. A nervous one, but still a tool, where the winner is not the one who clicks faster, but the one who keeps a cool head.