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Basis

The difference between a futures or perpetual price and the underlying spot price. Positive basis means futures trade at a premium to spot; negative basis (sometimes called inverse basis) signals near-term selling pressure or fear. Cross-venue basis arbitrage is a core strategy in crypto market making.

Futures

A standardized contract to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a future date. Crypto futures with fixed expiries exist alongside perpetual futures (perps) which never expire. Quarterly futures concentrate the most open interest.

Intrinsic Value

The amount an option would be worth if it expired right now. For a call, max(spot − strike, 0). For a put, max(strike − spot, 0). The remainder of an option price is time value, which decays toward zero by expiry.

Spot

The current cash market price of an asset for immediate delivery. Spot is the underlying reference for derivatives pricing. Crypto spot trades 24/7 across hundreds of venues, with index prices aggregating across the deepest ones.

Perpetual Swap (Perp)

A futures contract with no expiry, anchored to spot via funding payments between longs and shorts. Perps are the dominant derivative in crypto, vastly larger in volume than dated futures. BTC and ETH perps trade 24/7 across every major venue.