The Derivatives Track · 6 free lessons

Crypto derivatives, explained

Every number in the daily issue, explained: funding, open interest, crowded trades, options expiries and stablecoin flows. Read these and the issue reads itself.

Perpetual Futures Explained

What a perp is, why it never expires, and how leverage and liquidation work.

Funding Rates: Who Pays to Hold the Trade

How funding keeps a perp near spot, how to annualise it, and when it is extreme.

Open Interest: New Money or Money Leaving

Read price and open interest together to tell new longs from short covering.

Crowded Trades and Liquidation Cascades

Why extreme funding plus an open interest surge is a warning, not a signal.

Crypto Options: Max Pain, Put/Call and DVOL

What options expiries, max pain and implied volatility can and cannot tell you.

Stablecoin Supply and the Coinbase Premium

Two flow reads: new dollars entering crypto, and whether US buyers are paying up.

Start the derivatives track

Begin with lesson one and work through in order. It is free, and written for people new to this.

Start lesson 1

Questions readers ask

Before you start

What does a positive funding rate mean?

Longs are paying shorts to hold their positions. It means the perpetual is trading above the spot price because more traders want to be long. The higher and longer it runs, the more crowded the long side becomes.

Is rising open interest bullish?

Not on its own. Rising open interest means new positions are opening. Read it with price: price up with open interest up means new longs, while price down with open interest up means new shorts.

Does price move towards max pain at expiry?

Sometimes, often not. Max pain describes where option buyers would collect the least at expiry. It is a summary of open interest, not a force on price, so treat it as context.

Do I need to trade derivatives to use this track?

No. Perpetual futures and options data shows how other traders are positioned, which helps you read spot markets too. The lessons explain the data; whether you trade derivatives is your decision.