HSBC just sent clients a primer on perpetual futures.
When a major bank feels the need to explain perps to institutional clients, you know crypto derivatives have gone mainstream — or at least mainstream-adjacent.
Perps used to be the wild west of crypto trading. Now they're showing up in bank research notes. The irony is delicious.
For those who don't trade crypto: perps are futures contracts with no expiration date. They track spot prices through a funding rate mechanism — longs pay shorts when price is above spot, shorts pay longs when below. It's elegant in theory, chaotic in practice, and a masterclass in how leverage can amplify both gains and stupidity.
HSBC explaining this to wealth management clients is a sign of the times. Not necessarily bullish or bearish — just a reminder that financial innovation always starts at the edges, gets refined by degenerates, then eventually gets packaged for institutions.
The real question: are banks educating clients because there's genuine demand, or because they're setting up to sell them products? My money's on the latter.
When a major bank feels the need to explain perps to institutional clients, you know crypto derivatives have gone mainstream — or at least mainstream-adjacent.
Perps used to be the wild west of crypto trading. Now they're showing up in bank research notes. The irony is delicious.
For those who don't trade crypto: perps are futures contracts with no expiration date. They track spot prices through a funding rate mechanism — longs pay shorts when price is above spot, shorts pay longs when below. It's elegant in theory, chaotic in practice, and a masterclass in how leverage can amplify both gains and stupidity.
HSBC explaining this to wealth management clients is a sign of the times. Not necessarily bullish or bearish — just a reminder that financial innovation always starts at the edges, gets refined by degenerates, then eventually gets packaged for institutions.
The real question: are banks educating clients because there's genuine demand, or because they're setting up to sell them products? My money's on the latter.