OKX Perpetual Swaps: Funding, Margin and Position Modes
A perpetual swap is a derivatives contract with no expiry date. It tracks the price of an underlying asset and stays open until you close it or it gets liquidated. OKX offers them across a wide range of contracts, and they are the product most retail traders mean when they talk about futures.
The mechanics are worth understanding before you open a position, because three of them determine whether you keep it.
Funding is the cost of holding
Because a perpetual has no expiry, nothing forces its price to converge on spot. Funding is the mechanism that does. Periodically, one side of the market pays the other depending on whether the perpetual is trading above or below the spot price.
If the perpetual trades above spot, longs pay shorts. If it trades below, shorts pay longs. The payment is charged for as long as the position stays open.
On a position held for hours, funding is usually minor. Held for weeks, it can exceed the fee that opened the position, and it is charged whether the trade is winning or losing.
Margin mode changes what a loss can reach
OKX offers isolated and cross margin, and the difference matters more than most new traders expect.
With isolated margin, you assign a fixed amount of collateral to a single position. If that position is liquidated, the loss is confined to the margin you assigned.
With cross margin, your whole account balance backs every open position. That reduces the chance of a single position being liquidated, because losses can be absorbed by unused collateral — but it also means one bad position can reach the rest of your account.
- Isolated margin caps the loss on a position.
- Cross margin reduces liquidation risk per position but increases account-wide exposure.
- The safer-sounding option is not automatically the safer choice.
Position modes and why they matter
OKX supports both one-way and hedge position modes. In one-way mode, you hold a single net position per contract, and opening in the opposite direction reduces or reverses it. In hedge mode, long and short positions are tracked separately on the same contract.
Hedge mode is useful if you deliberately want to hold opposing exposure. In one-way mode, it is easy to think you have hedged when you have actually just closed your position.
Leverage and liquidation
Leverage does not increase your edge. It increases how quickly you are proven wrong.
A position that would recover from a temporary drawdown at low leverage is closed at high leverage, because the liquidation price sits closer to your entry. This is the most common way a futures account goes to zero in a single day.
What the referral covers
Trading fees on OKX perpetuals are charged on entry and exit, and the referral discount applies to them like any other trade. The code ENJOYDISCOUNT has to be in the signup form before you register, since it cannot be attached to an existing account.
It reduces what you pay per trade. It does not change funding, margin requirements or liquidation prices.
The one setup step that cannot be undone
Fees on perpetuals are charged on entry and exit, and the OKX referral discount applies to them. The code ENJOYDISCOUNT must be present in the signup form before you submit it, because OKX does not attach a referrer to an account that already exists.
It is the only step in this guide that is irreversible. Margin mode can be changed, position mode can be changed, and leverage can be adjusted before any given trade. The referral cannot be added afterwards at all.
Frequently asked questions
Do perpetual swaps expire?
No. That is the defining feature. They stay open until you close them or they are liquidated.
Is funding charged even if I am losing money?
Yes. Funding depends on the relationship between the perpetual price and spot, not on whether your position is profitable.
Which margin mode should a beginner use?
Isolated margin is the more predictable starting point, because the maximum loss on a position is the margin you assigned to it.