Start trading

Trading begins by choosing a market, selecting the account that will support the position, and deciding how the order should behave. This guide explains those decisions and what to verify before confirming the trade.

Choose a market

A perpetual market lets you take a view on the price of an asset or index without an expiry date. A long position gains value when the market rises; a short position gains value when it falls.

Open the market details and read its contract specification. Pay particular attention to:

• the underlying price the contract follows;
• the asset used for collateral and settlement;
• the smallest permitted price and order size;
• the initial and maintenance margin rates;
• the current index and mark prices;
• the funding rate and next funding time;
• the market’s position limits and risk domain.

The perpetual markets guide explains each term.

Fund a subaccount

Your main account controls ownership. Trading takes place through a subaccount, which holds the collateral, orders, and positions for a particular set of markets.

Deposit the market’s accepted settlement asset and select the subaccount you intend to use. The available balance is the amount that can support a new order. Collateral already reserved for another order or position remains yours, but it is not available twice.

When cross-margin is enabled, compatible positions inside the same subaccount and risk domain can share collateral. Capital in another subaccount or domain does not support the trade.

Choose an order

A limit order defines the worst price you will accept. If that price is already available, the order can trade immediately. Otherwise, a good-till-cancelled limit order remains in the book until it fills or you cancel it.

A market order asks to trade immediately against available liquidity. Novrinex still applies a maximum execution price so the order cannot fill at an unlimited price. If there is not enough liquidity inside that bound, the order can fill partly and cancel the remainder.

Post-only orders are for adding liquidity. Reduce-only orders are for decreasing an existing position without opening exposure in the opposite direction. See order types for the complete behavior.

Review the trade

Before signing, verify the direction, quantity, price bound, estimated fee, required margin, and resulting liquidation risk. Check that the order uses the intended subaccount and market.

The displayed estimate uses the current order book, prices, and account state. Another trade or price update can change the result before your transaction reaches the network.

Confirm the result

Submitting an order means the network has received a request. It becomes authoritative only when the transaction is included in a finalized block.

After confirmation, review the filled quantity, average execution price, fees, remaining open quantity, resulting position, entry price, and available collateral. If the connection is interrupted, use the request receipt to recover the committed result rather than submitting a different request blindly.

Begin with a small order when using a new market, subaccount, or trading key. It gives you a clear view of the complete path from signing to settlement before you commit more capital.