excellent explanation thank you for taking the time to teach us

I saw this post and thought:

Should I buy $BNB ?
Answer: No

Interesting facts about that phrase from this user is a fact, a curiosity.

When someone says "I bought BNB in futures," in reality:
They are not buying real BNB (neither spot nor custodial).
They are buying a derivative contract that replicates the price of the underlying asset (BNB).
That contract is settled in USDT or stablecoin, not in BNB

Example:
You open a long of 1 BNB at $600 with x20:
•What you are doing is betting (or positioning) that the price will go up.
•If it goes up to $630, you earn the difference ($30 × 20 = $600).
•But you never had a "real" BNB in your wallet — just an open contract against another trader who took the opposite side (short).

The term "buying" comes from the reflection of the spot market, where you actually acquire the asset.

In futures:
•"Buying" = opening a long position betting that the price will go up.
•"Selling" = opening a short position betting that the price will go down.

👉 But both are contracts, not purchases of real tokens.

That's why the colloquial language remains (“I bought BNB”), even though legally and technically you did not buy the asset.

Buying BNB in futures” = buying a contract that mimics BNB,
but you do not own the asset, you only participate in its price fluctuation.

That's why, if the market moves against you and your margin can't hold → the contract is settled, even though BNB continues to exist in the spot market.