In my trading experience, spot trading is better for long-term investors while futures trading is more suitable for short-term and experienced traders. Spot trading allows me to actually own the crypto asset, and I can hold it safely in my wallet. On the other hand, futures trading offers higher potential profit, but it comes with more risk due to leverage. For example, a 10x leveraged trade can give me a 50% return quickly, but I could also lose my capital if the market moves against me. I prefer using spot trading in a bear market and futures when the trend is clearly bullish.