Before explaining what futures are, I want to tell you something: today I closed my first futures trade with a profit of 0.58 USDC. A lot? No. Valuable? Very much. Because I didn't invest any of my own money: I only used money I had earned within Binance, and I learned something key.
💥 What are futures?
A futures trade is not buying a crypto, but betting whether its price will go up or down. That is:
If you think it will go up: you make a long order (buy).
If you think it will go down: you make a short (sell).
Example: if BNB is worth 730 and you open a long, you gain if it rises to 740. But if it drops... you lose.
🔁 What is leverage?
This was what I found hardest to understand. Leverage is like a magnifying glass: it multiplies what you gain or lose.
I used 20x leverage. That means that with only 0.36 USDC I could open a position as if I had 7.20 USDC.
If the price rises 1%, I gain 20%.
But if it drops 1%, I also lose 20%.
It's powerful, but dangerous. That's why I only used profits I already had in the account, so it wouldn't hurt if things went wrong.
🧪 What did I learn?
You have to close the operation yourself. At first, I thought it was automatic.
You can lose everything if you don't set limits. There's a line called 'liquidation price': if the market reaches there, you lose what you put in.
You can win quickly, but you can also lose more quickly if you don't know what you're doing.
🛠 How did I do it?
I chose the BNB/USDC pair in Futures.
I opened a long order of 0.01 BNB at 734 USDC.
I used 20x leverage with only 0.36 USDC of margin.
I closed the operation when the price rose to 755 USDC.
Profit: 0.19 USDC (plus the previous, I closed with a total of 0.58 USDC).
⚠️ Is it worth it?
Yes, but with caution. I only recommend it if:
You only use what you earned within Binance.
You don't rush to win quickly.
You understand leverage well and set Stop Loss or Take Profit.
🧭 And now?
I will continue exploring futures, but always with a cool head. It's like driving a fast car: if you know what you're doing, it's great. If not, it can end badly.