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Spot Market
A spot market is a market where an asset is bought or sold for direct ownership or delivery according to the market's settlement arrangements. In crypto, buying BTC on a spot market generally means acquiring Bitcoin itself rather than a derivative contract linked to its price.
Why it matters to you
Spot and perpetual markets can show very similar prices while representing fundamentally different positions. Buying BTC spot gives you the asset. Going long BTC perps gives you derivative exposure to its price. That difference introduces mechanics such as leverage, margin, funding and liquidation that do not apply in the same way to an unleveraged spot holding.
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