What Are Pepperstone Perpetual CFDs? 2026 Complete Guide

Risk warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 79.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Summary — 13 July 2026, Melbourne. Pepperstone is expanding its Perpetual CFD suite beyond digital assets to cover Gold, Silver, Nasdaq, S&P 500, WTI Crude and Brent Crude, extending 24/7 market access across metals, indices and energy within a regulated CFD framework. The rollout follows the earlier launch of SPCX.US-PERP, a synthetic Perpetual CFD referencing SpaceX. Annual perpetual-futures volumes exceeded US$90 trillion in 2025, and tokenised financial assets could grow from ~US$35 billion today to ~US$2 trillion by 2030.

What Is a Perpetual CFD?

A Perpetual CFD is a contract for difference that tracks a perpetual futures market — a market designed to run with no expiry date. It lets you speculate on price movements without owning the underlying asset, going long or short with leverage, while putting down only a fraction of the position's full value.

As with all CFDs, you do not receive ownership rights, voting rights, delivery rights, custody rights or any direct claim over the underlying market or asset. Leverage magnifies both potential profits and potential losses, and losses can occur rapidly.

How Do Perpetual CFDs Work?

Day to day, a Perpetual CFD behaves like any other CFD — your P&L depends on how the market moves relative to your entry price. Three features make Perpetual CFDs distinct because the underlying market never expires:

• No settlement date, no rollover. You hold your position for as long as your margin supports it.
• 24/7 trading. Perpetual markets don't follow standard exchange hours, so you can trade weekends and public holidays.
• Funding rate (Pepperstone's model). Instead of the hourly-changing funding used on native perpetual venues, Pepperstone translates funding into a single weekly swap rate, set in advance and posted as daily entries — so your funding cost for the week ahead is visible before you commit.

Pepperstone's Perpetual CFD Rollout — Which Markets Are Included?

Perpetual CFDs vs Standard CFDs

Perpetual CFDs vs Traditional Futures

Perpetual CFDs vs Perpetual Futures (Native Crypto Venues)

Perpetual CFDs vs Real-World Asset (RWA) CFDs

Understanding Synthetic Perpetual CFDs

Some Perpetual CFDs track a synthetic market rather than an exchange-traded one. A synthetic market takes its price from a model, reference price or another methodology rather than a directly traded asset. This is how a Perpetual CFD can give you exposure to private company valuations (such as SPCX.US-PERP referencing SpaceX) or thematic markets you couldn't easily reach through a traditional exchange. Because there's nothing tangible underneath, synthetic markets can behave differently — and less predictably — than a real one.

What Are the Risks of Trading Perpetual CFDs?

Perpetual CFDs are leveraged products, and that brings real risk. Before you trade, consider:

• Prices can move quickly and sharply.
• Leverage magnifies losses as well as gains.
• Funding costs add up over time.
• Synthetic markets can behave differently from the markets they reference.
• There may be pricing, execution, slippage, platform availability and market disruption risks.
• The underlying perpetual reference market may be less transparent, less liquid or more volatile than traditional regulated markets.
• You could lose some or all of the money supporting a position. With no expiry, a losing position stays open — and keeps incurring costs — until you close it or your margin runs out.
• Stop-loss orders may help manage risk but do not guarantee losses will be limited to a specific amount, especially in fast-moving or gapping markets.

Negative balance protection — which prevents losing more than the funds in your account — is only applied to retail clients. Professional clients and all clients under Pepperstone's FSC licence are not covered, meaning losses can exceed deposits.

Are Perpetual CFDs Right for You?

Perpetual CFDs may suit you if you want to trade around the clock, including weekends, or you're drawn to markets that don't fit traditional exchange hours. They can also appeal if you've traded perpetuals on a native crypto venue and would rather have a regulated account, predictable weekly funding and standard CFD risk treatment. If you mostly trade during normal market hours, a standard CFD may be the simpler fit.

How to Start Trading Perpetual CFDs

1. Open and fund an account with a provider that offers Perpetual CFDs, such as Pepperstone.
2. Choose your market. Review instruments, trading conditions, margin requirements and holding costs. Perpetual CFDs are usually labelled with "-PERP". Read the relevant KID, product specifications and costs and charges before trading.
3. Decide long or short. Go long if you expect the price to rise, short if you expect it to fall. Both directions involve risk.
4. Manage your risk — use stop-loss orders, size positions to suit your account and risk tolerance. Note that a stop-loss does not guarantee execution at your chosen price in fast-moving markets.
5. Monitor your position. Keep an eye on the market, your margin and holding costs — Perpetual CFDs have no fixed expiry, so positions can remain open until you close them or margin runs out.

What Do Pepperstone's Leaders Say?

Tamas Szabo, Group CEO of Pepperstone: "The concept of markets opening and closing at fixed hours is becoming increasingly outdated. Capital, information and risk now move continuously, and we believe 24-hour markets will become a standard feature of modern finance. Our focus is on bringing that future into a regulated environment that traders already know and trust."

Chris Weston, Head of Research at Pepperstone: "Major market-moving developments no longer wait for opening bells. Information is global, instantaneous, and continuous, and traders increasingly want access to markets when opportunities emerge. We see that demand for continuous access is becoming a defining feature of the next generation of financial markets."

About Pepperstone

Founded in Melbourne in 2010, Pepperstone is a global fintech and CFD broker serving traders in more than 160 countries. The company provides access to forex, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs and digital asset markets through industry-leading platforms, competitive pricing and a strong regulatory framework.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Do Perpetual CFDs expire?

No. Perpetual CFDs track a perpetual futures market that runs with no expiry date. There is no settlement date and no contract rollover.

Can I hold a Perpetual CFD position for as long as I want?

Yes, as long as your margin supports it. Positions remain subject to margin requirements, stop-out rules, funding costs, product availability and market conditions.

Do Perpetual CFDs have funding costs?

Yes. Pepperstone translates funding into a single weekly swap rate, set in advance and posted as daily entries — so you can see your funding cost for the week ahead rather than facing a charge that changes by the hour.

Can I trade Perpetual CFDs at the weekend?

Yes. Because perpetual markets don't follow standard exchange hours, you can trade Perpetual CFDs 24/7, weekends and public holidays included, subject to Pepperstone's published trading hours.

Do I own the underlying asset when I trade a Perpetual CFD?

No. As with all CFDs, you do not receive ownership rights, voting rights, delivery rights or any direct claim over the underlying market. You do not need crypto wallets or private keys.

Is a Perpetual CFD the same as a perpetual swap?

No. Perpetual swaps are traded directly on crypto or derivatives venues. A Perpetual CFD gives you exposure to that market through a regulated CFD account — no wallets, no exchange collateral, no separate venue onboarding.

Which markets can I trade as Perpetual CFDs?

Pepperstone has already launched SPCX.US-PERP (SpaceX synthetic). Planned launches include Gold, Silver, Nasdaq, S&P 500, WTI Crude and Brent Crude Perpetual CFDs.

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