Disclaimer

Our starting point: the strictest regime

In economic terms, perpetual futures closely resemble contracts for difference (CFDs): a leveraged product with no expiry date that lets you speculate on a price movement without owning the underlying asset. Whether a specific perp product is formally classified as a CFD or as another type of derivative in a specific jurisdiction depends on the product, the platform, and the regulator.

TradeOnDEX does not wait for that determination. We treat perpetual futures and other leveraged crypto-asset products as products falling under the strictest applicable risk-warning regime, and we warn accordingly. Where regimes overlap, we follow the heaviest requirement each time, even if it later turns out a lighter regime would have been enough. That is a deliberate, conservative choice on our part as a publisher.

This page is information for the reader, not legal advice and not a legal guarantee. We make no claim that this text has been reviewed by a lawyer or compliance professional.

Why you will not see a loss percentage here

The strict CFD regime includes a standardised warning in which the provider states what percentage of its retail clients lose money. That figure is provider-specific and is calculated and published by the provider itself.

We do not hold that figure per platform. So we deliberately state no percentage: estimating a number, rounding one, or borrowing one from another provider would be misleading. Instead we warn qualitatively and without hedging: a large share of retail traders lose money on these products. If a platform publishes its own loss percentage, consult that figure on that platform's own site.

What TradeOnDEX is and is not

This distinction is the core of our position, so read it carefully.

TradeOnDEX is:

• an information, explainer, and comparison site about decentralized exchanges;
• a publisher that may receive affiliate compensation when a reader signs up with a third party through a link.

TradeOnDEX is not:

• not a broker, not an exchange, not a trading platform;
• not a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) within the meaning of MiCA and not an investment firm within the meaning of MiFID II;
• not an investment adviser, asset manager, or financial adviser.

We offer no trading services, hold or custody no reader funds or crypto assets, execute no orders, match no orders, extend no leverage, and have no control over the platforms we cover. We take no positions on your behalf and have no access to your wallet, your account, or your funds. Anything you do, you do directly with a third party, on that party's terms and with that party's risk profile.

Affiliate disclosure

Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you sign up through one, TradeOnDEX may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This does not affect our assessment, see our methodology for how reviews are put together.

This disclosure is not limited to this page: affiliate links are disclosed separately and visibly per page and per platform discussed, in plain language, not buried in a footer. An affiliate relationship is never a recommendation to trade.

What applies per jurisdiction

Below is what is actually in play per jurisdiction and what it means for you as a reader. This is an informative summary of the main points, not an exhaustive overview and not a legal guarantee. Rules change, and which rules apply to you depends on where you live and where the platform is based.

European Union and EEA

What applies. MiCA (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114) governs the issuance of crypto assets and the licensing of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). Marketing communications about crypto assets must be "fair, clear and not misleading" and identifiable as such. MiCA does not prescribe one fixed, verbatim warning sentence. Derivatives on crypto assets, perpetual futures among them, generally fall outside MiCA and under the wider framework for financial instruments (MiFID II).

For CFD-like products. Retail investors in the EU/EEA are covered by restrictions originating in ESMA's product intervention measures and carried over into national rules: leverage limits per asset class (crypto assets sitting in the lowest category), a margin close-out rule, mandatory negative balance protection (you cannot lose more than the balance in your account), and a ban on monetary and non-monetary benefits offered as an inducement to trade, such as welcome bonuses and deposit bonuses. A standardised risk warning stating the provider's own loss percentage applies there as well.

What that means for you. A DEX offering perps is not required to provide those protections and in practice often does not. Do not assume a leverage cap, a close-out rule, or negative balance protection is in place, check that per platform. If you are offered a bonus or a trading competition, bear in mind that this kind of inducement is precisely what regulated providers in the EU are banned from offering.

Netherlands

What applies. The AFM supervises the financial markets in the Netherlands and, under MiCA, is the licensing authority and supervisor for crypto-asset service providers. On top of that, the Netherlands applies national restrictions on marketing certain high-risk leveraged products to retail investors, including an advertising ban on CFDs, binary options, and turbos. The AFM warns consistently about unlicensed providers and publishes warning lists.

What that means for you. If you see aggressive advertising for leveraged trading in the Netherlands, that alone is a reason to be extra critical. Before you start, check whether a provider appears in the AFM register. If a platform is not in it, you will usually fall outside Dutch supervision and outside Dutch dispute resolution should something go wrong. TradeOnDEX itself is not in that register and does not need to be, because we provide no financial service.

United Kingdom

What applies. Since October 2023, promotions for qualifying crypto assets fall under the FCA's financial promotions regime (Policy Statement PS23/6). Key points: a promotion must be made or approved by a party authorised to do so, prescribed risk warnings apply, incentives to invest are banned (think refer-a-friend bonuses and new-joiner bonuses), and first-time customers are subject to a 24-hour cooling-off period before they can proceed, alongside a personalised risk warning and an appropriateness assessment.

The FCA prescribes the following text verbatim. This sentence must not be paraphrased or translated:

"Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong."

What that means for you. In the UK, crypto assets fall outside the protection of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and you will generally have no recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). If you are drawn to a platform with no cooling-off period, with a bonus, or through a referral reward, that departs from what the FCA requires of authorised parties, and that is reason for suspicion.

United States

What applies. In the United States the CFTC regulates derivatives, including futures and leveraged products on commodities and digital assets, while the SEC regulates securities. Leveraged trading by retail participants must in principle take place on a registered, regulated marketplace. The CFTC has taken enforcement action in several cases against providers of decentralized derivatives trading that served US users without registering.

What that means for you. Many DEX perp platforms exclude US users in their terms and block access based on location. If you are a US resident or US citizen, assume that the platforms we cover are generally not available to you. Circumventing access controls, for instance with a VPN, breaches the platform's terms and can lead to your access or your funds being frozen or lost. We strongly advise against it.

Other countries

What applies. Outside the jurisdictions above, the treatment of crypto assets and of leveraged products based on them varies widely. In some countries leveraged trading by retail participants is restricted or banned, in others there is barely any supervision at all, and tax treatment differs from country to country.

What that means for you. Find out what applies in your country before you open an account, and consult the website of your own financial regulator and tax authority. We cannot and will not assess whether a platform is permitted in your jurisdiction. Nothing on this site is an offer or solicitation to persons in jurisdictions where such an offer is not permitted.

Governing language

This English version of the disclaimer is the binding version. Any other language version, including the Dutch translation, is provided for convenience only. In the event of a difference in meaning between versions, the English text prevails.

Corrections and scope

See contact for corrections or questions about this disclaimer. Affiliate disclosures apply per page and per platform discussed, not solely via this central page, and a disclosure on this site does not automatically cover another channel such as social media: each piece of content carries its own visible disclosure. See support us for the full explanation of our revenue model (affiliate commissions and donations) and the terms of use for the terms on which you use this site.