Spot vs perpetual grids

GRIDer runs grids on two kinds of markets: perpetuals and spot. The grid logic is the same — buy low, sell high across levels — but the mechanics, risk and costs differ. GRIDer detects which kind you're trading from the market you pick.

At a glance

Perpetual grids

On perps you can run a grid LONG or SHORT, and you can apply leverage up to the token's maximum.

• Leverage increases risk. At 3×, the same price move changes the position's value three times as much, so a breakout hurts three times as much and the liquidation price sits closer to your entry. A stop‑loss is optional and can fail or fill worse than expected in fast markets; it does not remove liquidation risk.
• Funding applies. While you hold a perp position you pay or receive funding every hour. GRIDer folds funding into your Grid PNL so the number you see is the real one. See Costs, fees and funding.
• Direction matters at the edges. A LONG grid that breaks below its range ends fully long; a SHORT grid that breaks above ends fully short. See Risk and range breakouts.

Spot grids

Spot grids trade the actual token against USDC. They are long‑only by nature — you can't be short spot — so a spot grid accumulates tokens as price falls and sells them as price rises.

Key differences to understand:

• No leverage, no funding, no liquidation. Simpler in that sense: the worst case is holding the token after a drop rather than being liquidated — and a deep drop can still lose most of the amount assigned.
• Your position is your balance. There's no separate "position" — the grid trades around the tokens you hold. PNL is calculated on a cost‑basis (what you paid vs. what you sold for).
• GRIDer protects a balance you already hold. If you already own some of the token before starting a spot grid, GRIDer will confirm with you and will never sell that pre‑existing balance when the grid closes — it only trades the portion it bought.

Funding to start a spot grid comes from your spot USDC balance (it needs enough for the initial buy plus the first buy level). If there isn't enough, the grid won't start and no order is placed. For perps, you need funds in your perps (USDC) balance instead.

In short

• Perpetual grid → LONG or SHORT, optional leverage; funding applies and liquidation is possible. Capital stays in your perps account.
• Spot grid → long‑only, no leverage, no funding and no liquidation; you hold the token, and its price can still fall.

Next: Costs, fees and funding for the cost side, or Risk and range breakouts for the risk side.