Crypto gives you something traditional markets rarely do: two live markets for the same asset, side by side. Understanding how they differ is the foundation for every other crypto-native signal in this module.
Two markets, one asset
- Spot — you buy actual Bitcoin; it settles immediately; no leverage by default. Spot flow is real capital committing.
- Perpetual futures (perps) — a leveraged contract that tracks BTC's price but never settles into coin. Perp flow is positioning, not ownership.
- Perp volume usually runs several times spot volume, because leverage lets the same capital control a larger position.
Why the distinction matters
Spot buying is 'stickier' — someone parted with real capital to hold the asset, and that is harder to force out of a position. Perp buying can be a leveraged bet put on and unwound in seconds, and it can be squeezed. So when the two disagree, the resolution tends to favour the spot side.
Reading them together
The live dashboard shows spot and perp pressure separately for exactly this reason. The cleanest signal is agreement; the most information-rich is divergence (covered in the order-flow guides). Keep both in view — a number that looks one-sided on the combined view can hide a spot/perp split underneath.