At a glance
- What changed
- Spot buying joins the platform.
- Who it affects
- Eligible traders considering a hedge.
- When
- Announced 28 September 2026.
Ondo Perps discount code and conditions ↓
What Ondo Perps has added
On 28 September 2026, Ondo Perps added spot trading for 12 tokenized stocks and funds. Eligible users can buy the tokens on its order book and transfer them to back corresponding perpetual futures. Buying and hedging now share one platform.
An order book matches buyers and sellers. Spot means buying the token itself; a perpetual future is a separate derivative position tracking a reference asset. The token and the derivative are therefore two different holdings. Buying a token does not automatically create a hedge, and seeing both in one interface does not make their prices identical.
[1] [3]The long holding and the short position
The strategy described by Ondo combines a long holding, which benefits when its price rises, with a short position, which benefits when its reference price falls. This is commonly called a basis trade. Its purpose is to reduce exposure to the overall price direction while seeking income from funding or differences between the two markets.
Here is a simplified example using invented prices. Suppose the spot holding is worth $1,000 and the trader opens an equally sized short. If both prices rise by exactly 10%, the holding gains $100 while the short loses $100. If both fall by exactly 10%, the holding loses $100 while the short gains $100. The combined price change is zero in either example, before costs and funding. That arithmetic explains the intended offset; it does not show what a real account will earn.
[3]What happens in the platform
The announced workflow starts with USDC in the spot wallet. A purchase can transfer automatically to the perps wallet; opening the short is a separate execution.
That separation matters if only one order fills. In our example, buying $1,000 of the token without completing the short leaves the entire holding exposed to a price decline. Filling only half the intended short creates only half the assumed offset. A shared interface can make the mismatch easier to see, but the completed quantities, rather than the submitted quantities, determine the position actually held.
[1] [3]Funding is a payment that can change direction
Funding is exchanged between long and short perpetual positions. Positive funding can pay the short side, while a reversal can turn that income into a cost. Ondo’s earlier collateral explainer explicitly identifies changing funding and differences between spot and perpetual prices as risks.
To see why the distinction matters, add a hypothetical $2 funding receipt to the perfectly offset $1,000 example. Before other costs, the combined result becomes a $2 gain. Replace that receipt with a $3 payment and the result becomes a $3 loss. Now suppose the token falls 10% but the short gains only $90: the price legs alone lose $10. These are illustrative amounts, not current rates, and show why a hedge is not a fixed-return savings product.
[3]Collateral still needs a margin cushion
Collateral is the asset supporting the derivative position. Ondo’s terms allow valuation discounts and changes to collateral parameters. They also warn that a fall in collateral value can cause liquidation, meaning positions may be forcibly closed. Prices can diverge further when the underlying reference markets are shut.
A useful distinction is between total economic exposure and the platform’s collateral calculation. The first asks how the two positions move together. The second asks whether the account continues to meet its required backing. Our equal-price example answers only the first question. It supplies no assumed collateral discount, liquidation threshold or safe position size.
[2] [3]Fees, timing and access
The launch offers zero spot trading fees for the first 30 days. It does not give an exact closing timestamp or waive every cost of a combined strategy. The temporary promotion and any permanent signup offer should be read separately.
Access is restricted. The terms require individuals to be at least 18 and exclude US persons, the United States, Canada, Panama and other restricted jurisdictions. This is not the complete eligibility list. The linked terms govern access and permit campaign changes; neither a working wallet connection nor a discount code overrides them.
[1] [2]Test your understanding
Highlight a case; all explanations remain visible.
- Both sides match
The simplified offset
In the hypothetical example, a $100 gain and a $100 loss cancel before other cash flows.
- One side is missing
The intended hedge is incomplete
A filled purchase and an unfilled short do not create the two-position result shown above.
- Funding reverses
Income can become a cost
A hypothetical $2 receipt and a $3 payment lead to different combined results even when prices offset.
Educational examples, not a trading recommendation or a live reward estimate. [1] [2] [3]
- A hedge can reduce price exposure without guaranteeing a profit.
- Submitted orders and completed positions are different.
Official sources & further reading
Independently written from the primary sources below. Checked on 28 September 2026.
- Spot Trading Is Now Live, Bringing the Basis Trade to a Single Platform ↗Official announcement
- Ondo Perps Terms of Use ↗Official supporting documentation
- Deploy Tokenized Gold and Silver as Productive Collateral ↗Official supporting documentation
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