Perpetual Swap, the product launched by global exchange OKEx is posting huge volumes as more and more people turn to the new method of trading on the exchange.

Revealed for the first time OKEx has said that since launch just over seven months ago the Perpetual Swap trading product, a first for the platform, has generated a cumulative trading volume of $150 billion dollars, and has posted a record 24-hour high of $2.2 billion.

In a table provided by OKEx it’s clear to see that trading volume has been gradually increasing month after month.

Source: OKEx

After starting off at virtually zero volume for the first several months of its use, as interest in the wider cryptocurrency market increased, so did the amount of people trading Perpetual Swaps on OKEx. 

The volume peaked at around $4.5 billion towards the end of June, but recently posted a more modest $1 billion. However, it also posted a record $2.2 billion in trading volume for a 24-hour period.

So what is it?

Perpetual Swaps allow OKEx traders to purchase contracts that speculate on the future price of digital assets at any given point in time. 

This allows them to set long or short positions depending on how they think the market will develop in the days and weeks ahead.

The product works in a way similar to a futures contract, but it doesn’t have an expiration date. Each swap is valued at around $100 in Bitcoin.

An OKEx spokesperson said the product had so far been everything that its customers had asked for.

“After a slow start at the end of last year, in February and March we really saw the volume of trades on Perpetual Swap start to spike upwards,” they said.

“This correlates with more and more people becoming aware of the product, and being familiar with how to use it. It’s off to a great start and moving forward we’ll be adding even more new tools and services to our platform.”

The spokesperson reminded traders to ensure that they did not overstretch themselves with trades and that they always operated with a risk mitigation strategy in place.

“Everyone trading whether a new trader or an experienced trader, should be aware of the risks, and have a plan in place to minimise financial losses.”