Before You Begin

Jupiter Perpetuals is a decentralized trading platform on Solana that lets you trade SOL, ETH, and BTC with up to 100x leverage. Before placing your first trade, make sure you have:

  • A Solana wallet (Phantom, Solflare, or Backpack recommended)
  • Some SOL for transaction fees (0.01 SOL is plenty to start)
  • Collateral tokens (SOL, USDC, or USDT) to fund your position

⚠️ Start Small

For your first trade, use a small amount you're comfortable losing while you learn. Consider starting with $10-50 and low leverage (2x-5x). You can always increase size once you understand the mechanics.

Step-by-Step: Opening Your First Position

1 Connect Your Wallet

Navigate to jup.ag/perps and click "Connect Wallet" in the top right. Select your wallet provider and approve the connection. Jupiter will display your wallet address once connected.

2 Choose Your Market

Jupiter offers three perpetual markets: SOL-PERP, ETH-PERP, and BTC-PERP. For beginners, SOL-PERP is often the best choice since you're likely already familiar with SOL's price action from using Solana.

Click on the market selector at the top to switch between assets.

3 Select Long or Short

On the trading panel, you'll see "Long" and "Short" tabs:

  • Long: Choose this if you think the price will go UP
  • Short: Choose this if you think the price will go DOWN

For your first trade, go with your gut on market direction. If you're bullish on SOL, choose Long.

4 Set Your Collateral

Enter the amount of collateral you want to use. This is the money backing your position and the maximum you can lose. You can deposit:

  • SOL: Good for SOL-PERP trades
  • USDC/USDT: Good for any market, no token exposure

Select your collateral token from the dropdown and enter the amount (e.g., $25).

5 Choose Your Leverage

Use the leverage slider to set your multiplier. For your first trade, stick to 2x-5x leverage. This gives you:

  • 2x: $25 collateral controls $50 position (liquidation at ~50% move against you)
  • 5x: $25 collateral controls $125 position (liquidation at ~20% move against you)
Understanding the Numbers: Before clicking "Open Position," review the summary panel showing your entry price, liquidation price, and fees. Your liquidation price is critical—if the market reaches this price, your entire collateral is lost.

6 Review & Confirm

Check these key details before confirming:

  • Position Size: Your collateral × leverage
  • Entry Price: The price you're entering at
  • Liquidation Price: Price where you lose everything
  • Fees: Opening fee (typically 0.06-0.1% of position size)

Click "Open Position" and approve the transaction in your wallet.

7 Monitor Your Position

Once your transaction confirms (usually 1-2 seconds on Solana), your position appears in the "Positions" tab below the chart. You'll see:

  • Size: Your total position value
  • PnL: Your profit/loss (updates in real-time)
  • Mark Price: Current market price
  • Liq. Price: Your liquidation price

Closing Your Position

When you're ready to take profit or cut losses, you have several options:

Market Close (Instant)

Click the "Close" button next to your position. Enter the percentage to close (100% for full close, or partial amounts). Click "Close Position" and approve the transaction. Your collateral plus/minus PnL returns to your wallet.

Set Take Profit / Stop Loss

For hands-off management, set automatic close orders:

  • Take Profit (TP): Automatically closes when price reaches your profit target
  • Stop Loss (SL): Automatically closes to limit losses if price moves against you

Click the "TP/SL" button next to your position. Set your target prices and confirm.

📋 First Trade Checklist

  • Wallet connected with SOL for fees
  • Small collateral amount ($10-50)
  • Low leverage (2x-5x)
  • Understand your liquidation price
  • Know how to close your position
  • Accept you might lose your collateral

Understanding Fees

Jupiter Perps charges several types of fees:

  • Opening Fee: 0.06% of position size for market orders
  • Closing Fee: 0.06% of position size when closing
  • Borrow Fee: Hourly fee for using leverage (varies by market utilization)
  • Price Impact: Additional cost for large orders affecting price

For a $100 position, expect roughly $0.12 total in open/close fees. Borrow fees accumulate over time, so shorter trades cost less.

Common First-Trade Mistakes

  • Too Much Leverage: Starting with 20x+ and getting liquidated on normal volatility
  • No Stop Loss: Watching a small loss become total liquidation
  • Wrong Direction: Accidentally opening a Long when you meant Short (or vice versa)
  • Ignoring Liquidation Price: Not realizing how close you are to losing everything
  • Size Too Large: Betting more than you can afford to lose

Track Your Progress

After your first trade, use PerpsTracker to analyze your performance. Enter your wallet address on our platform to see:

  • Complete trade history with entry/exit prices
  • Win rate and average profit/loss
  • Performance metrics across different timeframes
  • How you compare to other traders

🎓 Ready to Track Your Trading?

PerpsTracker gives you detailed analytics on every trade you make. See your win rate, average position size, and performance over time. Compare your results to top traders and identify areas to improve.

Track Your Wallet →

Next Steps

Congratulations on your first perpetual trade! Here's what to learn next: