#美SEC促进加密资产创新监管框架 A lot of people ask me: Is buying coins considered spot trading or futures? Today, I’ll explain these two concepts in plain language.

Let’s talk about spot trading first—in simple terms, it’s “pay money, get the goods right away.” When you buy tokens on a trading platform, those coins are immediately in your account, and you can withdraw them whenever you want. It’s just like buying oranges at a fruit stand: once you pay, you can take a bite right away 🍊. How is the price determined? It depends on how many people are buying and selling at the time, and it’s completely transparent.

Now, let’s look at futures—this is “agree on a price now, make the transaction at a set time in the future.” For example, if you predict that a certain coin will go up in three months but you’re short on cash now, you can sign a contract to lock in today’s price and complete the transaction on the agreed date. Even if the market price doubles by then, you still settle at the original price.

What’s the core difference? Spot trading means you own the asset immediately, while futures use a contract to agree on a trade in the future. The former is suitable for long-term holding or spot arbitrage; the latter is more often used for hedging risks or leveraging trades.

Advice for beginners: Start with spot trading to understand market patterns, and only try futures contracts when you have more experience. After all, futures come with leverage—while your gains can multiply, so can your risks.

$BTC $ETH