# Stock Perpetuals and Where They Trade Cross-Asset Desk Research. Edition of 24 September 2026; terms read 18 September 2026. Weights: What one account reaches 32 · Cost of getting in and out 28 · Custody of the margin 18 · How the venue has held up 12 · The book behind the quote 10, on a scale of 100. Version 1.1, fixed 23 September 2026. Method: https://gerhardandlinger.net/method ## In brief Stock perpetuals track a listed share's price with USDT as collateral and no share ever changing hands. Six venues on the register list them; Lighter leads our scoring at 90 of 100. An equity gaps at an opening bell. The margin behind a leveraged position is all it has, and a market that gaps can take the lot. ## Venues listing equity or index perpetuals Ordered by the overall score. The classes column shows how equity exposure sits inside each venue's wider listing, because on all of them shares are a side product of a crypto perpetual venue rather than a brokerage service. It is also the column that decides the rows: this desk scores a venue only when its own documentation lists four or more asset classes outside crypto, which is why ApeX Omni and Paradex, both of which list shares and stop at three classes, are read by this desk and ranked nowhere. | # | Venue | Asset classes listed | Score of 100 | Perp markets | Maker / taker | Venue type | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Lighter | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices, pre-IPO, bonds | 90 | 214 | 0% / 0% | Hybrid, ZK-proven | | 2 | Extended | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices, pre-IPO | 85 | 325 | 0% / 0.025% | Hybrid | | 3 | Aster | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices, pre-IPO | 82 | 578 | 0% / 0.040% | Own layer 1, operator-run | | 4 | Hyperliquid | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices | 76 | 324 | 0.015% / 0.045% | On-chain order book | | 5 | EVEDEX | crypto, commodities, FX, stocks, indices, pre-IPO | 67 | 52 | 0.015% / 0.045% | Hybrid | | 6 | Aevo | crypto, stocks, commodities, FX, pre-IPO | 58 | 102 | 0.050% / 0.080% | Hybrid | Figures read on 18 September 2026; fees are the entry tier on the BTC perpetual. Access differs by country. ## What the ranking turns on 1. No brokerage account: a wallet signature opens the position, and nothing is registered in your name. 2. No dividends, no votes: the contract tracks a price and pays funding, nothing else. 3. Widest equity lists: Aster and Extended, at 578 and 325 markets across all classes. 4. Open when the exchange is shut: EVEDEX documents 24/7 trading on its five US shares and its index market. ## The order-book readings BTC order books read on a timer, ten minutes apart, closing 17:58 UTC on 20 September 2026; medians of the snapshots behind each row. | Venue | Median spread | Median depth within 10 bps | Median impact, $100,000 order | $10,000 round trip, taker fees | Snapshots | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Lighter | 0.27 bps | $16.5 million | 0.45 bps | $0.00 | 17 | | Extended | 0.12 bps | $7.4 million | 0.06 bps | $5.00 | 17 | | Aster | 0.01 bps | $13.8 million | 0.39 bps | $8.00 | 27 | | Hyperliquid | 0.12 bps | $10.1 million | 0.06 bps | $9.00 | 28 | | EVEDEX | 4.12 bps | $19.1 million | 2.06 bps | $9.00 | 28 | | Aevo | 1.61 bps | $3.8 million | 2.87 bps | $16.00 | 28 | ## 1. [Lighter](https://docs.lighter.xyz) — for equities inside the cheapest venue here Score 90 of 100. Lighter lists stocks among six asset classes across 214 markets ([Lighter docs](https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/real-world-assets-rwas.md), checked 18 September 2026), with the default account at 0% maker / 0% taker. Trades are proven on Ethereum in batches and exits can be forced on-chain. - In favour: 0% maker and taker on the default account; On-chain exit documented. - Against it: Hours stated for its real-world-asset markets but not venue-wide; 300 ms taker delay on the free tier. - Wrong fit for: traders who need the equity session written down. ## 2. [Extended](https://docs.extended.exchange/) — for equities and pre-IPO in one listing Score 85 of 100. Extended lists 325 markets across five classes, equities and pre-IPO contracts among them ([Extended docs](https://docs.extended.exchange/extended-resources/trading/rwa-markets), checked 18 September 2026), at 0% maker / 0.025% taker for every account, with audits and a bug bounty behind it. - In favour: 325 markets, pre-IPO included; Public bug bounty of up to $500,000. - Against it: Prime real-world-asset markets halt outside their sessions; No documented forced withdrawal. - Wrong fit for: traders who want an operator-independent exit. ## 3. [Aster](https://docs.asterdex.com) — for the longest listing with equity exposure Score 82 of 100. Aster carries stocks and indices among six asset classes across 578 markets ([Aster docs](https://docs.asterdex.com/overview/what-is-aster.md), checked 18 September 2026) at 0% maker / 0.040% taker. Its Shield Mode quotes stock pairs at higher leverage than the order book, with a cap on profit per position. - In favour: 578 perpetual markets; 0% maker fee. - Against it: Chain contracts are not open-sourced; Shield Mode caps profit per position. - Wrong fit for: a desk that needs the chain under its positions publicly validated. ## 4. [Hyperliquid](https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs) — for equity markets deployed by builders Score 76 of 100. Of the 324 markets in four classes, a large share were deployed by builders rather than chosen by the venue ([Hyperliquid docs](https://api.hyperliquid.xyz/info), checked 18 September 2026). The entry tier reads 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker, and its BTC book held a median $10.1 million inside 10 bps. - In favour: Median BTC depth of $10.1 million; Every order recorded on its own chain. - Against it: Builder-deployed markets are not reviewed by the interface operator; No documented forced withdrawal. - Wrong fit for: traders who want every listing vetted by one operator. ## 5. EVEDEX — for five shares and an index that never close Score 67 of 100. EVEDEX lists TSLA, COIN, MSTR, CRCL and SPCX plus an SPY index market, with up to 50x leverage on them, and states that all 52 of its markets trade 24/7 (18 September 2026, EVEDEX documentation). Margin is cross only, posted in USDT. Fees are 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker before cashback on fees already paid. - In favour: Equity markets documented as open 24/7; Shares, metals, energy and crypto in one USDT balance. - Against it: Five equity markets against dozens on oracle-priced venues; Cross margin only, so one loss eats another position's collateral. - Wrong fit for: UK retail clients. ## 6. [Aevo](https://www.aevo.xyz/docs) — for equities and ETFs in the same margin account Score 58 of 100. Aevo's market list carries 32 equity markets and four ETF markets — SPY, QQQ, SOXL and DRAM — among 102 perpetuals ([Aevo market list](https://api.aevo.xyz/markets?instrument_type=PERPETUAL), checked 18 September 2026). Real-world-asset contracts are capped at 10x where BTC runs to 20x, and every position draws on one margin pool. Rates are 0.050% maker / 0.080% taker. - In favour: 32 equity markets and four ETF markets in one list; One margin pool behind equity and crypto alike. - Against it: Equity contracts capped at 10x against 20x on BTC; No trading-hours policy in the documentation we read. - Wrong fit for: traders who need an equity position closable at a stated hour. ## What stock perpetuals are, and what they are not It is a contract on a share price with no expiry, margined in stablecoin. It is not a share: there is no register entry, no dividend, no vote and no claim on the company. Corporate actions — splits, dividends, delistings — are handled by each venue's own rules rather than by a transfer agent, and those rules differ, which is worth reading before holding a position through one. That structure is also why these markets open from a wallet with no paperwork. A brokerage account exists to record ownership; a perpetual records only a position. ## The session problem, in the market where it bites hardest Equities have the shortest session of any asset class here: Ostium documents stocks from 9:30 to 16:00 ET on weekdays, auto-closing day trades at 15:45 and rejecting market orders outside the window ([Ostium market reference](https://docs.ostium.com/traders/reference/markets), checked 18 September 2026). Everything that moves a share price — earnings, guidance, a regulatory filing — lands outside those hours by design. EVEDEX states that its five US shares and its index market trade 24/7 like everything else it lists (18 September 2026, EVEDEX documentation). Lighter says the same of its real-world-asset markets, equities among them ([Lighter docs](https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/real-world-assets-rwas.md), checked 18 September 2026), while Aster, Hyperliquid and Aevo document no hours policy anywhere we read. A quote when the exchange is closed is the venue's own opinion of the price, not a reflection of one, and it can move sharply when the market reopens. ## How the comparison was made Every column here but one is read rather than measured. On 18 September 2026 the desk read each venue's terms and documentation for what it lists, when those markets are open, what it charges, who can move the collateral. Depth nobody publishes, so the desk took it: each BTC perpetual book read on a timer, ten minutes apart, closing 17:58 UTC on 20 September 2026. The desk keeps an account at none of them. The same five criteria, settled on 23 September 2026 and set out on the [method](/method) page, order the 6 venues scored here. The hours are the softest column here, and one page is ordered by them — a line in a venue's own document about when a market is open, not something anyone watched. Custody is read the same way. Depth is measured, but only on BTC, the one contract all of these venues run; thickness there says nothing about the XAUT book beside it. Fees are the day-one rate, nothing a trader earns back taken off. ## In their own words > "Stocks: Monday-Friday, 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM ET." — Ostium documentation, Markets reference, 21 September 2026. https://docs.ostium.com/traders/reference/markets > "In addition to crypto markets, Extended offers perpetual contracts on a range of traditional financial (RWA) assets, under two execution models:" — Extended documentation, real-world-asset markets, 18 September 2026. https://docs.extended.exchange/extended-resources/trading/rwa-markets > "HyperCore includes fully onchain perpetual futures and spot order books. Every order, cancel, trade, and liquidation happens transparently with one-block finality inherited from HyperBFT." — Hyperliquid documentation, about Hyperliquid, 18 September 2026. https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/about-hyperliquid.md ## FAQ ### what are stock perpetuals Perpetual contracts that track the price of a listed share, margined in USDT with no expiry date. They give price exposure without ownership: no shareholding is registered, no dividend is paid, and the position settles in stablecoin whatever the share does at the exchange. ### can you trade stocks with crypto Yes, as a contract on a share price rather than the share itself, with USDT as collateral. A wallet signature replaces the brokerage account. Nothing is registered in your name, which is exactly why no documents are requested at any point in the process. ### how to trade stocks with crypto Connect a wallet to a venue that lists an equity market, deposit USDT, then open a long or a short on the share you want exposure to. Nothing is registered in your name and no brokerage account exists, so there is no application, no documents and no settlement in dollars. ### Do stock perpetuals pay dividends? No. Funding payments between longs and shorts are the only cash flows in the contract, and they exist to keep it near the underlying price. How a venue handles a dividend date or a split is set by its own rules, which differ, so read them before holding through one. ### Which stocks can you trade as perpetuals? Large US-listed names, mostly. EVEDEX lists TSLA, COIN, MSTR, CRCL and SPCX plus an SPY index market; Aster, Extended, Lighter and Aevo each carry their own sets alongside crypto; and the oracle-priced Ostium lists dozens of equities and ETFs on top of that, with the cash session attached to each one. ### Are stock perpetuals open after hours? It depends entirely on the venue. Ostium follows the cash session, 9:30 to 16:00 ET on weekdays, and rejects market orders outside it. EVEDEX describes equity exposure available around the clock, and Lighter says its real-world-asset markets run continuously, which means the venue is quoting while the exchange is shut. ### What leverage is available on stock perpetuals? Lower than on crypto, and for good reason: EVEDEX allows up to 50x on its equity and index markets. A single share can gap several percent at the open on an earnings release, which closes the distance to liquidation faster than any intraday crypto move. ### can you buy stocks with crypto Not on these venues. A brokerage buys and registers shares in your name, with the investor protections that come with it. What opens here is a leveraged contract on a price: no share, no registration, and no protection beyond what the venue's own terms provide. ### is trading stocks and crypto the same On these venues the mechanics are: one order book, one USDT balance, funding instead of a settlement date. The underlying is not. A share answers to earnings dates, splits and a cash session that closes; a crypto pair answers to none of those, which is why the leverage caps differ. ### What happens at a stock split? The venue adjusts the contract according to its own corporate-action rules, and those rules are not standardised across venues. Because there is no share behind the contract, the adjustment is a bookkeeping decision by the operator rather than a market-wide event. ### Can I short a stock perpetual? Yes, and without borrowing anything: a short is just the other side of the contract, paying or receiving funding as the rate dictates. That removes the borrow fee and locate problem that short selling a real share involves. What replaces it is funding, which can run against a short for as long as the crowd on that market is long. ### Which venue is best for equity exposure? For breadth of listings, the oracle-priced venues carry far more names. Among order-book venues, Lighter scores 90 of 100 here and Extended 85; if the position has to be closable outside the cash session, EVEDEX is the one documenting 24/7 markets. ## About this sheet One published formula; every figure dated. Corrections: desk@gerhardandlinger.net. — Cross-Asset Desk Research. Edition of 24 September 2026. This desk is paid to publish, and a venue covered here may be the party that paid.