Futures & Derivatives

Long and Short explained

Long (buy) and Short (sell) positions

Quick definition: Long means betting the price will rise; Short means betting it will fall. On futures, you can profit in either direction.

Open a Long: you profit when the price rises and lose when it falls. Open a Short: you profit when the price falls and lose when it rises.

You don't need to own the coin to Short. With futures contracts, you just post USDT as margin and choose the Short side.

Closing a Long means selling; closing a Short means buying back. So a "sell" order on an exchange can either open a new Short or close an existing Long.

💡 Example

You Short SOL at $200 and the price falls to $180: you make 10% (before leverage). If the price rises to $220, you lose 10%.

📊 See whether whales are Long or Short →

Related terms

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Educational content for reference only, not financial advice. Leveraged trading carries the risk of losing your entire capital.