Kraken?s education guide describes a common hedge: open a short perpetual futures position roughly equal to the spot exposure so that spot losses may be offset by futures gains. Its related collateral guide explains that crypto collateral can support USD-margined futures, but collateral values and account rules matter.
The main mistake is treating a hedge like a high-leverage directional bet. If a trader holds 1 BTC spot and opens a heavily leveraged short perp, a sharp rally can liquidate the short before the portfolio has time to benefit from the spot leg. The account then owns the original spot risk plus a realized futures loss, which is the opposite of hedging.
A better process starts with hedge ratio and time horizon. Decide whether the goal is a full notional hedge, a partial volatility hedge or protection around one event. Then check funding-rate cost, margin buffer, collateral haircuts, liquidation price and exit plan. Lower leverage usually makes sense for hedges because the objective is survival through volatility, not maximum capital efficiency.
Sources: Kraken guide to hedging a spot portfolio with perps; Kraken guide to crypto collateral for futures trading; Kraken support page on margin for U.S. futures.
Risk notice: This article is for market observation and trading education only. It is not personalized investment advice. Crypto, stocks, futures and leveraged products can produce large losses.
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