# Lynx Finance

> Lynx Finance is a non-custodial, on-chain platform for perpetual markets and multiplayer crypto trading games.

Lynx has two main product surfaces: Terminal for leveraged perpetual trading and Arcade for timed multiplayer games based on live crypto prices. Product availability, networks, room configuration, and trading parameters can change; the live application and protocol documentation are the source of truth.

The educational material linked below is general information, not financial advice. It explains common market concepts and calls out Lynx-specific behavior where relevant.

## Product and protocol

- [Lynx Finance](https://lynx.finance/): Product overview for Terminal and Arcade.
- [Lynx application](https://app.lynx.finance/leverage): Live Lynx Terminal; connect a wallet to see current markets and parameters.
- [Lynx Arcade](https://app.lynx.finance/arcade): Live game lobby and current room availability.
- [Protocol documentation](https://lynx-finance.gitbook.io/lynx-finance): Technical and user documentation for Lynx.
- [Product updates](https://lynx.finance/updates/): Announcements and product changes.
- [Introducing Lynx Arcade](https://lynx.finance/updates/introducing-lynx-arcade/index.html.md): Meet Lynx Arcade, where Gridy and Uppy turn live crypto prices into fast multiplayer rounds configured from the live lobby.

## Learn

- [Learning hub](https://lynx.finance/blog/): Guides to perpetual markets, leverage, liquidation, funding, and crypto trading games.
- [Crypto liquidation explained: what happens and who gets the money](https://lynx.finance/blog/crypto-liquidation/index.html.md): What liquidation means in crypto perpetuals, step by step: margin, liquidation price, what happens to your funds, who receives them, and how to reduce the risk.
- [What is a crypto price prediction game?](https://lynx.finance/blog/crypto-price-prediction-game/index.html.md): What crypto price prediction games are, how PvP up-or-down rounds work on-chain, and how winnings settle from live market prices.
- [Leverage, margin, and position size in crypto perpetuals](https://lynx.finance/blog/leverage-margin-position-size/index.html.md): How leverage, margin, notional value, and position size relate in perpetual futures, with worked examples for sizing a trade with a liquidation buffer.
- [What is a perp DEX? Decentralized perpetual exchanges explained](https://lynx.finance/blog/what-is-a-perp-dex/index.html.md): What a perp DEX is, how decentralized perpetual exchanges execute and settle trades, and how they differ from centralized futures venues.
- [Why funding rates go negative (and what it tells you)](https://lynx.finance/blog/why-funding-rates-go-negative/index.html.md): Why perpetual futures funding rates turn negative, what the mechanics reveal about market positioning, and how to read a negative rate before trading.
- [On-chain perpetual futures, explained](https://lynx.finance/blog/onchain-perpetual-futures-explained/index.html.md): How perpetual futures work without an expiry date, what funding and liquidation do, and what changes when execution moves on-chain.

## Glossary

- [Glossary index](https://lynx.finance/glossary/): Reviewed definitions for perpetual-market terminology.
- [Perpetual futures](https://lynx.finance/glossary/perpetual-futures/index.html.md): A perpetual future is a derivative contract that follows the price of an underlying asset without a fixed expiration date. Traders take long or short exposure without owning the asset itself. Margin supports the position, funding helps keep the contract near its reference market, and losses can trigger liquidation.
- [Funding rate](https://lynx.finance/glossary/funding-rate/index.html.md): The funding rate is a periodic rate used by many perpetual futures markets to encourage the contract price to stay near its reference price. A payment normally moves between long and short position holders: when the rate is positive longs commonly pay shorts, while a negative rate commonly reverses that flow.
- [Collateral](https://lynx.finance/glossary/collateral/index.html.md): Collateral is the asset value committed to support a leveraged position and absorb its losses and costs. It helps a venue enforce margin requirements without requiring the trader to pay the position’s full notional value. Collateral may be isolated to one position or shared across positions, depending on the venue’s margin model.
- [Leverage](https://lynx.finance/glossary/leverage/index.html.md): Leverage describes how large a trading position is relative to the capital supporting it. A $5,000 position backed by $1,000 of collateral has 5× leverage. Leverage magnifies the effect of price changes, fees, and funding on that collateral, but it is not a complete measure of a position’s risk.
- [Initial and maintenance margin](https://lynx.finance/glossary/initial-and-maintenance-margin/index.html.md): Initial margin is the minimum eligible equity a venue requires to open or increase a leveraged position. Maintenance margin is the lower ongoing threshold required to keep that exposure open. When account or position equity falls below the applicable maintenance requirement, the venue can reduce or liquidate exposure according to its rules.
- [Liquidation](https://lynx.finance/glossary/liquidation/index.html.md): Liquidation is the venue-controlled process of reducing or closing leveraged exposure after its supporting equity no longer satisfies required risk thresholds. It is intended to limit further losses to the trader and market, but can involve fees, partial or full closure, unfavorable execution, and outcomes that differ from the displayed estimate.
- [Index price](https://lynx.finance/glossary/index-price/index.html.md): The index price is a reference value intended to represent the external spot price of the asset underlying a derivative. A venue may combine prices from multiple exchanges or oracle publishers, apply weights, and remove stale or abnormal inputs. The index can inform funding, marking, settlement, and other risk calculations.
- [Mark price](https://lynx.finance/glossary/mark-price/index.html.md): The mark price is a venue-calculated fair-price estimate used for functions such as unrealized PnL, margin checks, and liquidation. It is designed to be harder to distort than a single last trade. Its formula commonly references an index price and market premium, but the exact inputs, bounds, and update rules vary.
- [Position size and notional value](https://lynx.finance/glossary/position-size-and-notional-value/index.html.md): Position size describes the quantity of derivative exposure a trader holds. Notional value expresses that exposure in a reference currency, commonly by multiplying quantity by the relevant asset price. Notional is not the same as collateral, account balance, or maximum loss; it is the market value on which PnL and many costs are based.
- [Realized and unrealized PnL](https://lynx.finance/glossary/realized-and-unrealized-pnl/index.html.md): Profit and loss, or PnL, measures how a position’s value has changed. Unrealized PnL is the estimated gain or loss on exposure that remains open, usually calculated with a venue-defined mark. Realized PnL records the result assigned when exposure is closed or settled, with fees and funding handled according to venue rules.
- [Slippage and price impact](https://lynx.finance/glossary/slippage-and-price-impact/index.html.md): Price impact is the change in expected execution caused by the size of a trader’s own order relative to available liquidity. Slippage is the difference between an expected execution price and the price ultimately received. They can overlap, but market movement, latency, transaction ordering, and execution rules can create slippage beyond quoted price impact.
- [Open interest](https://lynx.finance/glossary/open-interest/index.html.md): Open interest is the total amount of derivative contracts or exposure that remains open and has not been offset or settled. It changes when positions create or remove outstanding exposure. Unlike trading volume, which counts activity during a period, open interest describes the stock of active contractual exposure at a point in time.

## Trust and policies

- [Editorial policy](https://lynx.finance/editorial-policy/): Authorship, technical review, sourcing, corrections, and educational-use policy.
- [Lynx Editorial profile](https://lynx.finance/contributors/lynx-editorial/): Editorial contributor details.
- [Lynx Protocol Team profile](https://lynx.finance/contributors/lynx-protocol-team/): Technical reviewer details.
- [Terms of use](https://app.lynx.finance/terms): Terms governing the live application.
- [Privacy policy](https://app.lynx.finance/privacy): Privacy information for the live application.

## Optional

- [Full LLM context](https://lynx.finance/llms-full.txt): Consolidated full text of all published updates, learning guides, and glossary entries.
- [RSS feed](https://lynx.finance/rss.xml): Updates and blog posts in RSS format.
- [XML sitemap](https://lynx.finance/sitemap.xml): Canonical indexable website URLs.