How trading works
About Fairground
What is Fairground?
Fairground is a perpetual decentralized exchange built specifically for traders. It is designed to simplify perpetual trading so traders can take leveraged directional positions without platform mechanics or hidden variables interfering with the trade. The idea is simple: a perpetual market where outcomes are predictable because they depend only on whether you were right about price.Why should traders use Fairground?
Fairground is designed so traders can take leveraged directional positions without platform mechanisms or hidden variables influencing the trade. Other perpetual exchanges introduce additional mechanisms - such as funding rates or complex fee structures that affect trading costs and outcomes. Fairground minimizes these mechanisms to keep the trade simple, transparent and consistent for all participants. Key design principles:- No funding rates
- Upside-only rebates
- One clear market price
- One transparent fee
Market Design
How does trading work without funding rates?
Traditional perpetual exchanges charge periodic payments between long and shorts (funding rates) to keep the perpetual price anchored to the spot market. Fairground eliminates funding entirely. Instead, it uses an order-imbalance rebate system: when one side of the market has fewer participants, a portion of the trading fees is redistributed to that side. This encourages market balance without penalizing traders with ongoing holding costs.Are there hidden fees or costs without funding rates?
No. Traders pay a single trade fee when opening a position. There are no ongoing holding costs, funding payments, or borrowing fees. If you’re on the minority side of the market, you may also earn upside-only rebates funded by a portion of trading fees while holding the position.What are upside-only rebates?
Upside-only rebates mean traders can earn rebates but never pay additional costs for holding a position. When one side of the market has fewer participants, positions on that side may earn rebates funded by a portion of trading fees. Rebates accrue while the position helps balance the market and are paid when the position is partially or fully closed. If your position is on the more crowded side of the market, you simply pay the standard trade fee with no additional cost.Pricing
Where does the mark price come from?
Fairground uses a proprietary oracle built in-house to determine the market price. The protocol operates on a single oracle price, meaning there is no separate distinction between mark price and order book price.How often is the mark price updated?
The oracle price updates whenever activity occurs on the protocol, such as order submissions, trade matching, liquidations, or other on-chain actions. There is no fixed update interval - the price refreshes dynamically as the market operates.Are trading fees different for makers and takers?
No. Fairground does not distinguish between maker and taker fees. All trades pay a single flat fee based on trade size. Your net trading cost may vary depending on market balance, as a portion of trading fees may be rebated to traders on the less crowded side of the market. These rebates can reduce trading costs but never increase them.What token is used as collateral?
USDC is used as collateral for all trading on Fairground.Risk & Liquidation
How is my liquidation price calculated?
Your liquidation price is determined by your entry price, margin, leverage, and position direction. It is the price at which your remaining margin falls below the maintenance margin requirement, making the position eligible for liquidation.Can my position be liquidated as soon as the liquidation price is reached?
Yes. If the oracle price places your position within the liquidatable range when a keeper submits a liquidation transaction, your position may be liquidated. There is no grace period or buffer.What happens if my position is liquidated? Will I lose all of my margin?
Not necessarily. If your position is liquidated while there is still margin remaining, the unused portion of your margin is returned to you after losses are settled. If the position’s margin has fallen below a defined threshold at liquidation, the remaining margin may be transferred to the Insurance Fund.Can profitable positions be auto-deleveraged (ADL)?
Yes. Auto-deleveraging (ADL) may reduce positions on the profitable side of the market, since they are the counterparties to liquidated positions.It is a last-resort mechanism that only occurs if the Insurance Fund cannot cover liquidation losses.Orders
How are orders matched?
Orders are matched using price-time priority. The best available price is matched first, and orders at the same price are filled in the order they were received (FIFO). This is the same matching model used by traditional exchanges.How is my entry price calculated if my order fills across multiple price levels?
Your entry price is the size-weighted average of all fill prices. If part of your order fills at one price and the rest fills at another, those fills are combined proportionally so your entry price reflects what you paid across all fills.What does “partially filled” mean?
If there isn’t enough opposing order volume to fill your entire order, the portion that can be matched executes immediately. The remaining size stays open in the order book until more opposing orders become available.Can I cancel my order? Is there a cancellation fee?
Yes, you can cancel your open order you own at any time, and there is no cancellation fee.Can I update my order price or size after it has been submitted?
Yes. As long as your order has not been filled, you can update both the price and size.Positions
Can I have both a long and short position open on the same market at the same time?
No. Each wallet can hold only one position per market. To switch direction, you must first close your existing position. Support for multiple positions will be introduced in future releases.Does Fairground use cross margin or isolated margin?
Fairground uses isolated margin, meaning each position has its own margin. A liquidation on one position does not impact your other positions.Can I add or remove margin from an open position?
Removing margin will move your liquidation price closer to the current market price. However, the protocol prevents margin from being removed if doing so would cause the position to be immediately liquidated.Can I close part of my position?
Yes. You can close any portion of an open position.Are they limits to how much I can trade?
Yes. Each market has a minimum and maximum trade size, which may vary by market.Product
Will there be a mobile app?
Yes, a mobile app is in the works, but it will not be available during the first few seasons.Season 0
Overview
How long will Season 0 run?
Season 0 is a limited, closed testnet scheduled to begin on May 4th. The test period will run for up to 2.5 weeks, depending on testing progress and participant feedback.Will I need to use real funds to participate?
No. Participation uses Fairground Testnet USDC tokens, not real funds. Testnet USDC is deposited into participant wallets at the start of each epoch for trading and earning XPParticipation + Access
Why was I not selected for S0?
Season 0 is running with a smaller group of participants as we begin testing the platform’s core mechanics and gathering feedback. If you weren’t selected for Season 0, you’ll remain on the waitlist and receive priority access for Season 1.Is my private data collected?
Participation in the testnet requires providing an email address and wallet address. Wallet age and certain on-chain activity indicators may also be reviewed to support participant selection and testnet operations. User data is retained for up to 12 months in accordance with security and compliance requirements. All information is automatically deleted after this period.Season 0 Trading
What markets are available in Season 0?
During Season 0, Fairground supports the following perpetual markets:- Crypto
- BTC / USD
- Forex
- JPY / USD
- Stocks
- NVDA / USD
- Commodities
- XAU / USD