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What is Strike? A plain-English guide to the exchange
What you can trade on Strike, how copy trading works, who it is for, and how a first visit goes, in plain words for people who have never traded a perp.
Not affiliated with Strike. Not financial advice.
In one minute
- What it is: Strike is an exchange for perps, which are bets on a price going up or down, across crypto, big-name stocks, gold, silver and oil.
- Who it's for: traders who want more than crypto in one place, and people who would rather copy an experienced trader than trade themselves.
- The one thing to know: perps use leverage, which makes gains and losses bigger. Start small and learn how liquidation works first.
What is Strike?
Strike Finance is a perpetual futures exchange. A perpetual future, or perp, is a contract that follows the price of something, such as Bitcoin or Tesla, without you owning it. You can profit if the price rises, by going long, or if it falls, by going short.
Strike started on Cardano in May 2025. It now runs its own trading engine with an order book, the system large exchanges use. Buyers and sellers post the prices they want, and the engine matches them. Your funds sit in smart contracts on the blockchain, and your balance is held in US dollars.
What can you trade?
Strike lists 34 markets. They fall into four groups.
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Crypto | Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Cardano, HYPE |
| Stocks and private companies | Nvidia, Tesla, Alphabet, Coinbase, SpaceX |
| Indices | S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 |
| Commodities | Gold, silver, WTI crude oil |
Everything sits on one account and one balance. You do not need a separate stock broker to trade Nvidia next to Bitcoin.
What is copy trading?
Copy trading lets Strike place trades on your account whenever a trader you choose makes a trade. You can copy traders on Strike, or any wallet on Hyperliquid, a large exchange where every trade is public. You choose how big each copied trade is, and you can cap how much of your balance it uses.
Who it's for
- You trade crypto and want stocks or gold too. A Bitcoin trade and a gold trade can sit on the same account.
- You would rather not pick every trade. You copy a trader whose record you have checked, with limits on how much of your balance each copy can use.
- You are new to trading. Connect a wallet, deposit a small amount, and learn while the numbers are small. This series walks you through it.
How to get started
- Go to app.strikefinance.org in a browser, or use the Strike mobile app.
- Sign in by connecting a wallet. Wallets on Cardano, Ethereum and Solana all work.
- Deposit. Send crypto from a Cardano, Ethereum, Solana, Base, Arbitrum or Bitcoin wallet, or pay by card up to $50,000. Coins that move in price are swapped to dollars on arrival, so your balance is always in US dollars.
- Look around before you trade. The Trade page shows the chart and the order panel; Copy Trading and Earn have their own menus.
A worked example
This is an example, not a suggestion. Say you deposit $100 and open a $100 long on gold with no leverage. If gold rises 5%, your position is worth about $105, less a small trading fee. If gold falls 5%, it is worth about $95.
With leverage, both of those moves get bigger. That is the topic of the leverage guide, part 3 of this series.
Things worth knowing
- Leverage can liquidate you. If a leveraged trade moves far enough against you, the exchange closes it and you lose the money behind it. Part 4 of this series explains how to keep clear of that.
- Withdrawals have limits. Strike caps how much can leave in any rolling 1-hour and 24-hour window. If a withdrawal would go over the cap, it waits until earlier withdrawals age out of the window.
- Copying a trader does not copy their results. Your copy uses your own leverage and size, and it starts from the moment you subscribe. Your results can differ from theirs.
Questions people ask
Do I need ADA or a Cardano wallet?
No. An Ethereum or Solana wallet works too, and deposits can be made by card.
Is Strike only for crypto?
No. Stocks, indices and commodities trade on the same account as Bitcoin, as perps.
Can I copy a trader instead of trading myself?
Yes. Copy trading places a trade on your account whenever the trader you chose makes one, within limits you set.
How I use it
I do not trade by hand. I copy two traders from Hyperliquid on Strike, one on my main account and one on a sub-account. I check every trader's full history first. My rule: decide your limits before your first copy, not after your first loss.
Next
- Next: What is a perp? (Start here, part 2)
- Then: Long, short and leverage, Liquidation and how to avoid it, Your first trade on Strike.
- Official docs: Welcome to Strike
- Try it: open Strike (my referral link, 5% off fees)
Not financial advice.