What Is Forex Trading? Pairs, Sessions and Perpetuals

September 21, 2026

7 minutes

Last Updated: November 4, 2026

Forex trading is buying one currency while selling another through a pair such as EUR/USD to profit from changes in the exchange rate, in a market that turned over $9.6 trillion a day in April 2025. On EVEDEX, EURUSD and USDJPY trade as perpetual contracts 24/7 with USDT margin, while most traders use brokers that close at weekends.

This guide explains how currency pairs and quotes work, why forex runs on sessions, what trading it costs and how EURUSD and USDJPY trade around the clock on EVEDEX, a crypto forex trading platform. The turnover figure comes from the BIS Triennial Survey.

Key takeaways

EVEDEX, a multi asset trading platform, lists EURUSD and USDJPY as perpetuals with USDT margin, with up to 150x on both pairs according to EVEDEX data as of November 9, 2026, falling as positions grow.
A forex trade is always a pair: you buy one currency and sell the other at the same time.
Spot forex trades 24 hours a day on weekdays, moving between Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York, and closes for the weekend.
Costs come from the spread, commissions and the overnight swap, or from fees and funding on perpetuals.
Leverage is the main risk: in the EU, retail leverage on major pairs at brokers is capped at 30:1.

What is forex trading and how does it work?

Every quote shows two currencies. In EUR/USD, the euro is the base currency and the US dollar is the quote currency: a price of 1.1650 means one euro costs 1.1650 dollars. Buying the pair means betting that the euro strengthens against the dollar; selling it means betting that it weakens.

Prices move in pips, usually the fourth decimal place, and positions are measured in lots at brokers or in contract quantity on derivatives venues. Because daily moves in major pairs are small in percentage terms, forex traders often use leverage, which magnifies both gains and losses. If you are about to place a first trade, our step-by-step guide on how to start forex trading covers the setup.

Forex trading sessions

Spot forex has no central exchange. Trading follows the sun across four financial centres:

Sydney opens the week.
Tokyo adds yen liquidity.
London is the deepest session.
New York overlaps with London in the afternoon in Europe, the busiest window for day trading in major pairs.

The market closes on Friday evening in New York and reopens on Sunday evening.

Broker or perpetual: two ways to trade currencies

Route	Pairs	Trading hours	Holding cost
EVEDEX: forex perpetuals	EURUSD and USDJPY	24/7, weekends included	Funding, calculated every 8 hours and charged hourly
Forex broker: spot or CFD	Dozens of pairs, including exotics	24 hours on weekdays, closed at weekends	Overnight swap

A broker offers far more pairs; a perpetual offers weekend trading and a single USDT balance shared with crypto and other markets. The EU caps retail leverage at brokers, as set out in the ESMA restriction on CFDs.

What does forex trading cost?

Costs decide whether a forex strategy pays. Is forex trading profitable once they are paid? For most retail accounts it is not, because costs apply to every trade, win or lose.

At a broker you pay the spread, sometimes a commission per lot, and a swap for every night a position stays open. On a perpetual you pay a trading fee on each fill and funding while the position is open: on EVEDEX it is calculated every 8 hours and charged hourly at one eighth of the rate. Market orders also add slippage.

Risks to know before you start

Leverage. At 100x, a 1% move against you is enough to lose the initial margin.
Gaps and news. Rate decisions and economic data can move pairs sharply within seconds.
Unlicensed sellers. Signal groups and brokers promising fixed returns are a common scam.
Concentration. Two pairs on a perpetual venue means less choice than at a broker.

Trading EURUSD and USDJPY on EVEDEX

EVEDEX lists EURUSD and USDJPY as perpetual contracts with USDT margin that trade 24/7, weekends included, next to crypto, gold, oil and stocks.

Forex pairs: EURUSD and USDJPY perpetuals with no expiry and no overnight swap; funding applies instead.
Leverage: EURUSD and USDJPY up to 150x, falling as positions grow, according to EVEDEX data as of November 9, 2026.
Fees: no more than 0.015% maker and 0.045% taker before cashback of up to 35%.
Funding: calculated every 8 hours and charged hourly at one eighth of the rate.
One balance: the same USDT balance covers crypto futures, gold, oil and stocks, so EVEDEX is a forex trading platform and a crypto venue in one account.
KYC: no classic KYC; you sign in with a wallet, email or social account, and every deposit passes an automated AML check.
Minimum deposit: 6 USDT; not available in restricted countries.

Perpetual contracts carry a high risk of loss.

FAQ

Forex trading is buying one currency while selling another through a currency pair such as EUR/USD, aiming to profit from changes in the exchange rate. You can go long if you expect the first currency to strengthen or short if you expect it to weaken. Most traders use leverage because daily moves in major pairs are small.

On EVEDEX, which lists EURUSD and USDJPY as perpetual contracts with USDT margin that trade 24/7, weekends included. Forex perpetuals are offered by some crypto derivatives venues rather than by classic forex brokers, so the choice of pairs is narrower than at a broker, while trading hours are longer.

Spot forex positions do not expire, but brokers roll them over every night and charge or pay a swap. Currency futures expire on a set date and have to be rolled into the next contract. Perpetual contracts have no expiry and use a funding rate instead of a swap.

A pip is the standard unit of price movement in a currency pair, usually the fourth decimal place, so EUR/USD moving from 1.1650 to 1.1651 is one pip. For yen pairs such as USD/JPY, a pip is the second decimal place. Brokers quote spreads and many traders measure targets in pips.

Compare the trading fee, the spread in the order book and the funding rate, not just the headline fee. On EVEDEX, fees are capped at 0.015% maker and 0.045% taker before cashback of up to 35%, and limit orders cost less than market orders. Market orders also add slippage, especially around news.

Spot forex trades 24 hours a day on weekdays, moving from Sydney and Tokyo to London and New York. It closes on Friday evening in New York and reopens on Sunday evening, and the London and New York overlap is usually the busiest window. Forex perpetuals on EVEDEX trade 24/7, weekends included.

On EVEDEX, EURUSD and USDJPY perpetuals go up to 150x, with leverage falling as positions grow, according to EVEDEX data as of November 9, 2026. At brokers in the EU, retail leverage on major pairs is capped at 30:1. High leverage cuts both ways: at 100x, a 1% move against you is enough to lose the initial margin.

Yes. Forex is the largest financial market in the world and is regulated in most countries through the brokers that offer it. The risks come from leverage and from unlicensed brokers or signal sellers that promise guaranteed returns, so check the regulator's register before depositing anywhere.