The state where futures trade above spot, usually because of financing costs and bullish positioning.
Last verified 13 September 2026 · written by the DexLadder team
What it means
The state where futures trade above spot, usually because of financing costs and bullish positioning.
Why it matters when you trade
In contango, simply rolling a long futures position from one expiry to the next loses money as the price converges down to spot — a slow bleed that has nothing to do with being right on direction. Products that hold rolling futures inherit this drag, which is why their long-run charts lag the asset they track.
Worked example
Buying the front-month at a 2% premium and rolling monthly costs roughly 24% a year in roll alone if the curve stays where it is.
See it on live markets
DexLadder runs contango against live market and pool data, with simulated capital, so you can watch it act on an order instead of reading about it — no account, no wallet, nothing installed.