How Do ‘Quarterly Futures’ Contracts Align with Traditional Financial Market Derivatives?

Quarterly futures contracts in crypto are financial derivatives that have a fixed expiration date, typically settling on the last Friday of a quarter (March, June, September, December). This fixed, periodic expiration schedule directly aligns them with the structure of traditional financial market futures contracts, such as those for commodities or stock indices.

This alignment makes them familiar to institutional investors and allows for longer-term hedging and speculation compared to perpetual contracts.