Funding Rate
Periodic payment between perpetual futures longs and shorts that keeps the contract tethered to spot.
Binance BTCUSDT funding is currently +0.0100% per 8h, with a median of +0.0031% across 29 tracked perps. The lowest rate right now is ARB at -0.0035%, the highest is SEI at +0.0100%.
On perpetual futures (perps) there is no expiry, so instead of delivery the exchange forces a periodic transfer between the two sides to anchor the contract price to the spot index. Each exchange sets the interval per contract: commonly every 8 hours, with some contracts settling every 4 hours or every hour. A positive rate means longs pay shorts (perp is trading at a premium). Negative means shorts pay longs (perp at discount). An extreme rate describes crowded positioning; on its own it does not say when that positioning unwinds. We track this live on the funding heatmap and combine it with open-interest delta to produce the Pressure Score.
Funding Rate FAQ
What is a funding rate in crypto?
A funding rate is a periodic payment exchanged between longs and shorts on perpetual futures. Because a perp never expires, funding is the mechanism that keeps its price anchored to the spot index: a positive rate means longs pay shorts (perp trading at a premium), a negative rate means shorts pay longs (perp at a discount).
What are crypto funding rates right now?
Whenever fresh data is available, the live snapshot on this page shows Binance BTCUSDT's current rate, the median across the tracked top-30 perps, and the most extreme positive and negative contracts right now, refreshed roughly every 20 minutes.
How often are funding rates paid?
On Binance USDT-M perpetuals, most contracts settle every 8 hours at 00:00, 08:00 and 16:00 UTC. Binance shortens the interval to 4 hours or less on volatile listings, and other exchanges use their own cadence, with some settling hourly.
Are high funding rates bullish or bearish?
Extreme funding mostly signals crowded positioning rather than direction. Very high positive funding means longs are crowded and paying heavily to stay in, which often precedes mean reversion or a long squeeze; deeply negative funding marks crowded shorts and short-squeeze fuel. It works best read together with open interest and price structure.
Can you earn money from funding rates?
Yes, that is the funding carry or cash-and-carry trade: when funding is persistently positive, holding spot and shorting the perp collects the funding payments while remaining price-neutral. The funding arb scanner on this site annualizes the net cross-exchange spreads after taker fees.