a funding rate is a periodic payment exchanged between long and short positions on a perpetual future, designed to keep the perp price tethered to the underlying spot index. when the perp trades above the index, longs pay shorts. when it trades below, shorts pay longs. the rate is typically charged every 1 to 8 hours depending on the venue, and it is the mechanism that makes a never-expiring contract still anchored to reality.
in plain english
imagine a crowded boat. when too many people stand on the long side, the boat tips, and they have to pay the short side to balance it. when shorts get crowded, the reverse. the funding rate is the pricing of that imbalance. if everyone is bullish and packed into longs, holding a long costs you money every funding interval. holding a short pays you.
how funding is calculated
each venue has its own formula, but the building blocks are nearly always the same:
- a premium component: how far the perp price is from the index price.
- an interest component: a small baseline rate, often near zero in crypto.
- a damping factor: prevents huge swings from spiking the rate to absurd levels.
- a payment cadence: usually every 1, 4, or 8 hours.
why funding rates exist
a perpetual contract has no expiry, so there is no settlement event to drag its price back to spot. funding is the substitute. when funding is positive, holding a long is expensive, so traders take profit or open shorts, pushing the perp price back down. when funding is negative, the reverse incentive kicks in. it is an equilibrium mechanism, not a tax.
how it shows up on uponly.win
every position you open via uponly is a perpetual on avantis on base, which means funding applies. on a short rip held for minutes, funding is rounding error. on a position held for hours or days, funding becomes a meaningful cost (or income, if you are on the right side). you can see the live funding rate for each pair on the avantis market your position is routed to. for a deeper read on how uponly routes execution, see how uponly was built in one night.
common confusions
funding rate is not interest on a loan. you are not paying the protocol for leverage. you are paying (or being paid by) the trader on the other side. funding rate is also not the same as the perp price premium, though it is calculated from it. and funding can be negative, which sometimes confuses people new to derivatives: a negative rate just means shorts pay longs instead of the other way around.
- longs pay shorts when funding is positive.
- shorts pay longs when funding is negative.
- funding is paid in the position's quote asset, deducted from margin.
- short-duration trades barely feel funding, swing trades absolutely do.
see also
- perpetual future definition
- mark price vs index price
- open interest definition
- long vs short position
- margin definition
curious what funding feels like on a real rip? open uponly and check the live funding rate on the pair you land on after you tap rip. short holds, you will barely notice. long holds, watch the funding tab closely.