Orca Crypto
Menu
Start Here
Learn
Chains
Exchanges
Markets
Tools
Safety
Glossary
More
Our tokens Book a session
Trading term

Funding rate

The periodic payment between longs and shorts in a perpetual market.

Loading live prices
All terms
All termsAddressBlockBlock timeBlockchainConfirmationGasGweiHashMempoolNodePrivate keyPublic keySeed phraseTransactionWalletAll time high (ATH)Bear marketBull marketBundlerCandlestickCapitulationChart patternsCliffDollar cost averaging (DCA)Funding rateLeverageLimit orderLiquidationLiquidityMarket capMarket orderOrder bookPerp (perpetual futures)Position sizingPresaleRisk managementSlippageSniperSpreadStealth launchStop lossSupport and resistanceTrendUnlockVestingVolatilityVolumeWhaleAMMBonding curveBridgeBurnCEXDAODeFiDepegDEXFarmingFlash loanGovernance tokenGraduationImpermanent lossLiquidity poolLP (liquidity provider)LP tokenOraclePerpetual (perp)PointsRestakingRWAStablecoinTVLWrapped tokenYield farmingAirdropAlphaAnonApe (to ape in)Ape inBagholderBagsChadCope / copiumCrypto Twitter (CT)DegenDevDiamond handsDiscordExit liquidityFloor priceFOMOFUDGMHODLJeetKOLLARPLoreMaxiMeme coinMoonNFTNGMINo coinerNormiePaper handsPFPRaidRektSerShillSnapshotTelegram (TG)TradFiWAGMIWenAddress poisoningCold storageCustodyDue diligence (DYOR)Dusting attackExit scamFront runningHardware walletHoneypotHot walletMEVMultisigPhishingPump and dumpRug pullSandwich attackSelf custodySIM swapToken approvalTwo factor authenticationWallet drainerWash tradingAccount abstractionAppchainBlock explorerCirculating and total supplyConsensusData availabilityEVMFaucetFinalityForkFully diluted valuation (FDV)Gas warHalvingLayer 1Layer 2Layer 3MainnetMiningName serviceOptimistic rollupProof of stakeProof of workRollupShardingSidechainSlashingSmart contractStakingTestnetToken standardTokenomicsValidatorZero knowledge proofZK rollupArweave and the permawebComposabilityCross chain messagingdAppDecentralized identity (DID)DePINGameFi and play to earnIndexerInteroperabilityIPFSOnchain and offchainSession keysSmart accountSocialFiSoulbound tokenSybil resistanceToken gatingWeb2 vs Web3Web3
By the Orca Crypto teamUpdated 2026-09-28How we check this3 min readDefinition
Definition

The periodic payment between longs and shorts in a perpetual market.

When the perp trades above spot, longs pay shorts. When it trades below, shorts pay longs. The mechanism nudges the contract back toward the underlying price.

Extended periods of high funding show one side is heavily crowded and paying for the privilege, which tends not to last.

In practice

Funding above 0.1 percent per eight hours is expensive and usually signals an overheated long side.

What people get wrong

That funding is a fee the exchange charges. It is paid between traders, from the crowded side to the other, and it is a live readout of positioning. Extreme funding tells you where the leverage is, which is usually where the liquidations happen next.

Common questions

Who pays the funding rate?
Whichever side is crowded. When the perp trades above spot, longs pay shorts, and the reverse below. It is the mechanism that keeps a contract with no expiry tethered to reality.
What does a very high funding rate tell me?
That one side is crowded and paying dearly to stay there. Sustained extremes often come shortly before the squeeze that clears them out.

Where this comes up on the site

The guides that actually use this word, rather than a list of everything we have written.

Where to go next

More trading terms

Back to the full encyclopedia

Want this explained out loud?

Some of these land faster in conversation than in writing. Sessions are one to one and you can ask anything, including the things that feel too obvious to ask.

Share this page

Was this page useful?