Understanding funding

Read the rate, settlement interval and timing before comparing funding observations.

Funding is a scheduled transfer between holders of perpetual futures. A positive settlement rate generally means longs pay shorts; a negative rate reverses that direction. The venue and contract determine the schedule and payment rules.

Rate and interval belong together

Do not assume every market settles every eight hours. Check the instrument’s current interval, the next settlement time and whether the displayed rate is an estimate or an applied rate. Comparing raw rates from different intervals can be misleading.

The funding rate reference owns the frozen Research units and calculation. Its value is a signed rate fraction, not an annualized yield. A value of 0.0001 is 0.01%; an actual payment also depends on the venue’s settlement rules and the position held.

Ask about timing without assuming the answer

Funding and time to settlement can describe a research condition. They do not prove crowding, force a squeeze or establish that traders will close positions before payment. Choose the scope, inspect the exact fields, and compare what followed across all eligible matches.

A published study asks one version of this question over the recorded record: does price fall when shorts are paying heavy funding just before settlement? Read its markets, dates and reference rate before carrying that result to a different scope.

Use the positioning guide for the terminal display and the Research Workbench to formulate a historical question. The API reference documents the exact request contract.