Bitcoin Funding Rate
The funding rate is the payment that changes hands at regular intervals between the long and short sides of a BTC perpetual futures contract. It is the mechanism that keeps a contract with no expiry tethered to spot, which makes it a price for carrying leverage rather than a directional forecast: positive funding means longs are paying, negative funding means shorts are.
This chart shows real data up to September 27, 2026. The live value is free on Cedvel - no subscription needed.
Source: Coinalyze
What is it?
The funding rate is the periodic payment exchanged between the two sides of a BTC perpetual futures contract. Because a perpetual has no expiry, this is the mechanism that keeps its price tethered to spot: when the contract trades above spot the long side pays the short side, and when it trades below the short side pays the long side. It is not a price indicator but the PRICE OF LEVERAGE APPETITE in the futures market.
How is it calculated?
Coinalyze's daily close of the funding rate, reported per exchange, averaged across exchanges after picking a single perpetual contract per venue (so an exchange listing several quoted contracts doesn't get weighted multiple times). The value is a percentage PER FUNDING INTERVAL - not a daily or annualised rate - and because venues do not all use the same interval, the cross-exchange average combines contracts whose intervals are not strictly identical.
How to read it
Zero is where the direction of payment flips: above it the long side pays, below it the short side does. Position relative to zero and movement alongside price matter more than the level itself. Funding that stays positive and climbs says the advance is resting on long positions that are getting more expensive to carry; funding turning negative says the short side has started paying, i.e. positioning has shifted the other way. Values typically sit in the thousandths and hundredths of a percent, which is why Cedvel renders this series with its decimals intact.
Things to watch out for
There is no published, sourceable 'extreme funding' threshold, which is why Cedvel puts no bands or regime badge on this series and shows only the zero line. Funding is a settled payment rather than a forecast: it describes what the two sides were willing to pay at the time, not what happens next. It is not a standalone buy/sell signal; read it with open interest, long/short positioning and taker flow.
Historical usage
There is no published, sourceable 'extreme funding' threshold for this series, so Cedvel shows no bands or regime badge here - only the zero line where the direction of payment flips. Across the one-year window Cedvel publishes, funding has been positive and close to zero the large majority of the time, with negative days in the minority. In practice it is read against price and open interest rather than as a standalone number.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Bitcoin funding rate?
It is the rate of the payment exchanged at regular intervals between the two sides of a BTC perpetual futures contract. Because the contract never expires, this is what pulls its price toward spot: longs pay when it trades above spot, shorts pay when it trades below.
What does positive funding mean?
That longs are paying shorts, i.e. the perpetual is trading above spot. On its own it does not mean price will rise - it says carrying a long position has become expensive, so the advance is resting on a more leveraged base.
What does negative funding mean?
That shorts are paying longs, i.e. the contract is trading below spot. It shows up in stretches where positioning has shifted to the short side, and again is not a directional signal by itself.
Does high funding mean price will fall?
No. Funding measures what the two sides were willing to pay, not what happens next. High positive funding only says the long side is crowded and paying for it - which can also mean more fuel for a liquidation cascade if price moves the other way. It becomes informative alongside open interest, long/short positioning and taker flow.
What interval does this funding rate cover?
It is a percentage per funding interval - not a daily or annualised rate. Venues do not all settle on the same interval, so the cross-exchange average combines contracts whose intervals do not line up exactly.
Which exchanges does the data cover?
The major venues Coinalyze reports that list a stablecoin-quoted BTC perpetual. Where one exchange lists several such contracts only one is taken, so that venue is not counted multiple times in the average.