Perpetual futures do not expire, so exchanges use funding payments to keep contract prices close to spot markets. Bybit’s funding-fee page explains that the fee is calculated from position value and funding rate, while Coinbase Learn describes funding as a periodic exchange between long and short positions. Kraken’s perpetual futures education also frames funding as the mechanism that anchors perps to spot prices.
The common beginner mistake is to treat funding as a small line item. If a trader holds a large leveraged position through multiple funding intervals, the fee can turn a flat market into a negative trade. A long position can pay shorts when funding is positive; a short can pay longs when funding is negative. The direction can change, so traders should not assume that yesterday’s carry will remain tomorrow’s carry.
A practical pre-trade routine is to check the current rate, the next estimated rate, the funding timestamp, and the position size in notional terms. For swing trades, convert the expected funding into daily or weekly cost. For hedges, include the fee in the hedge budget. For crowded momentum trades, rising funding can be a warning that the position is no longer cheap even if the chart still looks calm.
Sources: Bybit funding-fee calculation guide; Coinbase Learn on perpetual funding rates; Kraken U.S. perpetual futures guide.
Risk notice: This article is for market observation and trading education only. It is not personalized investment advice. Crypto, stocks, futures and leveraged products can produce large losses.
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