How people earn on funding

Funding is a payment between longs and shorts every 1–8 hours. When the market is skewed the rate goes extreme — and whoever is on the “right” side at the cut-off collects money from the crowd on the wrong one. The three strategies below are three ways to be on the right side: from a minutes-long snipe to a weeks-long farm.

minutes

Settlement snipe

The idea

Funding is paid at one moment — the cut-off. Enter the receiving side minutes before it, exit right after settlement. You hold risk not for 8 hours but for two–five minutes — exactly long enough to collect the payout.

Economics

Profit = |rate per interval| − entry/exit fees (0.11%) − slippage. At −1% per 4h, sniping a $10K position nets ≈ $88 per settlement. The calculator on each card computes it for your margin and leverage.

The risk — and why it's the main one

In the settlement window price often moves against the receiver: the crowd is doing the same thing. A 2% move at 10x leverage is ±$2,000 on that same $10K position — easily eating the $88 payout. The risk light on the card compares the observed price move with your distance to liquidation.

What the radar does

An alert ahead of the cut-off with the math done, a countdown, a position calculator, the risk light and “green” leverage. The radar doesn't decide for you — it makes the price of the decision visible.

live exampleONEBitget-0.645%/h$10K snipe ≈ $49 net →

hours

Hedged pair

The idea

A receiving position on the exchange with the extreme rate + an opposite position of the same size on another exchange or spot. Wherever price goes, one leg offsets the other while funding keeps dripping your way.

Economics

Profit = the rate spread between exchanges − four legs of fees (two positions × entry and exit). It works when one exchange pays −1%/4h while the same coin sits near zero next door — the “on N exchanges” block on the card shows that spread.

The risk

Price divergence between venues (basis), margin locked on both exchanges, and the worst case — one leg liquidated on a sharp move. Keep leverage low in a pair.

What the radar does

Coin grouping in the scanner instantly shows where the same coin trades elsewhere; the spread is on the card. Ready-made pairs with the four-leg math live on their own page: the spread right now, how many hours it holds, and how long it takes to cover fees.

Cross-exchange funding rate arbitrage: live pairs →Deep dive: formula, example, risks →

days — weeks

Carry: farming persistent funding

The idea

Some coins have funding skewed for weeks, not hours — leverage demand on one side persistently exceeds the other. Hold a hedged receiving position and collect every settlement like a bond coupon.

Economics

Profit = average rate × time − fees paid once at entry/exit. The 7d and 30d averages on the card are this strategy's key numbers: +0.050%/h held for a month is ≈ 36% OVER THAT MONTH on the unhedged leg before costs (438% annualized, but no rate lives that long).

The risk

Rate reversal (the skew dissolves — you start paying), hedge cost and drift, boredom. This is a strategy of single-digit percent per month with risk control, not multiples.

What the radar does

A 30-day history chart and 7d/30d averages show how stable the skew is; the «extreme settlements in a row» counter shows how long it has been paying. The strategy itself — with the break-even formula and a live example — is covered on the funding arbitrage page.

Frequently asked

How does settlement sniping work?

A short entry right under the accrual: funding goes to whoever holds the position at the cutoff moment. Profit is the per-settlement rate minus two legs of fees and slippage; the card's calculator prices the net capture, alongside how this pair's price typically moves around cutoffs.

What is a cross-exchange hedged pair?

A receiving position on the exchange with the extreme rate plus an opposite one of equal size on another exchange or spot: wherever price goes, one leg offsets the other while funding drips your way. Profit is the rate spread minus four legs of fees; break-even is computed on the pairs page.

What is funding carry farming?

Holding a receiving position while a persistent imbalance keeps paying. The 7- and 30-day averages on the card show whether the rate holds; this is a strategy of single-digit percent per month with risk control, not a moonshot.