Free explainer · sample heatmap
Funding rate heatmap, plain English
Funding is the cost the long side pays the short side (or vice versa) every 8 hours to keep the perpetual price tied to spot. Persistent positive funding = longs are crowding. Persistent negative = shorts are crowding. Either is a contrarian setup.
Sample funding heatmap · BTC / ETH / SOL · 30 days
Educational sample. Live data for your watchlist lives in the platform.
| D-30 | D-25 | D-20 | D-15 | D-10 | D-5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ETH | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SOL |
SCALEshorts pay (long crowding)neutrallongs pay (short crowding)
Each cell = one 8-hour funding period. Green = funding paid TO shorts (longs over-positioned). Red = funding paid TO longs (shorts over- positioned). Brightness = magnitude. Most days are neutral; the standout streaks are where contrarian setups appear.
What to look for
Funding > 0.05% per 8h, sustained 3+ days
Long crowding. Look for short-the-rip setups, especially if open-interest is also climbing. Mean-reversion plays carry positive expected-value here.
Funding < -0.05% per 8h, sustained 2+ days
Short crowding. Risk: a squeeze. Either step aside or play the long side with tight risk; shorts get paid the funding while waiting.
Funding spikes ±0.1%+ for one period
Usually a flush, a forced flow (liquidation cascade, ETF rebalance). Often reverses within 48h. Don't chase the move; watch for the snap.
Funding flat ~0.01% for a week
Boring, healthy. Spot premium and futures premium are aligned. No directional edge from funding; trade the chart.
Use it in a strategy
Vecktor backtests fold funding cost into every futures result. Set a funding-aware filter in Compose ("avoid trading BTC long when funding> 0.04% per 8h") and the engine respects it. The cost shows up in the friction breakdown so you never deceive yourself about returns.
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Funding heatmap
BTC ETH SOL · 30 days
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