Bitcoin’s Funding Rate Hits Highest Level in Months – What to Expect?

Bitcoin’s (BTC) open interest (OI) weighted continuous-term funding rate has risen to its highest level in recent months, signaling a potential bullish trend in the short to medium term, according to market analysts.

The OI weighted funding rate currently stands at 0.012%, a level last seen on July 27 when Bitcoin briefly reached $68,000. However, BTC later experienced a sharp 22% correction in early August as the highly leveraged market took a major hit.

While a positive funding rate typically reflects bullish market conditions, caution is warranted, according to Ruslan Lienkha, Chief Markets Officer at YouHodler. “A local peak in a positive funding rate could signal an uptrend in the short to medium term, but should not be relied upon for long-term forecasts due to the volatile nature of the crypto market,” Lienkha said.

Lienkha highlighted the differences between crypto and traditional markets like commodities, where funding rates are often in line with long-term trends tied to slower-moving economic activity. “Crypto lacks a direct connection to real economic processes, allowing market sentiment to change much more quickly,” he explained. As a result, he noted that funding rates in crypto markets are more susceptible to rapid fluctuations and are less reliable as long-term indicators compared to other asset classes.

The surge in Bitcoin’s funding rate comes at a time of increased market volatility and significant liquidations. According to data from Coinglass, more than $93 million worth of Bitcoin positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, $83 million of which were short positions.

The broader cryptocurrency market also witnessed over $240 million in liquidations during the same period, with the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH), accounting for $50 million of these liquidations, $43 million of which were in short positions.

*This is not investment advice.