# Perpetual funding payments: who pays whom, and on what amount?

Perpetual funding is a transfer tied to an open contract position and a periodic rate. In the cited dYdX design, positive funding generally means longs pay shorts and negative funding reverses that direction. The amount depends on the position’s notional and the applicable rate, not just the margin deposited.

Evidence: [Default funding rates on dYdX](https://help.dydx.trade/en/articles/166992-default-funding-rates-on-dydx)

Canonical: https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/perpetual-funding-payments/
Published: 2026-10-02
Substantively modified: 2026-10-02
Independently verified by an automated reviewer: 2026-10-02T19:18:00.092Z
Data current through: 2026-10-02

AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied.

## Key facts

- **Purpose:** Funding encourages the perpetual to trade near its reference price. ([Default funding rates on dYdX](https://help.dydx.trade/en/articles/166992-default-funding-rates-on-dydx))
- **Direction:** The rate’s sign determines which side pays under the stated convention. ([Default funding rates on dYdX](https://help.dydx.trade/en/articles/166992-default-funding-rates-on-dydx))
- **Period:** Rate displays can show hourly, eight-hour or annualized figures. ([Default funding rates on dYdX](https://help.dydx.trade/en/articles/166992-default-funding-rates-on-dydx))

## Apply the rate to the right base

For a hypothetical 10,000 quote-unit position and a 0.01% rate for one payment period, the payment is 10,000 × 0.0001 = 1 quote unit. With 1,000 of margin, that is 0.1% of the margin for that period, despite the quoted funding rate being 0.01%.

This assumes a fixed notional for the calculation and excludes fees. It is not a current rate or a forecast.

Evidence: [Default funding rates on dYdX](https://help.dydx.trade/en/articles/166992-default-funding-rates-on-dydx)

## Compare equivalent periods

An annualized display extrapolates a short-period observation; it does not lock that rate for a year. Rates can change sign, position values can change and protocol parameters can be governed. Record the rate period and the actual payments before comparing two markets.

Evidence: [Default funding rates on dYdX](https://help.dydx.trade/en/articles/166992-default-funding-rates-on-dydx)

## An open position already has cash-flow history

Funding can increase or decrease realized P&L without closing the position. A profitable price move may be partly offset by payments. Conversely, receiving funding does not eliminate losses from the contract price or liquidation risk. Reconcile funding history separately from the gross price-change calculation.

Evidence: [Default funding rates on dYdX](https://help.dydx.trade/en/articles/166992-default-funding-rates-on-dydx)

## Questions

### Is receiving funding a guaranteed yield strategy?

No. Funding can reverse, and price exposure, margin constraints and execution costs remain.

Evidence: [Default funding rates on dYdX](https://help.dydx.trade/en/articles/166992-default-funding-rates-on-dydx); [Liquidations on dYdX Chain](https://help.dydx.trade/en/articles/166991-liquidations-on-dydx-chain)

## Claims and scope

### perpetual-funding-payments-quick-answer

Perpetual funding is a transfer tied to an open contract position and a periodic rate. In the cited dYdX design, positive funding generally means longs pay shorts and negative funding reverses that direction. The amount depends on the position’s notional and the applicable rate, not just the margin deposited.

Scope: {"collection":"defi","dataAsOf":"2026-10-02","blockHeight":null}

### perpetual-funding-payments-fact-purpose

Purpose: Funding encourages the perpetual to trade near its reference price.

Scope: {"collection":"defi","dataAsOf":"2026-10-02","blockHeight":null}

### perpetual-funding-payments-fact-direction

Direction: The rate’s sign determines which side pays under the stated convention.

Scope: {"collection":"defi","dataAsOf":"2026-10-02","blockHeight":null}

### perpetual-funding-payments-fact-period

Period: Rate displays can show hourly, eight-hour or annualized figures.

Scope: {"collection":"defi","dataAsOf":"2026-10-02","blockHeight":null}

## Sources

- [Default funding rates on dYdX](https://help.dydx.trade/en/articles/166992-default-funding-rates-on-dydx) — dYdX Operations Services. Funding direction, position-sized transfers and governance-adjustable calculation. Locator: Funding rates; premium; time intervals. Retrieved: 2026-10-02T18:53:20.972Z.
- [Liquidations on dYdX Chain](https://help.dydx.trade/en/articles/166991-liquidations-on-dydx-chain) — dYdX Operations Services. Distinguishes eligibility, order execution and account losses. Locator: Margin; fillable price; liquidation. Retrieved: 2026-10-02T18:53:20.755Z.

## Revision history

- 2026-10-02: First publication after primary-source research and separate automated verification.

## Cite this entry

Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Perpetual funding payments: who pays whom, and on what amount?.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/perpetual-funding-payments/