Funding Arb
Monitor real-time perpetual futures funding rates across Hyperliquid, Lighter, and Aster exchanges, and identify profitable arbitrage opportunities.
What are funding rates?
Funding rates are periodic payments exchanged between traders holding long and short positions in perpetual futures contracts. These rates help keep the perpetual contract price aligned with the underlying spot price.
Key concepts:
- Positive funding rate (green): Long positions pay short positions, typically when perpetual price is higher than spot price
- Negative funding rate (red): Short positions pay long positions, typically when perpetual price is lower than spot price
- Payment frequency: Varies by exchange and market:
- Hyperliquid & Lighter: Every 1 hour
- Aster: Variable by market (e.g., BTC/ETH: 8h, ASTER/HYPE: 4h, NOM/RESOLV: 1h)
Three analysis views
1. Funding rates (main view)
Compare current and historical funding rates across Hyperliquid, Lighter, and Aster for any perpetual pair.
Features:
- Highest/lowest panels: Top 5 highest and lowest funding rates across all exchanges
- Timeframe selection: 1h, 4h, 8h, 24h, 1W, 1M, or 1Y averages
- Favorites: Star icon to mark frequently tracked pairs
- Search: Filter symbols by name
- Color coding: Green for positive rates (longs pay shorts), red for negative rates (shorts pay longs)
- Auto-refresh: Data updates automatically every 1 minute
Table columns:
- Symbol: Perpetual pair name (BTC, ETH, SOL, etc.)
- Hyperliquid: Funding rate on Hyperliquid
- Lighter: Funding rate on Lighter
- Aster: Funding rate on Aster
Rates are displayed as percentages normalized to the selected timeframe (1h, 4h, 8h, etc.). A dash (—) indicates the pair is not available on that exchange.
2. Perps ↔ Spot arbitrage
Identify opportunities to earn funding rates by hedging spot positions with perpetual futures on the same exchange.
How it works:
When funding rates are significant, you can profit by taking opposite positions in spot and perpetual markets:
- Positive funding rate: Buy spot + Short perp (receive funding from longs)
- Negative funding rate: Sell spot + Long perp (receive funding from shorts)
Your position is market-neutral—spot and perp positions offset each other, eliminating directional price risk while earning funding payments.
Table columns:
- Asset: Symbol available on both spot and perp markets
- Exchange: HL (Hyperliquid), LT (Lighter), or AS (Aster)
- Strategy: Recommended action based on funding rate
- Funding Rate (1h): Current hourly funding rate
- Hourly/Daily/Weekly/Monthly/Annual Profit: Projected returns assuming constant funding rate
Important notes:
- Returns are theoretical and assume perfect execution
- Trading fees and slippage will reduce actual returns
- Price spreads between spot and perp markets may cause losses
- Funding rates change frequently—monitor positions regularly
- Funding intervals vary: Hyperliquid and Lighter pay every 1 hour, Aster varies by market
3. Perp ↔ Perp cross-exchange arbitrage
Discover opportunities to profit from funding rate differences by holding opposite perpetual positions on different exchanges.
How it works:
When two exchanges have different funding rates for the same pair, you can capture the differential:
- Long on the exchange with the lower (or more negative) funding rate
- Short on the exchange with the higher (or more positive) funding rate
- Profit: The rate differential (normalized to hourly)
Your position is market-neutral across exchanges—long and short positions offset each other while earning the rate difference.
Table columns:
- Asset: Symbol available on multiple exchanges
- Strategy: Shows which exchange to long and which to short
- Long Rate (1h): Hourly funding rate where you'll be long (blue)
- Short Rate (1h): Hourly funding rate where you'll be short (orange)
- Rate Diff: Absolute difference between the two rates (purple)
- Hourly/Daily/Weekly/Monthly/Annual Profit: Projected returns from the rate differential
Important notes:
- Returns are theoretical and assume perfect execution
- Trading fees on both exchanges reduce actual returns
- Price differences between exchanges (basis risk) can impact profitability
- Exchange risk—you're exposed to issues on both platforms
- Requires margin on both exchanges
- Funding intervals vary: Hyperliquid and Lighter pay every 1 hour, Aster varies by market (e.g., BTC/ETH: 8h, ASTER/HYPE: 4h, NOM/RESOLV: 1h)
Practical use cases
Market analysis
- Sentiment indicator: High positive rates suggest bullish sentiment; high negative rates indicate bearish sentiment
- Overcrowded positions: Extreme rates may signal potential reversals
- Exchange comparison: Find the best venue for opening positions
Arbitrage trading
- Spot-perp arbitrage: Earn funding while maintaining market-neutral positions on a single exchange
- Cross-exchange arbitrage: Capture funding rate differentials between exchanges
- Capital efficiency: Perp-perp arbitrage uses margin on both sides, requiring less capital than spot-perp
Position management
- Cost optimization: Time entries to avoid paying high funding rates
- Holding period: Use funding data to decide when to close positions
- Exchange selection: Choose exchanges with favorable rates for your position direction
Understanding the data
Rate magnitude
- 0.00% to ±0.01%: Normal, balanced market
- ±0.01% to ±0.05%: Moderate directional bias
- ±0.05% to ±0.10%: Strong directional sentiment
- Above ±0.10%: Extreme sentiment, potential arbitrage opportunity
Calculating costs
Example with 1-hour interval (Hyperliquid/Lighter):
A 0.0100% hourly funding rate means you pay or receive 0.01% of your position value every hour:
- Daily: 0.0100% × 24 = 0.24%
- On $10,000 position: $10,000 × 0.24% = $24/day
Example with 8-hour interval (Aster BTC/ETH):
A 0.0100% 8-hour funding rate means you pay or receive 0.01% of your position value every 8 hours:
- Daily: 0.0100% × 3 = 0.03%
- On $10,000 position: $10,000 × 0.03% = $3/day
Timeframe views
- 1h: Hourly funding rate (normalized for all exchanges)
- 4h: 4-hour accumulated funding rate
- 8h: 8-hour accumulated funding rate
- 24h: Daily accumulated funding rate
- 1W: Weekly accumulated funding rate
- 1M: Monthly accumulated funding rate
- 1Y: Annual accumulated funding rate
All rates are normalized to hourly rates first, then multiplied by the timeframe for accurate comparison across exchanges with different payment intervals.
Risk considerations
Spot-perp arbitrage risks
- Execution risk: Prices may move between opening spot and perp positions
- Funding rate changes: Rates can reverse or diminish
- Liquidation risk: If using high leverage on the perp side
- Capital requirements: Need funds for spot purchase and perp margin
Cross-exchange arbitrage risks
- Basis risk: Price differences between exchanges can cause losses when closing
- Exchange risk: Smart contract vulnerabilities or operational issues on either platform
- Funding volatility: Rates can change on both exchanges independently
- Execution complexity: Must coordinate positions on two platforms
- Liquidation risk: Asymmetric liquidations if one exchange has a price wick
Tips for effective use
- Start small: Test strategies with small positions to understand execution
- Monitor actively: Funding rates change frequently—check multiple times daily
- Use conservative leverage: 3x-5x to avoid liquidation risk
- Calculate break-even: Ensure projected returns exceed all trading costs
- Check liquidity: Verify sufficient depth on both spot and perp markets
- Track actual returns: Compare realized returns to projections
- Set alerts: Monitor for significant rate changes or margin warnings
- Consider opportunity cost: Compare returns to other available strategies
Data refresh
- Real-time updates: Funding rates refresh automatically every 1 minute
- Exchange coverage: All supported perpetual pairs across Hyperliquid, Lighter, and Aster
- Funding intervals: Correctly handles variable intervals (1h, 4h, 8h) across different markets and exchanges