Funding Rates: The Signal Crypto Traders Often Ignore

Crypto perpetual futures don’t have an expiry date, so funding rates help keep their prices aligned with the underlying asset. When funding becomes heavily positive, it can indicate that traders are paying a premium to maintain bullish positions. Extremely negative funding can signal the opposite. Neither situation guarantees that Bitcoin or an altcoin will move in a particular direction, but funding rates can reveal how aggressively traders are positioned. They can also become interesting during highly leveraged markets, when a small price move can trigger a wave of liquidations. Are funding rates actually useful for ordinary crypto investors, or are they mainly a tool for derivatives traders?