Binance perpetual futures settle their funding rate every 8 hours. You can look up the history directly on the Binance Official Site under the "Funding Rate" tab on any futures page, and the Official Binance App has the same entry point; if you just installed the app, start with the Download Page guide. Below we cover where to look, useful stats to track, and how to predict the next rate.
Perpetual futures never expire — there's no delivery date. To keep the contract price from drifting too far from the spot price, Binance uses a "funding rate" mechanism: every 8 hours, longs and shorts pay each other directly.
If the funding rate is positive (say +0.01%), longs pay shorts 0.01%. On a 1 BTC long position worth 70,000 USDT, that's 7 USDT per settlement. If the rate is negative, the payment flows the other way. Settlements happen at UTC 00:00, 08:00, and 16:00 daily.
The design goal is simple: when the contract trades above spot, the rate goes positive (longs pay, discouraging more longs); when it trades below spot, the rate goes negative (shorts pay, discouraging more shorts). The market naturally gravitates back toward balance.
| UTC Time | China Standard Time (UTC+8) | Settlement |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 | 08:00 | 1st |
| 08:00 | 16:00 | 2nd |
| 16:00 | 00:00 | 3rd |
With three settlements a day, that's 3 × 365 = 1,095 settlements per year.
Web path: after logging in, open a futures trading page (e.g. the BTCUSDT perpetual) and look in the top-right "Info" menu or dropdown for "Funding Rate History." It opens a reverse-chronological list of historical rates.
App path: tap the "Info" icon in the top right of the futures trading page, then "Funding Rate History." The layout is similar to the web version but more compact.
Binance shows the last 30 days of history by default. For a longer range, switch to "Custom Date Range" at the top of the page, which goes back up to a year. Anything further back requires the API.
| Method | Time Range | Data Granularity | API Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web history page | 30-365 days | Full | No |
| App history page | 30-365 days | Full | No |
| Binance public API | Full history | Full | No (public endpoint) |
| Third-party data sites | Full history | Partial metrics | No |
Binance's funding rate API endpoint is public — you don't need an API key to query it. It's at fapi.binance.com/fapi/v1/fundingRate?symbol=BTCUSDT, and you can test it directly in your browser.
Looking at BTC/USDT perpetual funding rates over the past year reveals a few recurring patterns.
First, a "neutral band." About 60% of the time, the rate sits between +0.005% and +0.015%, reflecting the market's natural long bias (retail perpetual positioning tends to skew long). That works out to roughly 11%-32% annualized.
Second, an "extreme band." About 5% of the time, the rate goes above +0.05% or below -0.02%, corresponding to extreme bullish or bearish sentiment. These extremes usually revert within 1-3 settlement periods.
Third, "trend correlation." When price rallies hard, the rate tends to rise (longs chasing the move); when price crashes, the rate tends to fall or go negative (shorts piling in). There's an occasional "divergence" signal too — price rising while the rate fails to rise can hint at fading momentum.
| BTC/USDT Rate Distribution (Trailing 12 Months) | Share | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| > +0.05% | ~3% | Extremely bullish |
| +0.02% to +0.05% | ~12% | Leaning bullish |
| +0.005% to +0.02% | ~60% | Neutral-to-bullish |
| -0.005% to +0.005% | ~18% | Balanced |
| -0.02% to -0.005% | ~5% | Leaning bearish |
| < -0.02% | ~2% | Extremely bearish |
Binance's funding rate isn't decided arbitrarily every 8 hours — it's calculated continuously from a formula, updated every second based on the gap between the mark price and the spot index price.
Method 1: watch the "predicted funding rate." Below the chart on a Binance futures page, you'll see the "Next Funding Rate" and a countdown. This figure is a running prediction based on the minutes leading up to the next settlement, and it gets more accurate the closer you get to settlement time.
Method 2: watch the Premium Index — the percentage gap between the contract price and the spot index. A large positive gap means the contract is trading at a premium, which pushes the next rate positive. A gap near zero means contract and spot are in sync, keeping the rate near neutral.
Method 3: watch Open Interest and the Long/Short Ratio. Open interest rising quickly alongside a high long ratio signals retail piling into longs, which pushes the rate up. Falling open interest or a balanced long/short ratio signals the rate reverting toward neutral.
Funding rate isn't just a cost — it can also serve as a trading signal.
Strategy 1: fade extreme rates. When the rate stays above +0.05% for 3 consecutive periods (extremely bullish), it usually means longs have piled in heavily, which often marks a local top. That's a setup worth considering for a contrarian short. The reverse — a rate below -0.02% for several periods in a row — can mark a local bottom.
Strategy 2: cash-and-carry arbitrage. Hold a spot long and a futures short in a 1:1 ratio, so price moves cancel out. If funding is positive, the short side collects payments every 8 hours. Annualized yield = average rate × 1,095 ÷ position size. BTC's historical average has run roughly 8%-15% annualized.
Strategy 3: dodge the cost of a high rate. If you're holding a trend-following long during a period of high funding, you can close the position an hour before each settlement and reopen after. This "cost dodging" saves 0.01%-0.05% per settlement.
It's not just BTC — every perpetual contract on Binance has its own independent funding rate. Lower-cap coins swing harder, with annualized rates ranging anywhere from -50% to +200%.
| Coin | Historical Average Daily Rate | Historical Annualized |
|---|---|---|
| BTC | ~+0.011% | ~12% |
| ETH | ~+0.013% | ~14% |
| SOL | ~+0.018% | ~19% |
| BNB | ~+0.012% | ~13% |
| DOGE | ~+0.025% | ~27% |
| Newly listed / trending | +0.05% to +0.20% | 50%-200% |
Newly listed coins and highly volatile altcoins often carry very high rates — when trading those contracts, make sure to factor the funding cost into your P&L.
Q: Why does the "Next Funding Rate" on the Binance app keep changing?
Because it's a live prediction, not a fixed number. It updates every second based on the latest gap between the contract price and the index price. It's most accurate in the last few minutes before settlement — earlier readings are just a rough reference.
Q: If funding is negative, does holding a short lose money?
Yes. When the rate is negative (say -0.01%), shorts pay longs 0.01%. But if you're confident price will drop significantly, the gains on your short can more than cover that cost. Extremely negative rates often come with a real chance of a price bounce, so trade carefully.
Q: Do all Binance contracts have a funding rate?
Only perpetual contracts (both USDT-margined and coin-margined) do. Delivery contracts (quarterly, current-month) stay in sync with spot through their expiration and settlement mechanism, so they don't need a funding rate.
Q: Can I download the funding rate history as a CSV?
Yes. There's an "Export" button in the top-right of the web history page, which downloads a CSV with time, coin, and rate columns. You can also pull the raw JSON data directly through the API.
Q: Do funding rates differ much between exchanges?
There's some difference, but usually not a lot. Rates among top exchanges like Binance, OKX, and Bybit typically stay within ±0.01% of each other, since arbitrageurs quickly close any gap. During extreme conditions (a liquidity crunch, a one-sided move) that gap can briefly widen to 0.05%-0.10%.
Q: Does the platform lag during funding settlement?
Binance's system load rises at settlement times (UTC 00:00/08:00/16:00), and order placement or cancellation can be delayed by 1-3 seconds. It's best to avoid large orders or critical stop-loss placements within 30 seconds of a settlement.