Why is the Kraken funding rate so high?

The Kraken funding rate balances perpetual futures and spot prices every 8 hours—if longs dominate, they pay shorts; if shorts dominate, they earn. High rates signal bullish bias or low liquidity.

Aug 03, 2025 at 04:15 pm

What Is the Kraken Funding Rate?

The Kraken funding rate is a mechanism used in perpetual futures contracts to align the price of the contract with the underlying spot price of the asset. This rate is exchanged between long and short traders at regular intervals—typically every 8 hours—based on the difference between the perpetual contract price and the spot price. If the funding rate is positive, long positions pay short positions. If it's negative, the reverse occurs. Kraken implements this to ensure the perpetual futures market doesn’t deviate significantly from real-world prices.

Market Demand Imbalance on Kraken

One primary reason for a high funding rate on Kraken is imbalanced market sentiment. When a large number of traders open long positions—expecting the price to rise—the perpetual contract price can trade at a premium compared to the spot market. This premium triggers a positive funding rate, incentivizing more short positions to enter and balance the market. For example:

• If 75% of open interest on Kraken’s BTC/USD perpetual contract is long, the system naturally pushes the funding rate higher.
• Traders who want to maintain long exposure must pay a premium to short traders, which increases the rate.
  This imbalance often reflects bullish sentiment but also increases the cost of holding long positions.
  

  How Kraken Calculates the Funding Rate

  
  Kraken uses a transparent formula:
  Funding Rate = Premium Index + Clamp
• The Premium Index measures the difference between the perpetual contract price and the spot index price, normalized by time.
• The Clamp (or target rate) is set by Kraken to prevent extreme volatility—it caps how high or low the rate can go per funding interval.
  

  To manually check this on Kraken:

  • Navigate to the Futures tab.
  • Select any perpetual pair (e.g., BTC/USD).
  • Click “Funding History” to view real-time and historical rates.
  • Use the formula above with live data from Kraken’s API to verify the rate yourself.

  Arbitrage Opportunities and Their Impact

  
  High funding rates on Kraken often signal arbitrage opportunities. Sophisticated traders may:
• Buy the underlying asset on the spot market.
• Simultaneously open a short position on the perpetual futures contract.
• Collect the funding rate as passive income while waiting for convergence.
  This activity increases selling pressure on the perpetual contract, which helps reduce the funding rate over time. However, if arbitrageurs are slow to act—due to capital constraints or exchange-specific risks—the high rate persists.
  

  Exchange-Specific Liquidity Constraints

  
  Kraken’s funding rates can diverge from competitors like Binance or Bybit due to liquidity depth. If Kraken has fewer market makers or less open interest in a specific contract:
• The bid-ask spread widens.
• Price slippage increases during large trades.
• This makes it harder for arbitrageurs to act quickly, allowing funding rates to spike.
  To verify this:
• Compare open interest for BTC/USD perpetual on Kraken vs. Binance.
• Check the order book depth on both exchanges during high funding periods.
• Observe whether Kraken’s rate normalizes after liquidity injections (e.g., new market makers joining).
  

  How Traders Can Respond to High Funding Rates

  
  If you’re holding a long position on Kraken and notice a high funding rate:
• Monitor the rate hourly using Kraken’s API or mobile app.
• Consider closing part of your position to reduce funding costs.
• Switch to a spot or futures contract with lower funding (e.g., quarterly futures).
  If you’re short:
• Earn passive income via funding payments—monitor for rate drops that reduce earnings.
• Avoid over-leveraging; high funding often correlates with volatile markets.
• Use Kraken’s “Auto-Deleveraging” settings to manage risk if the rate suddenly flips negative.
  

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  Frequently Asked Questions

  Does Kraken charge fees on funding payments?
  
  No. Kraken does not charge any fees for funding rate transfers between long and short traders. The payment is a direct peer-to-peer transfer based on open positions at the funding timestamp.

  Can I predict when the Kraken funding rate will drop?
  
  You can estimate it by tracking the premium index. If the perpetual price converges with the spot price—or if open interest shifts from long to short—the rate will decrease. Use Kraken’s public API endpoint /api/v3/futures/funding-history to pull real-time data.

  Why is Kraken’s funding rate sometimes higher than Binance’s for the same asset?
  
  This occurs due to differences in liquidity, user base behavior, and arbitrage efficiency. Kraken’s user base may be more retail-focused, leading to stronger directional bias (e.g., more longs during bull runs), while Binance has deeper institutional liquidity that stabilizes rates faster.

  What happens if I hold a position exactly at the funding timestamp on Kraken?
  
  If your position is open at the exact funding timestamp (e.g., 00:00 UTC), you will either pay or receive the funding rate based on your side (long or short). Positions opened after the timestamp or closed before it are not affected by that cycle’s funding.