What Is the Funding Rate Mechanism in a Perpetual Swap Contract?
The funding rate is a small periodic payment exchanged between long and short position holders in a perpetual swap. Its primary function is to keep the swap contract's price anchored to the price of the underlying spot asset.
If the swap trades at a premium to the spot price, longs pay shorts. If it trades at a discount, shorts pay longs.
This mechanism prevents the derivative price from deviating too far from the spot price.