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Perp city funding spreads shift daily carrying costs by 0.0167 percent
The finding
Venue selection alters 30-day perpetual swap holding costs by up to 1.50 percent through funding rate spreads alone.
On ETH perps, holding long on MEXC earns 0.0050 percent every 8 hours while Bitget charges 0.0023 percent.
Execution taker fees range from 0.0200 percent on MEXC to 0.0550 percent on Bybit.
Navigating the perp city of perpetual futures exchanges requires tracking both trading fees and ongoing funding payments. In this perp city market environment, holding the exact same contract on different venues results in vastly different daily carrying costs.
Perpetual contracts do not expire. Exchanges use periodic funding payments between long and short traders to keep the contract price anchored to the spot market index price. When funding is positive, long positions pay short positions. When funding is negative, short positions pay long positions. Most exchanges settle funding every 8 hours, resulting in 3 settlements per day and 90 settlements over a 30-day period.
Funding rate spreads across the perp city landscape
Funding rates vary significantly across exchanges for the same underlying asset due to local order book imbalances. The table below shows normalized 8-hour funding rates, the rate spread across exchanges, the cheapest exchange for long position holders, and 24-hour trading volume.
| Asset | Cheapest Venue for Long | Normalized 8h Spread | 24h Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| ETH | MEXC (-0.0050%) | 0.0073% | $7,558,830,918 |
| BTC | MEXC (+0.0082%) | 0.0018% | $6,839,170,899 |
| ZEC | Bitget (+0.0006%) | 0.0094% | $2,170,522,277 |
| SNDK | OKX (+0.0135%) | 0.0135% | $1,496,914,602 |
| SOXL | Bybit (+0.0000%) | 0.0167% | $1,230,892,351 |
| SOL | OKX (-0.0007%) | 0.0070% | $974,594,095 |
The funding spread represents the variance between the lowest and highest rate available. On SOXL, the spread reaches 0.0167 percent per 8 hours. On ETH, MEXC pays long holders 0.0050 percent per interval, while Bitget charges long holders 0.0023 percent per interval.
Where this goes wrong
Funding rates change every settlement interval based on index premiums. Calculating holding costs using a single 8-hour snapshot assumes market conditions remain identical over the entire holding period.
Carrying cost arithmetic for multi-day positions
Consider a long position of $100,000 held in ETH perpetual contracts for 30 days.
On MEXC, the 8-hour funding rate is -0.0050 percent. Because the rate is negative, the long position receives money from short positions. Each 8-hour interval pays $100,000 multiplied by 0.000050, which equals $5.00. Over 3 settlements per day, the position collects $15.00 daily. Over 30 days (90 settlements), the position receives $450.00.
On Bitget, the 8-hour funding rate is +0.0023 percent. Because the rate is positive, the long position pays short positions. Each 8-hour interval costs $100,000 multiplied by 0.000023, which equals $2.30. Over 3 settlements per day, the position pays $6.90 daily. Over 30 days (90 settlements), the position pays $207.00.
The gross difference between holding the ETH long position on MEXC versus Bitget equals $450.00 plus $207.00, totaling $657.00 over 30 days on a $100,000 position.
Now consider a $100,000 long position held in SOXL perpetual contracts for 30 days. On Bybit, the funding rate is 0.0000 percent, costing $0.00 over 30 days. On MEXC or Bitget, the funding rate is +0.0167 percent per interval. Each interval costs $100,000 multiplied by 0.000167, which equals $16.70. Over 30 days (90 settlements), the position pays $1,503.00 in funding fees.
Worth knowing
Negative funding rates turn carrying costs into positive yield for long positions, but short positions on that same venue pay the exact same amount.
Execution fee drag on active position adjustments
Carrying costs from funding rates combine with order execution fees paid upon opening and closing positions. Fee structures differ across maker orders (liquidity providing limit orders) and taker orders (liquidity consuming market orders).
| Exchange | Futures Maker Fee | Futures Taker Fee | Spot Maker Fee | Spot Taker Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEXC | 0.0000% | 0.0200% | 0.0000% | 0.0500% |
| Bitget | 0.0200% | 0.0300% | 0.1000% | 0.1000% |
| OKX | 0.0200% | 0.0500% | 0.0800% | 0.1000% |
| Bybit | 0.0200% | 0.0550% | 0.1000% | 0.1000% |
Opening and closing a $100,000 position using taker market orders costs $40.00 total on MEXC (0.0200 percent each way). On Bybit, the same round-trip entry and exit using taker orders costs $110.00 total (0.0550 percent each way).
On Bybit, the initial taker fee drag of $110.00 requires 22 settlement intervals (7.3 days) of zero funding to balance out compared to MEXC, where lower taker fees ($40.00) offset higher funding rates on specific assets like SOXL.
What to do instead
Add complete round-trip taker fees to projected 30-day funding costs before choosing where to place positions held under 7 days.
How much does perpetual swap funding cost over a month?
Monthly funding costs depend on the 8-hour rate and position size. On a $100,000 position with a 0.0100 percent 8-hour rate, funding costs $30 daily or $900 across 90 settlement intervals in a 30-day period.
Which exchange has the lowest futures taker fee?
MEXC offers the lowest futures taker fee among major venues at 0.0200 percent, compared to 0.0300 percent on Bitget, 0.0500 percent on OKX, and 0.0550 percent on Bybit.
What happens when perpetual contract funding is negative?
When funding is negative, short position holders pay long position holders every 8 hours. Holding a long contract during negative funding generates income rather than incurring a holding cost.