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Funding and open interest

Next to the price, a second market moves along in crypto: the futures market with perpetual contracts, where many trade with leverage. Two figures from it show how everyone else is positioned. The funding rate says which side is too crowded and pays for it. Open interest counts how many positions are open. Bellchain has a node for each, from Pro; you can test them in the replay on every plan.

Both nodes are sources without an input: they take the coin of the chain’s first candle and work in its timeframe. If the chain has BTC/USDT or BTC/EUR in 1-hour candles, the values come from the USDT perpetual on BTC, the latest one at every hourly candle. In a scanner they follow each coin.

Funding rate

Section titled “Funding rate”

Perpetual contracts have no expiry. To keep their price close to the coin’s price, one side pays the other at every settlement, usually every 8 hours:

  • positive: longs pay shorts. Many bet on rising prices. 0.01 % per settlement is usual; from about 0.05 % the market counts as overheated.
  • negative: shorts pay longs. Many bet on falling prices. If the market turns up, they have to buy back, and the price can rise fast (short squeeze).

The Funding rate node shows the last settlement in percent at every candle, plus the signals low (below “Low below”, default 0 %) and high (above “High above”, default 0.05 %). A signal stays true until the next settlement; an action reports on the switch, so with an 8-hour cooldown once per settlement.

BTC/USDT price and funding rateThe funding rate jumps at every settlement, usually every 8 hours; below 0 % shorts pay, above 0.008 % longs pay a lot.Price BTC/USDT80,00082,00084,000Funding0 %0.008 %low (below 0 %)high (above 0.008 %)Oct 9Oct 10Oct 11Oct 12Oct 13Oct 14Oct 15Oct 16Oct 17
  • Price (close of each candle)
  • Funding
  • below 0 % and above 0.008 %
Top: the BTC/USDT price; bottom: the funding rate of the perpetual contract on BTC, the last settlement at every candle. Here with “Low below 0 %” and “High above 0.008 %”: the outputs are true while the line is inside the zone, that is until the next settlement. 0.01 % per settlement is usual; in these three weeks the rate mostly stayed below it.

Open interest

Section titled “Open interest”

Open interest counts the open positions in the futures market, in coins. It rises when new positions are opened and falls when some are closed, voluntarily or by force. Together with the price it shows who is trading right now:

Price Open interest usually means
rises rises new money is joining the uptrend
rises falls shorts are closing, the rise has few new buyers
falls rises new shorts are joining
falls falls longs are closing, often by force

The Open interest node outputs open interest and its change % against the value a few candles ago (default 24), plus the signals rising (above “Rising above”, default +10 %) and falling (below “Falling below”, default −10 %). To compare with the price, attach Change % to the candle and combine both with AND.

BTC/USDT price, open interest and its change over 24 candlesWhen open interest rises by more than 5 % within 24 hours, “rising” is true; when it falls by more than 5 %, “falling”.Price BTC/USDT80,00082,00084,000Open interest (BTC)54,00056,00058,00060,000Change 24-5 %5 %falling (below −5 %)rising (above 5 %)Oct 9Oct 10Oct 11Oct 12Oct 13Oct 14Oct 15Oct 16Oct 17
  • Price (close of each candle)
  • open interest and change
  • below −5 % and above 5 %
Top: the BTC/USDT price; below: the open positions in the perpetual contract on BTC in coins and their change against the value 24 hourly candles earlier. Here with “Falling below −5 %” and “Rising above 5 %”. Open interest often rises while positions build up before a big move, and falls when many are closed afterwards.

When a value applies

Section titled “When a value applies”

Bellchain only uses values that were certain at the candle close, so that replay and live trading calculate the same way:

  • Funding rate: the last settlement at least 5 minutes before the candle close. If a candle closes exactly at a settlement, the previous one still applies; the new one counts from the next candle.
  • Open interest: the last value at least 1 minute before the candle close. Values come every 5 minutes for candles up to 5 minutes, in step with the candle at 15 and 30 minutes, and hourly from 1 hour. So an hourly candle shows the open interest from its start.
  • Empty stays a value when there is no USDT perpetual for the coin (such as small coins without a futures market) or the futures market has not delivered a value for a while: for the funding rate after 24 hours, for open interest after three values. Empty values trigger nothing.
  • Contracts on 1,000 coins, as for PEPE or SHIB, Bellchain converts into single coins.

Replay

Section titled “Replay”

The data comes from one of the largest futures markets, public and without an account. The funding rate reaches back to the start of each contract, open interest for years. The first replay over a long period therefore takes a moment longer; after that the values are stored at Bellchain.

Templates

Section titled “Templates”

Version 2026.10.25.16 · Changelog