Funding is a borrowing rate in disguise: BloFin BTC, ETH and SOL perps turned into a yearly number

If you are long and the rate is positive, you are paying something very close to an interest rate on the full position. So the honest question is the one a borrower asks: what does this cost per year, and would I pay that to borrow the same money anywhere else?

Here is that math with BloFin's own numbers. All figures are from BloFin's public market API, pulled at 9:28 PM ET (BTC) and 9:42 to 9:43 PM ET (ETH, SOL) on Nov 4, 2026.

The live rates

• BTC-USDT: funding 0.017093% per 8 hours, mark 80,650.7
• ETH-USDT: funding 0.011718% per 8 hours, mark 2,429.36
• SOL-USDT: funding 0.022% per 8 hours, mark 96.36

All three settle every 8 hours, so there are three settlements a day. A positive rate means longs pay shorts.

Step 1: turn the 8-hour rate into a daily and yearly rate

The conversion is plain multiplication:

• Daily rate = 8h rate x 3
• Yearly rate (simple, no compounding) = 8h rate x 3 x 365, which is 8h rate x 1,095

With the live rates:

• BTC: 0.017093% x 1,095 = 18.72% a year
• ETH: 0.011718% x 1,095 = 12.83% a year
• SOL: 0.022% x 1,095 = 24.09% a year

Read that again. If the rates stayed where they were at 9:28 to 9:43 PM ET, holding a long SOL perp for a year would cost about a quarter of the position's value in funding alone, before trading fees. That is not a rounding error; that is a loan rate.

Step 2: why "on the position" matters

Funding is charged on notional, the full value of the position, not on the margin you posted. Leverage does not shrink it. Two longs of the same notional at different leverage pay the same funding in USDT. What leverage changes is how that cost compares to your own money: at leverage L, the yearly figure above is about L times larger as a share of your margin.

So the comparison is:

• Perp long: pay funding on the full notional for as long as the rate stays positive.
• Spot bought with borrowed money: pay the lender's rate on the borrowed part only.

Step 3: the comparison you can actually run

Open whatever borrowing rate you have access to today (a margin account, a lending desk, a stablecoin money market). Put it next to the yearly funding number for the coin you hold. Three outcomes:

1. Funding yearly rate is well above your borrowing rate: the perp is the expensive way to hold that exposure for long periods. It still makes sense for short holds, hedges, or when you want a short.
2. Funding yearly rate is close to your borrowing rate: the choice comes down to convenience, fees and counterparty risk.
3. Funding is negative: longs get paid. The perp is cheaper than borrowing, but negative funding usually means the crowd is short, and it can flip at the next settlement.

Step 4: the parts the yearly number hides

The yearly figure is a snapshot, not a forecast. BloFin's API shows how much it can move: the BTC-USDT cap and floor are plus or minus 0.5% per 8 hours, ETH-USDT plus or minus 0.75%, and SOL-USDT plus or minus 5%. A rate pinned near any of those for even one day dwarfs a normal week.

Also, a lender's rate is usually known in advance; funding is set every 8 hours by the market. If you hold through a crowded week, the rate can rise just when price stops moving your way.

A quick checklist before a multi-day perp hold on BloFin

• Read the current funding and the countdown on the contract page.
• Multiply by 1,095 to get a yearly figure, and say it out loud.
• Compare it with any borrowing rate you could use instead.
• Size the hold so that a few days at a much higher rate would not change your plan.
• Remember the taker fee to open and close is on top: with BloFin's standard 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker, a market in and out costs 0.12% of notional.

FAQ

Q: Does a positive rate mean the price will go up? A: No. It means longs are paying to hold. It describes positioning, not direction.

Q: Do I pay funding if I close before the settlement time? A: Funding is exchanged only by positions open at the settlement moment.

Q: Is the yearly number compounding? A: The x 1,095 version is simple interest. Real costs vary every 8 hours, so treat it as a yardstick, not a quote.

What yearly rate would make you switch from a perp to spot for a multi-week hold?