Traders betting against SKR paid a steep recurring fee of around -0.14% across ten minutes. This reflects extreme one-sided bearish sentiment where sellers pay buyers to keep trades open.
Imagine SKR is trading at around $0.021. An unusually large group of traders wants to profit from the price falling, creating heavy one-sided interest on the sell side.
Between 06:10 and 06:19 UTC, the price of SKR stayed near $0.021, but an automatic balancing mechanism held steady at around -0.14% every single minute.
In derivative markets, the funding rate is a regular balancing payment between traders. A negative rate means short sellers betting on a drop must pay cash directly to long buyers betting on a rise.
A single fee spike can be temporary noise, but ten consecutive alerts show sustained crowding. Paying roughly 0.14% makes keeping short positions open very expensive as time passes.
A negative rate does not guarantee the price will go up or down. Strong selling pressure could push the price even lower, or expensive fees could force sellers to exit quickly and trigger a sudden rally.
Do not think negative funding is a guaranteed buy signal. Think of it as a costly ticking clock for short sellers that makes their crowded trade increasingly fragile.