Over a nine-minute stretch, traders betting against SKR paid a persistent fee to keep their positions open, signaling heavy downward crowding.
Imagine SKR is trading around $0.023. Suddenly, a large crowd of traders rushes to bet that the price is going to fall, quickly outnumbering anyone betting on a rise.
Between 18:06 and 18:15 UTC, the imbalance became so extreme that traders betting on a decline had to pay those betting on a rise a fee reaching -0.1285% per hour just to stay in the trade.
This automatic balancing fee is known as the funding rate. When the rate turns negative, short sellers betting on drops must regularly pay buyers holding the other side.
Because this alert repeated ten times in rapid succession, it confirms that downward pressure remained pinned near peak levels rather than being a brief one-off spike.
Heavy bearish pressure does not guarantee the price will drop further. If SKR rises even a little, sellers paying high fees might rush to exit all at once, driving a sharp rally instead.
Do not think a negative rate means a price drop is certain. Think of it as a crowded room where too many traders are on one side, making any sudden reversal much more volatile.