Funding Intervals Explained: 1h vs 4h vs 8h and How to Compare Rates
Why 0.01% on Binance is not 0.01% on Hyperliquid. How funding intervals work, why many CEX markets settle every 4 hours, and how to convert any funding rate to APR.
Two exchanges show a funding rate of 0.01% for the same coin. Same cost? Not necessarily. If one settles every hour and the other every 8 hours, the first one costs 8 times more over a day.
The funding interval is the most overlooked number in funding trading. This guide explains how it works and how to compare rates fairly.
What is a funding interval?
The interval is how often funding is settled between longs and shorts. At each settlement, every open position pays or receives:
Payment = notional × rate for that interval
The rate displayed by an exchange is almost always the rate for one interval, not a daily or yearly number.
Who settles when
| Interval | Where you find it |
|---|---|
| 1 hour | Hyperliquid, Lighter, Paradex, Extended, Pacifica, Kraken Futures, dYdX |
| 4 hours | Many CEX markets (Bybit, MEXC, Bitget, OKX, Binance) on volatile pairs, plus Aster, GRVT and edgeX on many markets |
| 8 hours | The default on most CEXs for majors |
| Continuous | gTrade, where funding accrues every block |
Intervals are set per market, not per exchange. On Bybit, MEXC and Bitget, close to half of USDT perps settle every 4 hours while the rest stay at 8 hours. Exchanges also switch a market to a shorter interval when funding hits its cap during a squeeze.
Converting any rate to APR
- Divide by the interval in hours to get the hourly rate.
- Multiply by 24 × 365 = 8,760 to get the APR.
| Displayed rate | Interval | Hourly | APR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.01% | 8h | 0.00125% | 10.95% |
| 0.01% | 4h | 0.0025% | 21.9% |
| 0.01% | 1h | 0.01% | 87.6% |
The same "0.01%" means 11%, 22% or 88% a year depending on the interval.
Why it matters for arbitrage
1. Your spread is wrong if you skip normalisation. A strategy that looks like a 5% edge can be a −20% loss once both legs are converted to hourly rates.
2. Payment timing differs. On a 1h venue you receive funding 24 times a day. On an 8h venue you receive one payment three times a day. Close an 8h leg one minute before settlement and you miss the whole payment.
3. Rates move between settlements. The displayed CEX rate is a prediction for the next settlement, and it can change before the payment.
How FundingView handles intervals
- Every market is read with its own interval, never an exchange-wide default.
- Rates are stored as hourly rates and displayed as APR or per-timeframe returns (1h, 8h, 1d, 1w, 1m, 1y) on the dashboard.
- Each leg of a strategy shows its native interval, so you can see when payments arrive.
- Backtests use the real payment hours, so an 8h market only pays at its 8h settlements.
Practical tips
- Prefer hourly venues for the leg you might close quickly: you lose at most one hour of funding.
- On an 8h or 4h leg, open right after a settlement if that leg pays you, and close right before one.
- Re-check intervals after big moves. A market can switch from 8h to 4h overnight, and its funding doubles in APR terms.
FAQ
Is a shorter interval better? Not by itself. It just means smaller, more frequent payments. Compare APRs, not raw rates.
Why does my CEX show a rate that changes before the payment? CEXs display the predicted rate for the next settlement. It is fixed only at settlement.
Where can I see each market's interval? On the FundingView dashboard, next to each leg's rate.
Related: What are funding rates? · Funding APR calculator guide