Is the market turning neutral? BTC fee rate divergence, ETH is now fully bearish

【Blockchain Rhythms】Data from January 1st shows interesting changes in the funding rates of the crypto market. To start with the conclusion: the funding rates for ETH on major CEX and DEX platforms have all returned to neutral levels, indicating a relatively balanced force between bulls and bears; for BTC trading pairs, only a few leading exchanges remain slightly bearish, while other platforms have also reverted to neutral. However, the situation is different for altcoins, where all platforms still maintain a fully bearish stance, and the market has not yet given small tokens a chance to turn around.

One more thing to mention, many people don’t understand what the funding rate is. Simply put, it is the mechanism of fund exchange between long and short traders in the perpetual contract market. Platforms use this rate to keep the contract price aligned with the underlying asset price—if the contract price rises too high, the rate becomes positive, and shorts are compensated; the reverse is also true. This fee circulates among traders, and the platform itself does not profit from it.

How to interpret the rate? The benchmark is 0.01%. A rate higher than this indicates a generally bullish market, while below 0.005% suggests a generally bearish market. Based on this standard, the market’s view on mainstream coins is gradually calming from bearishness, but caution remains for small tokens.