> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.arcus.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What is the funding rate?

The periodic payment between longs and shorts that helps to keep the price of the perpetual contract tethered to the price of the underlying.

Positive funding means longs pay shorts (perp above the underlying); negative means shorts pay longs. Funding payments are USD-denominated and are paid or received in proportion to position notional size (USD).