# Funding Rates 

### Funding Rates in SYMMIO 

Perpetual futures never settle, so their price can drift away from the real market price. **Funding rates** are a small payment exchanged between longs and shorts to keep prices aligned.

If longs are dominating and the perp price is above spot → **longs pay shorts**.\
If shorts are dominating and the perp price is below spot → **shorts pay longs**.

This makes holding the more “advantaged” side a little more expensive, nudging prices back toward the real market value.

#### How it works on SYMMIO

Every symbol on SYMMIO has it's own funding rate, which is applied at the end of periods, called **epochs**. When an epoch ends, positions pay (or receive) funding. On the contracts, this cycle's length is defined as the `fundingRateEpochDuration`. Solvers are responsible for charging funding during the symbol's `fundingRateWindowTime`, which is a short window either side of the epoch 'flip'.

Example Symbol:

```json
{
  "symbolId": "1",
  "name": "BTCUSDT",
  "isValid": true,
  "minAcceptableQuoteValue": "120000000000000000000",
  "minAcceptablePortionLF": "3000000000000000",
  "tradingFee": "3800000000000000",
  "maxLeverage": "100000000000000000000",
  "fundingRateEpochDuration": "14400", // <- 4 hours
  "fundingRateWindowTime": "420" // <- 7 minutes
}
```

The older method adjusted the `openedPrice` of your position to simulate the funding charge: if you're long and paying funding, your open price nudges up slightly, giving you a worse entry. No tokens were transferred. This process is still used for symbols that haven't migrated to the newer system.

<figure><img src="/files/8bTdIxDMO55ZIcmetMCx" alt=""><figcaption><p>Explorer Preview</p></figcaption></figure>

{% embed url="<https://intent.symmscan.com/>" %}

The newer method tracks funding as a weighted average at the symbol level rather than processing each position individually. When a solver sets a rate, it blends into a running average. When funding is eventually charged, it's deducted directly from your allocated balance rather than adjusting your open price — making it a visible line item rather than a subtle price shift. This approach is significantly more efficient, since the solver no longer needs to touch every open position at each epoch.

{% hint style="info" %}
Solvers are responsible for streaming the rates which they are applying in the next epoch, but they don't necessarily stream the epoch durations. Ultimately they can only charge during the window defined by the smart contracts, so always refer to the smart contracts to clarify epoch durations.
{% endhint %}


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