The third quarter has opened with an unusual tilt inside crypto-derivatives pits: traders are paying steep premiums to keep long bets open on XRP, TRX and DOGE, even as Bitcoin drifts sideways near $107 K. Perpetual-futures funding rates on Tuesday showed XRP at nearly 11 percent, TRX at 10 percent and DOGE at 8.4 percent (annualized), the highest readings among the ten largest digital assets.
Perpetual contracts never expire, so exchanges use eight-hour funding payments to tether their price to spot.
Because perps now account for most exchange volume, a sustained positive funding rate often front-runs spot rallies as leverage flows from derivatives into underlying coins.
The payments-focused token has worn the scarlet letter of U.S. litigation since 2020, yet the market’s appetite for leverage has rarely been stronger. Data provider Velo shows an annualized XRP funding rate near 11 percent, the largest premium among majors.
Several forces explain that spike:
Historical back-tests show that whenever XRP funding exceeds 8 percent for three consecutive days, the spot price has added a median 22 percent within a month, though volatility also jumps sharply.
Tron’s native token punches above its market-cap weight thanks to its role as the primary settlement layer for offshore USDT. With on-chain USDT supply now above $80 billion and average daily transactions up 90 percent year-over-year, demand for TRX collateral remains sticky.
The result is a 10 percent funding rate — double the coin’s May average. Yield desks recycle the carry by staking TRX on chain, hedging with short-dated options and pocketing the differential, a strategy that keeps derivative borrowing costs elevated. If macro liquidity loosens further in Q3, TRX could outpace peers as traders seek real-yield narratives in a low-rate environment.
Dogecoin’s 8.4 percent funding rate might look tame beside XRP and TRX, but it is still five times higher than Bitcoin’s. Social-volume trackers show recurring spikes around Elon Musk’s Starship updates and the dog-day “Doge Day” campaign slated for August 8. While spot DOGE has hugged the $0.16 line for weeks, leveraged longs are positioning for a typical meme-coin volatility burst that tends to follow concentrated social engagement.
Options desks note rising open interest in $0.20 strike calls expiring in mid-August, suggesting traders expect any catalyst, Musk tweet, Starship milestone, or new X-Payments teaser, to push DOGE toward last winter’s $0.22 high.
Skeptics point out that Bitcoin’s Q3 performance averages just 5.6 percent, its weakest quarter since 2013. Yet post-halving years often deviate from that script; 2017’s halving cycle delivered a 73 percent Q3 rally. If macro conditions echo that period, with global PMI upticks and dovish central-bank chatter, the leverage stacking up in altcoin perps could migrate into spot markets, amplifying the upside.
Traders monitor the funding-to-open-interest ratio; an >0.02 reading on XRP or TRX historically signals near-term pullbacks.
With double-digit funding rates on XRP and TRX and a high-single-digit rate on DOGE, derivatives traders are shouting their conviction that the altcoin complex will outperform a lethargic Bitcoin in the weeks ahead. Whether that bet pays off hinges on macro data, Ripple’s courtroom calendar and the meme-fuel cadence of social media. For now, the data shows leverage concentrating where traders believe the headlines, and the upside will arrive first.
It’s a fee paid between traders in perpetual futures to keep prices aligned with the spot market.
Traders are betting on a Ripple-SEC resolution and a possible ETF, boosting long positions.
It means longs are paying shorts, indicating strong bullish sentiment.
High USDT activity and yield farming demand push TRX funding higher.
Hype around Elon Musk and Doge-related events drives leveraged long interest.
Periodic fee between long and short futures traders.
No-expiry crypto contracts tied to funding rates.
Borrowed capital used to amplify trades.
Total value of active, unsettled futures contracts.
Sustainable returns not reliant on token inflation.
