THE CITADEL
Markets • Risk • Systems

Funding & Open Interest (context)

Perpetual futures use funding payments to keep the perp price near spot. Open interest (OI) is the notional size of open derivatives positions. Both are useful for describing positioning and leverage, but neither is a standalone signal.

Funding

Funding above 0 means longs pay shorts; below 0 means shorts pay longs. It’s a pricing/positioning snapshot.

Open interest

Rising OI can mean more positions are being opened; falling OI can mean positions are closing. Direction and context matter.

How we label

We use simple sign/direction labels (positive/negative/flat; rising/falling/flat). No hidden thresholds.

Source: Binance public endpoints (USDT perpetuals)