01 · Research
Funding and basis carry scan
A scan of perp funding and spot-perp basis that lists candidates, the inventory you would need, and why most rows are a pass.
- Level
- Advanced
- Cadence
- On a schedule you pick, often daily in active books, weekly if you only review
- Read
- 10 min
- Updated
Definition
A funding and basis carry scan lists markets where perp funding or the spot-perp gap is far from your normal. It also lists what you would have to hold, borrow, or margin. It does not place the carry.
Who it is for
Traders who already understand funding and basis and want a list to reject, not a carry to copy.
Job to be done
Produce a ranked reject list of funding or basis dislocations, with the hedge inventory and the reasons a row is not a trade.
Human gate. You may promote at most a few rows to "worth a manual hedge check". The agent cannot mark a row as a trade.
Inputs and outputs
Inputs
- Venues and markets you can actually trade
- Your funding threshold and your basis threshold, written as numbers
- Whether you can short spot, borrow, or only trade the perp
- A max number of rows that may survive, small on purpose
Outputs
- A table of markets past the threshold, with the latest print and the window
- The inventory or borrow the carry implies
- A pass reason for every other row
- Data timestamp and venue, so a stale print is visible
Step-by-step workflow
- 01Write the thresholds firstFunding per interval and basis in percent. If you do not have numbers, you are not ready for the scan.
- 02Restrict the universeMarkets you can trade with the accounts you have. A row on a venue that will not onboard you is clutter.
- 03Pull prints, then talkThe model formats a feed. It does not recall funding from memory. Paste or connect a timestamped export.
- 04Attach the inventoryFor each survivor, state the spot, the perp, the margin, and what you cannot do (borrow, withdraw, hold through a weekend).
- 05Force pass reasonsMost rows should die for a written reason: thin open interest, one-interval spike, no hedge, or different contract.
- 06Human gateOpen the venue and check the print yourself before any row leaves the list. The scan is not a ticket.
Suggested tool types
These are categories of tools, not product picks. Crypto Agent Desk does not certify vendors and does not run an affiliate program.
| Type | Why it is here |
|---|---|
| Perp funding and open-interest feed | The scan is a number. A chat model does not know the print. |
| Spot price feed on the same venue or a venue you can arb | Basis without both legs is a story. |
| Chat model | Applies your pass rules and writes the inventory note in a fixed shape. |
| Spreadsheet or notebook | You will want yesterday’s scan next to today’s. |
Risks and failure modes
Funding that flips
A rich print is not a path. The scan should show the window, not an annualized fantasy from one interval.
Basis you cannot hedge
If you cannot hold or borrow the spot, the basis row is information, not a carry.
Cross-venue fiction
Comparing a perp on one venue to spot on another ignores withdrawal delays and different contract specs.
Operator notes
Carry scans go bad when the annualized column is large and the hedge is imaginary. Make the inventory line impossible to skip.
Survivor shape
Market, venue, funding print, interval, basis versus the spot you named, open interest, what you must hold, why it might still be a pass, timestamp.
Prompt you can paste
Here is a timestamped funding and basis export: DATA.
My thresholds: FUNDING_THRESHOLD per interval, BASIS_THRESHOLD percent.
I can trade only these venues: VENUE_LIST.
I can / cannot borrow spot. I can / cannot short spot.
Return rows past threshold. For each, state the hedge inventory and a pass reason if one exists.
Do not tell me to enter. Cap survivors at MAX_ROWS. Show timestamps.Done when
You can explain, for any survivor, what you would have to hold overnight and why you might still pass.
FAQ
Should the table be annualized?
Show the interval you measured and, if you want, an annualized figure labeled as "if this print persisted". Do not let the annualized number be the only column.
Is a high funding rate a short signal?
No. It is a cost for one side and income for the other, if they can hold the hedge. Direction is a separate decision.
How many survivors are healthy?
Few. If everything is a candidate, the threshold is decoration.
Published . Updated . This is an operating playbook, not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset.