Funding on futures

Funding is a periodic fee for holding a futures position. It is charged not by the bot but by the exchange: at equal intervals the holders of positions exchange a payment, and depending on the sign of the rate it is paid either by the LONG side or by the SHORT side. There is no funding on spot — there you own the coin, not a contract.

What it means for your bots

• The longer the position stays open, the more funding accumulates — in your favour or against you.
• Funding is charged and credited directly on the exchange account, separately from the entry and exit prices, so the “paper” profit by price and the result on the account can differ.
• On the learning screen of the Grid bots it is a separate risk item: “Funding — futures charge holding fees”.

Where it is in the bot

Screen	What is shown
🪜 Grid Bots → the bot card (futures)	The lines “💵 Realized P&L: … USDT”, “📈 Unrealized P&L: … USDT” and, separately, “💸 Funding: … USDT”
📉 DCA Bots → the bot card (futures)	“💵 Total P&L: … USDT”, “💸 Funding: … USDT” and “💰 Net P&L (after funding): … USDT”
The export /export_grid_history	The summary block of the file: Realized PnL, Funding, Unrealized PnL
The export /export_dca_history	The columns accumulated_funding and net_pnl, the totals: Total PnL, Funding, Net PnL

The funding line in the card is not refreshed instantly but periodically, and it is shown for futures bots. The trades of Signal bots have no separate funding line in the card or in the final summary: look up the exact amount for a particular position in the Bybit history.

How it works

1. A position is open on futures — from that moment the exchange credits or charges funding.
2. The bot periodically reads the charges from the exchange and accumulates them for each Grid and DCA bot.
3. For a DCA bot the net result is the total P&L minus funding; for a Grid bot Realized, Unrealized and Funding are shown separately, so add them up yourself.
4. If the bot reported a PnL mismatch with the exchange, check the history on the exchange — funding and fees are often exactly the reason for the difference, see PnL mismatch.

Example with a calculation

A DCA bot on futures closed several cycles over two weeks. The card shows:

💵 Total P&L: +40.00 USDT
💸 Funding: -6.00 USDT
💰 Net P&L (after funding): +34.00 USDT

The cycles brought 40 USDT by entry and exit prices, but over the time the positions were held the exchange charged 6 USDT of funding — in reality the account gained 34 USDT. If the rate had been in your favour, the funding line would have been positive and the net result would have been higher than the total.

How to reduce the effect of funding

• Do not hold a position longer than needed: for a Grid bot choose a range the price really moves in, for a DCA one choose targets the price actually reaches.
• Compare not the “Total P&L” but the “Net P&L” — it is the one that shows the result on the account.
• For long sideways strategies consider spot bots: there is never any funding there.

Limits and allowed values

Parameter	Value
Market	Futures only (LINEAR); there is no funding on spot
Who sets the rate	The exchange; the bot neither sets nor changes it
Where it is counted in the total	DCA — in the “Net P&L”; Grid — as a separate line
The trades of Signal bots	No separate line, look it up on the exchange