On 12 August 2026, Fidelity filed an amendment with the SEC to add staking to its Ethereum ETF (ticker: FETH). The filing describes a structure where 85% of staking rewards are retained in the fund and the remainder distributed to investors quarterly. ETH staking on the Ethereum beacon chain currently runs at approximately 3.5–4%/yr — a network participation rate paid to validators who lock ETH to help secure the network.
At the same moment, on Hyperliquid, ETH perpetual funding prints 10.95%/yr — the Hyperliquid funding rate ceiling — on $1.675B in open interest. The arithmetic gap: perp funding runs at 2.74× the network staking rate. ETH staking requires owning and locking actual ETH; it is a network participation rate with no leverage. Holding an ETH perp position involves leverage, which is offered by the Connected Protocol, not by ARX, and can result in the rapid and total loss of any amount deployed. The funding rate is the cost the market prices for that directional leveraged exposure.
The two instruments are not interchangeable and this comparison is a structural observation about how each prices ETH exposure at a point in time — not a recommendation of either. See the ETH market page for current price and open interest context, and the guide to perp funding rates as a crowding gauge for how this mechanism works.
On Hyperliquid, funding settles every hour between the long and short sides. The annualized rate at the 13:00 UTC snapshot, applied to open interest, gives the following daily carry cost figures:
| Asset | Open Interest | Funding APR | Daily Carry (Longs Pay) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETH | $1,675.1M | +10.95% | ~$503K/day | $1,675.1M × 10.95% ÷ 365; at HL cap |
| BTC | $2,467.5M | +10.95% | ~$740K/day | $2,467.5M × 10.95% ÷ 365; at HL cap |
| BTC+ETH | $4,142.6M | — | ~$1.24M/day | Combined daily carry paid by longs to shorts |
| HYPE | $1,189.0M | +10.95% | ~$357K/day | Also at HL cap; +1.53% on the day |
Source: Hyperliquid metaAndAssetCtxs API. Snapshot: 12 Aug 2026, 13:00 UTC. Funding rates settle hourly; APR shown as hourly rate × 24 × 365 × 100. Daily carry uses the instantaneous rate at snapshot time and assumes a constant rate — actual daily settlement differs as the rate resets each hour.
ETH network staking APR (~3.5–4%/yr) is an estimate based on Ethereum consensus-layer validator data; it is not a figure from the Fidelity filing, which does not disclose a target rate. Actual staking rates vary with network participation and MEV conditions.
Hyperliquid’s funding formula anchors the perp price to spot by charging the dominant side. When demand for long positions pushes the rate to the ceiling — approximately 10.95%/yr annualized (roughly 0.00125% per hour) — the rate cannot climb further. On 12 August 2026, BTC, ETH, and HYPE were all simultaneously at this cap. This documents that demand for long exposure in these three markets was strong enough to exhaust the formula’s headroom.
This is not a directional signal. A funding rate at the cap means longs are paying the maximum observable carry — not that prices will move up or down. Comparing with recent snapshots: on 4 August, BTC funding briefly went negative as selling pressure peaked; ETH was at the cap on both 3 and 5 August; by 12 August both are at the ceiling simultaneously. The aggregate daily carry has grown from ~$964K/day (5 Aug) to ~$1.24M/day (12 Aug). Almost all of that increase comes from BTC funding rising from +6.83%/yr to the cap — not from position growth: BTC OI expanded from $2.25B to $2.47B while ETH OI declined from $1.81B to $1.675B, so the two open-interest changes roughly offset. The cap is reached periodically across August — its significance depends on duration and breadth, both observable in real time.
On-chain funding and open-interest data, several times a day.
Join ARX Telegram →This is market data commentary for informational purposes only, prepared on a best-efforts basis from publicly available data. It does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset or take any trading action. Network staking rates and perp funding rates describe observable protocol-level rates at a point in time, not a return available to or offered by ARX. Past market structure, funding rates, and positioning data do not predict future outcomes. Leverage, where available, is offered by the Connected Protocol, not by ARX, and can result in the rapid and total loss of any amount deployed. Interacting with on-chain perpetual markets is high-risk — you may lose all or a substantial portion of any amount deployed; conduct your own independent assessment. Data sourced from the Hyperliquid metaAndAssetCtxs API; point-in-time snapshot, 12 Aug 2026 13:00 UTC. ARX is a non-custodial SaaS analytics and order-transmission platform: at the user’s explicit instruction, ARX formats and transmits the user’s own order to a Connected Protocol. ARX does not execute, match, or settle orders, does not custody funds, does not manage assets, does not offer leverage, and is not a counterparty — matching and settlement occur at the Connected Protocol. Not available to Prohibited Persons or in Restricted Jurisdictions. T&C · Privacy Policy · Disclosures · Risk.