KAITO Down 6.6%. Short Side Funding Hit 494%/yr at the Peak.

Quick Take
KAITO (the Yapper attention-protocol token) fell 6.6% on 14 Aug 2026 — from $0.4235 to $0.3954. Throughout the day and into early 15 Aug UTC, the KAITO perp on Hyperliquid ran negative funding for 27 consecutive hourly settlements: every hour, shorts paid longs. The rate peaked at −494%/yr at 09:00 UTC — at which point a $10,000 short position was paying longs $135/day. Shorts were directionally correct (the price did fall) and still absorbed that structural funding cost. Informational only, not advice.
Peak Funding (09:00 UTC)
−494%/yr
KAITO 24h Change
−6.6%
Open Interest
$9.26M

The Asset and the Snapshot

KAITO powers the Yapper attention-quantification ecosystem — it measures and rewards on-chain content activity. On 14 August 2026, KAITO fell 6.6% from $0.4235 (previous-day close) to $0.3954. Open interest stood at approximately 23.4 million contracts (≈$9.26M at the mark price); 24-hour volume was $5.70M.

MetricValue
Mark price (02:15 UTC, 15 Aug)$0.3954
Previous day price$0.4235
24h price change−6.6%
Open interest~$9.26M (23.4M contracts)
Volume 24h$5.70M
Consecutive negative funding hours27 (00:00 Aug 14 → 02:00 Aug 15 UTC)
Funding range (all 27 hours)−47%/yr to −494%/yr
Peak funding hour (09:00 UTC, 14 Aug)−494%/yr
Who paid whomShorts paid longs, every hour

Data source: Hyperliquid metaAndAssetCtxs and fundingHistory APIs. Funding settles hourly on Hyperliquid; APR = hourly rate × 24 × 365. OI in USD approximated as contracts × mark price at snapshot.

What the Funding Rate Means

On Hyperliquid, perpetual funding is settled every hour. The rate reflects the gap between the perp mark price and the spot oracle. When the rate is negative, the perp trades at a discount to spot — the short side is structurally dominant in terms of perp demand, and shorts pay longs each hour to keep the perp anchored.

The key mechanical point: KAITO’s price fell 6.6%, meaning the short position was directionally profitable on mark-to-market. At the same time, the funding rate charged shorts a carry cost of 47–494%/yr depending on the hour. The price gain and the funding cost are two separate cash flows; they do not cancel each other automatically.

At the peak hourly reading of −494%/yr (09:00 UTC):

Position SizeFunding Cost at Peak Rate (per hour)Annualized Pace
$1,000 short$0.56/hr$4,940/yr
$10,000 short$5.64/hr ≈ $135/day$49,400/yr
$100,000 short$56.4/hr ≈ $1,353/day$494,000/yr
Whole book ($9.26M OI) — annualized pace at peak~$125,000/day (hypothetical at peak rate; actual daily flow was lower)

The whole-book figure applies the peak rate to the full OI as a hypothetical annualized run rate — not a measured 24-hour total. Actual daily settlements were at varying rates across 27 hours (range: −47%/yr to −494%/yr).

All 27 Consecutive Negative Settlements

Every hourly funding settlement from 00:00 UTC on 14 Aug through 02:00 UTC on 15 Aug was negative — 27 in a row. The table below shows each hour:

Hour (UTC)Funding (annualized)Hour (UTC)Funding (annualized)
00:00 Aug 14−66%/yr14:00 Aug 14−313%/yr
01:00−59%/yr15:00−428%/yr
02:00−47%/yr16:00−292%/yr
03:00−204%/yr17:00−302%/yr
04:00−158%/yr18:00−386%/yr
05:00−205%/yr19:00−288%/yr
06:00−201%/yr20:00−372%/yr
07:00−238%/yr21:00−302%/yr
08:00−461%/yr22:00−269%/yr
09:00 — peak−494%/yr23:00−263%/yr
10:00−438%/yr00:00 Aug 15−184%/yr
11:00−349%/yr01:00 Aug 15−189%/yr
12:00−298%/yr02:00 Aug 15−253%/yr
13:00−257%/yr  

Source: Hyperliquid fundingHistory API, KAITO. Zero positive or neutral hours in this 27-hour window.

Key Mechanical Facts

On-chain funding and positioning data, several times a day.

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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. Past market structure, funding rates, and positioning data do not predict future outcomes. 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 fundingHistory and metaAndAssetCtxs APIs; 14–15 Aug 2026. 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. Services may not be available in all jurisdictions. Not available to Prohibited Persons or in Restricted Jurisdictions. T&C · Privacy Policy · Disclosures · Risk.