The crypto market is experiencing a widespread decline, with the funding rate indicating persistently low market sentiment. The bearish sentiment for ETH is significantly stronger than that for BTC.

May 28th — Per HTX’s market data, Bitcoin is currently trading at $73,524.15, marking a 3.13% drop in the last 24 hours. Ethereum sits at $1,994.33, down 4.20% over the same period; ETH dipped below the $2,000 key psychological level earlier today. Across top centralized exchanges (CEXs), funding rates for both BTC and ETH are firmly in bearish territory, reflecting weak long-position sentiment and an overall sluggish market mood. For Bitcoin, funding rates across platforms are mostly below the 0.01% benchmark, with no clear bullish signals. Ethereum’s bearish trend is even more pronounced: ETH’s overall funding rates fall below the 0.005% threshold, indicating stronger downward pressure compared to BTC. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are mechanisms crypto exchanges use to keep perpetual contract prices aligned with the underlying asset’s market value. They work as fund transfers between long and short contract traders—exchanges do not collect these fees. The rate adjusts the cost or profit of holding contracts to ensure contract prices stay close to the actual asset’s price. To clarify: A 0.01% funding rate is the baseline. When rates exceed 0.01%, that typically signals a bullish market. When rates drop below 0.005%, that usually points to a bearish market.