A large holder's position in a major altcoin has triggered an interesting market phenomenon. Although this whale's account has a substantial margin size, enough to withstand regular liquidation risks, it was caught off guard by the high funding rates on the 1-hour chart—being effectively drained of millions of USDT just from the fees. Investing large sums into altcoins is inherently a high-risk game; once trapped, it can become a burden rather than an advantage.

Interestingly, some commenters proposed a hedging strategy: opening an equal and opposite position to offset the funding costs. Theoretically, this sounds good, but in practice, it has a critical flaw. If a large trader operates this way, it can create a "lock" scenario—opposing traders quickly recognize this move and immediately push the price into a middle ground between the two positions, using sideways trading to drain the large trader’s time and patience. Such stalemates are most unfavorable for big funds because they are constantly paying the funding fees.

This reflects a deeper market logic: in the relatively illiquid altcoin market, having a large capital scale can actually be a disadvantage. Opposing traders hold the pricing power, and the funding rate mechanism becomes the most effective tool for them to target whales.