Recently, many people have been complaining about the funding fee issues of altcoins, saying that profits are being drained and their principal is at risk. I want to look at this from a different perspective.

Charging high funding fees on altcoins is actually quite reasonable. Why? Many big players like to play this way: open a position with 1x leverage, set the liquidation price at a level where liquidation is basically impossible, and then just hold on. After all, the consensus is that altcoins will eventually go to zero. With this in mind, how can retail traders go long? High funding fees are used to counteract this kind of big player’s low-leverage shorting and waiting to harvest.

To put it simply, altcoin market makers will definitely manipulate the market. But this isn’t just an altcoin problem—mainstream coins are also manipulated, just not as obviously. The key is that you need to be aware of this. Once you realize you’re being targeted by a whale, it’s best to admit defeat and cut losses without shame.

My own lesson: I was shorting PIPPIN at 0.09 and got stopped out. At that time, I stubbornly held onto the idea that “altcoins will go to zero,” and ended up losing. These days, it’s quite entertaining—watching KOLs argue and big players being hunted by whales. Of course, it’s also uncertain whether these are orchestrated by whales, but either way, it’s just for entertainment.