ETH Funding Rates Plunge to Most Negative Level Since June

Ethereum's funding rates just slid to their most negative reading since June, according to crypto market watcher @cryptorover on X. That means traders are paying to stay short — and plenty of them are doing it.

In plain terms: the market is leaning hard against ETH right now. Negative funding is the signature of a crowded short side, where bearish bets pile up and the cost of holding them flips against the bears.

@cryptorover flagged the setup as a big one, noting that Ethereum is being massively shorted at the moment. The last trip to these depths, per the same account, landed right at a market bottom.

That's the interesting wrinkle. Deeply negative funding is often read as a contrarian signal — a sign the pessimism has gotten stretched — though the account's bottom call is its own observation, not a guarantee.

For now, the number to watch is the funding rate itself. If it snaps back toward zero or turns positive, the short crowd is covering. If it stays pinned at these extremes, the bearish conviction is still running the show.

Either way, ETH traders just got a fresh marker for how lopsided sentiment has become — the most lopsided since June.