RIVER's recent trend has thoroughly exposed an interesting trading strategy. The big players' approach is very clear: gradually accumulate spot positions at low prices, then immediately open heavy long positions in futures. Meanwhile, they aggressively push up the spot price while using futures to smash the market and create a price gap. The difference between spot and futures is forcibly driven to -2%, causing the funding rate for shorts to plummet into negative territory. In this way, the big players sit back and enjoy the benefits—no need for a market surge to make money; they can simply earn from the funding fees collected from the short side every hour.

This strategy essentially exploits the structural contradictions between spot and futures markets for arbitrage. The invisible harvesting machine of funding rates kicks into gear, with one hand reversing the other. As we move into 2026, this type of trading method is likely to become more and more common. The liquidity in the altcoin market is relatively concentrated, giving big players more room to operate, allowing them to repeatedly use this tactic throughout the year. Changing coins, changing cycles, but the same script keeps playing out. The repeated switching of funding rates from positive to negative has become the most stable tool for harvesting profits from retail investors.

Have you seen similar cases? Share your observations in the comments.