I see that many people are asking about how long they can hold a futures position without incurring additional costs. This is a very reasonable question because in reality, holding a futures order for a long time is not completely free.

When you hold a futures position over multiple cycles, several types of fees may appear. The main fee you need to pay attention to is the funding fee — which is calculated periodically, usually every 8 hours, between those who are Long and those who are Short. If you are Long and the funding rate at that time is positive, you will have to pay fees to the Shorts. Conversely, if you are Short and the funding rate is negative, you will pay money to the Longs. This means that if you keep holding a futures order through multiple funding periods, the total fees can accumulate quite significantly, especially when your trading volume is large.

Besides the funding fee, there are also regular trading fees, but these are only charged when you open or close a position, and are not related to how long you hold it. Therefore, if you only open once and hold for a long time without entering or exiting, trading fees will not affect you.

Another factor I want to mention is the actual risk of holding a position for too long. If you don’t have a clear plan, you might get stopped out or miss other trading opportunities. The market doesn’t wait for anyone.

In summary, if you plan to hold a futures position for a long time, carefully consider the funding fees. When the funding rate is high or highly volatile, you should consider closing the position earlier or managing your position more intelligently. Don’t let fees eat into your profits.