The most undervalued asset in the crypto world: from funding rates to the financialization of uncertainty itself

Crypto’s most underappreciated asset may be the ability to price and hedge the “incidental” risks—funding-rate bills on perpetual futures and floating borrowing costs—that traders and borrowers are forced to absorb alongside their core exposure. The article proposes standardizing these costs into tradable claims, such as a 30-day contract covering a $1,000 notional position that pays out if cumulative funding rates exceed a preset threshold, letting a trader with a $100,000 ETH long buy 100 units to cap carry costs while keeping price upside. It argues this can unite hedgers with speculators and market makers in one payout structure, creating liquidity around a risk nobody currently wants but everyone pays for. The main obstacle is basis risk: standardized contracts cannot perfectly match individualized positions, so the viable product must balance broad, liquid standardization against close fit to real friction costs. It also stresses that payouts must arrive before margin calls or liquidations, meaning real underwriting capital—whether from professional market makers or decentralized liquidity pools—is the ultimate foundation. The takeaway is that funding rates and borrowing interest are visible, painful costs, and turning that uncertainty into measurable, fundable, tradable assets could open a large new market.