Spot-perp basis for yield 💰
Choppy market and you still want return without directional exposure? This is my go-to. Go long spot, short the perp in the same size, and harvest the carry while staying neutral. Example 👇
• Let's say you have $20,000
• Go to Hyperliquid perps.
• Buy $15,000 worth of HYPE on spot.
• Open $15,000 HYPE short position with 3x leverage using $5000 in margin.
• Use your spot HYPE coins to earn additional APR by depositing them in Pendle to earn a fixed yield.
🧮 The result:
🟢Spot yield (Pendle 13.9% on $15,000)
= $2,085 per year ≈ $5.71 per day
🟢Perp funding (18% on $15,000 notional)
= $2,700 per year ≈ $7.40 per day
🟢In total you get paid:
$4,785 per year ≈ $13.11 per day = 23.9% APR 🤔
But be careful: funding can invert. Avoid high leverage, set price alerts to not get liquidated, and prefer splitting spot and perp across wallets or subaccounts.
When I like it: after strong pumps when funding is rich, or during newsy weeks when basis stretches. When funding normalizes or goes negative for a while, I close it and wait for the next window 👀