Funding rates to borrow $BTC on Bitfinex hitting 100%+ annualized. This funding has rippled to Bitmex as well.
At these rates, it takes a little over one month for a 10x short to get liquidated even if BTC doesn't move. A 50x short gets liquidated in under a week.
https://twitter.com/zhusu/status/1122527945094905856So, if I had funds stuck in Bitfinex (I don't) that I couldn't get out, and was resigned to that fact... what would I do?
I'd say "fuck it" and make some very high risk margin trades, figuring that I've prolly lost my money anyways. On the slim chance that Bitfinex gets through this and stays solvent, I could potentially come out with a huge windfall on funds that I had already written off.
With the above thinking, it does not surprise me that there is a huge demand for margin on that platform at this moment.