Crypto arbitrage strategies
7 market-neutral and cross-exchange strategies, each with a live scanner built from exchange data and every figure shown after fees.
Price arbitrage
Buy where a coin is cheaper and sell where it is richer, net of taker fees on both legs.Spot arbitrage
Buy a coin on the exchange where its spot price is lowest and sell it where the price is highest, using balances already held on both venues.
Buy spot → Sell spotFutures arbitrage
Go long the cheaper perpetual on one exchange and short the richer one on another, then close both legs when their prices converge.
Long perp → Short perpCEX-DEX arbitrage
Trade the price gap between a perpetual on a decentralized exchange and the same perpetual on a centralized exchange, with one leg settling on-chain.
CEX ↔ DEX
Funding and carry
Delta-neutral positions that earn funding payments instead of a price move.Funding rate arbitrage
Go long the perpetual with the lowest funding and short the one with the highest, and collect the difference while price moves cancel out.
Long perp → Short perpCash and carry
Buy a coin on the spot market and short the same amount in perpetual futures to collect positive funding with little price exposure.
Buy spot → Short perpReverse cash and carry
When funding is negative, sell borrowed spot and go long the perpetual to collect the funding shorts pay, while price moves cancel out.
Sell spot → Long perpPerp premium
Track how far each perpetual trades above or below spot on the same exchange, to read crowded positioning and find basis trade entries.
Perp vs spot
New to these ideas? Start with the arbitrage guides, or model a trade with the calculators.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the safest crypto arbitrage strategy?
- None is risk-free. Delta-neutral strategies such as cash and carry and funding rate arbitrage remove price exposure, but they still carry exchange, liquidation and funding-flip risk. Price arbitrage needs balances on both exchanges and fast execution.
- What is the difference between price arbitrage and funding arbitrage?
- Price arbitrage profits from a gap between two prices and closes when prices converge. Funding arbitrage holds a long and a short perpetual at the same time and earns the difference in funding payments while both positions stay open.
- Are the returns on these scanners guaranteed?
- No. Every figure is a live estimate from exchange data, net of taker fees. Funding changes every interval, prices move, and costs such as withdrawal fees, slippage and borrow interest are not always included.