Crypto arbitrage means buying and selling the same asset on different venues to capture a price difference. A completed cycle earns money when actual sale proceeds exceed the purchase, both trading fees, transfers and balance rebalancing. A scanner spread identifies a price gap; executable prices and available size determine the outcome.
This guide covers two execution methods, a worked example and the free Yieldo scanner. Its focus is cross-exchange spot arbitrage: buying and selling the asset itself.
Why prices differ between exchanges
Each exchange has its own A list of buy and sell orders with their prices and sizes. A trade occurs when compatible orders from two sides are matched.: prices and quantities that participants are willing to buy or sell. A large purchase can move one venue before another. Demand, market depth and transfer restrictions also differ. A closed deposit or withdrawal can keep a venue's price disconnected for some time.
Buying uses sellers' offers; selling uses buyers' bids. The last recorded trade may be older or much smaller than your order. The difference between last-trade prices is therefore not always available at your size. Coinbase's order documentation describes partial fills and price changes when market depth is insufficient.
Current spreads in Yieldo
The table shows detected price gaps and the buying and selling venues. Open a coin to examine the route. The figure for 1,000 USDT uses the costs covered by the card; a calculation for your own size needs order-book prices and the fees for your accounts.
A large percentage needs an explanation. Matching tickers may refer to different tokens, withdrawals may be closed, or a high price may come from an earlier small trade. Matching the contract, network and available volume separates these cases from a usable route.
Two ways to execute cross-exchange arbitrage
Buy, transfer and sell
Buy the asset on exchange A, send it to B and sell after the deposit arrives. The funds travel through the route in sequence. Between purchase and sale, you hold the coin while withdrawals and confirmations take place. The selling price shown at the start is not reserved during the transfer.
Buy and sell using pre-positioned balances
Keep purchase currency on A and an inventory of the coin on B. Buy on A and sell on B close together, then restore the initial distribution through transfers. This reduces the delay between trades but needs both balances and leaves exposure when only one side fills.
A complete cycle includes restoring the coin on B and USDT on A. Otherwise, a pair of trades is being compared with only part of its costs. The methods also require different capital: the purchase amount and total funds held across accounts are separate measures.
How to execute a trade
- Select the venues. Both accounts must be usable, with the same asset and suitable trading pairs. Match the token contract and transfer networks; a shared ticker is insufficient.
- Map the movement of funds. Sequential execution needs withdrawals on A, deposits on B, a shared network and compatible minimums after the sending fee. Pre-positioned execution needs a rebalancing route.
- Calculate your size. Use the offers on A and bids on B for the complete quantity. If several order-book levels are needed, calculate volume-weighted prices. Include account trading fees and transfer costs.
- Execute using the selected method. A limit order sets a price boundary but can fill partially. If only one side fills, the remaining coin or unmatched quantity becomes a separate position; closing it changes the result.
- Reconcile the completed cycle. Record actual quantities, prices, fees and final balances. Sequential execution finishes after the deposit and sale; pre-positioned execution also requires restoring the balance distribution.
Coinbase's order-type documentation explains the difference between a price limit and execution. A limit order that immediately consumes available orders can incur a A trader whose order executes against an existing order from another participant. This removes liquidity from the order book; the exchange applies its taker fee to that execution. fee; its name alone does not make it a maker order.
Profit calculation with trading and network fees
For a sequential transfer, use one settlement currency:
Result = proceeds from selling the coins left after withdrawal − sale fee − purchase cost − purchase fee − other cycle costs.
Illustrative inputs: buy 10 coins at 100 USDT, sell at 101 USDT, with a 0.1% trading fee on each side paid in USDT. Withdrawal costs 0.01 coin, leaving 9.99 to sell. These are assumed inputs, not current exchange tariffs.
| Stage | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase | 10 × 100 | 1,000 USDT |
| Purchase fee | 1,000 × 0.1% | 1 USDT |
| Proceeds after transfer | 9.99 × 101 | 1,008.99 USDT |
| Sale fee | 1,008.99 × 0.1% | 1.00899 USDT |
| Result | 1,008.99 − 1.00899 − 1,000 − 1 | 6.98 USDT |
If the average selling price falls to 100.20 USDT during the transfer, the same operation returns approximately −1.00 USDT. Buying at 100 and selling at 101 gives a 1% spread, but a smaller profit: withdrawal reduces the quantity sold, while trading fees apply to different amounts.
Spread and cost calculator
The calculator multiplies the amount by the displayed spread, then subtracts the entered cost estimate. Enter all costs combined in dollars in the fee field: both trades, transfers and balance rebalancing. The default is an example input. Each route has different costs, so calculate each with its own estimate. Include slippage through volume-weighted prices or a separate amount, without subtracting it twice.
The result helps compare trade conditions. Daily or monthly income requires a record of completed cycles, including failed executions, and the time that capital remained committed.
Transfer networks: savings require a compatible route
Match the coin's withdrawal on A with its deposit on B. Asset format, minimum amount and confirmation requirements can differ. A BTC token on BNB Smart Chain is not a native Bitcoin transfer; BNB Smart Chain itself is not a Bitcoin or Ethereum layer 2.
The table below lists low-cost withdrawal routes across coins. Use it to explore options; a particular trade still needs the same asset and compatible network on both ends.
Use the withdrawal fee comparison for a particular coin and the exchange-transfer guide for the sending process. A zero-fee withdrawal still leaves trading and other cycle costs.
Choosing exchanges and a scanner
A useful venue pair has depth for your trade size, usable accounts, appropriate trading fees and a working transfer route. The number of detected price gaps does not rank exchanges by realised profit. Start with Yieldo's spread list, then open a coin and the relevant pair.
The free arbitrage scanner comparison covers venue support, data updates and cost calculations. A CEX–DEX route also needs a swap quote for the intended size, network fees and a matching contract; an exchange price and a small pool swap can describe different trading conditions.
Funding, triangular and P2P arbitrage
Periodic payments between buyers and sellers of perpetual futures. Buyers pay when the rate is positive; sellers pay when it is negative. This mechanism keeps the contract price closer to the underlying asset price. arbitrage uses payments between long and short holders of A contract that tracks changes in an asset price without a fixed expiry date. Trading requires collateral; a position may be forcibly closed if collateral is insufficient. Periodic payments between the two sides are called funding.. A spot purchase paired with a short futures position requires the rate, payment interval, entry and exit costs, collateral and liquidation risk. The rate can change sign. The funding arbitrage guide covers the mechanism.
Triangular arbitrage trades through three pairs back to the starting currency, accounting for all three fees and executable quantities. P2P arbitrage adds fiat settlement, banking costs and counterparty payments. These routes need a different calculation from a cross-exchange spot spread.