Real guide from a trader and tool builder. No textbook theory — just how it actually works, with real numbers.
TL;DR: 90% of what people call "arbitrage opportunities" will lose you money. This guide covers 5 types, what kills your profit (slippage, fees, funding), leverage rules, and how to evaluate a trade — with real numbers.
Crypto arbitrage = same token, different price on two exchanges. Buy low, sell high. The price gap is called the spread.
You'll see screenshots in Telegram groups: "LOOK! 15% SPREAD ON TOKEN X!" And yeah, the spread exists. But the spread is not your profit. Not even close.
KuCoin Futures → MEXC Futures. Looks great, right? Here's what happens with $100:
That "4.4% spread" is actually a 2.9% loss.
Each has different mechanics, risks, and capital requirements.
Buy token on Exchange A spot, sell on Exchange B spot.
💡 SAND at $0.0841 on Poloniex vs $0.0886 on BitMart. Spread: +5.14%.
⏱ The problem: you need to move tokens. 5-30 minutes. Spread can disappear.
Buy on spot, short the perpetual futures on another exchange.
💡 ME/USDT. Buy Hyperliquid at $0.1927, sell MEXC Spot at $0.2044. Spread: 8.85%.
✅ Execute both legs simultaneously. No transfer needed.
Same perpetual contract, two exchanges, different prices.
💡 FHE/USDT. KuCoin $0.1205, MEXC $0.1206. Spread: +7.056%.
⚠️ Two open futures with funding rates.
Buy on CEX, sell on DEX (Uniswap, PancakeSwap, Raydium) or vice versa.
💡 ALPINE/USDT. Buy DEX at $0.4412, sell MEXC Spot at $0.4604. Spread: +4.15%.
🔗 On-chain transactions, gas fees, AMM slippage.
CEX futures vs DEX spot token.
💡 PLAY/USDT CEX vs DEX: +4.21%. WARD/USDT Aster vs KuCoin: +10.46%.
🚀 The frontier. Less competition, bigger spreads.
This is the #1 reason people lose money. Slippage = difference between the price you see and the price you get.
Spot: 0.10-0.20% per side. Futures: 0.03-0.06%.
Binary — works or impossible. A 50% spread means nothing if you can't withdraw.
For spot-spot, you move tokens. Every blockchain has a gas cost:
Perpetual futures charge funding every 8h. For arbitrage involving futures, funding directly impacts P&L.
⚡ This section might save your deposit.
Futures-futures arb. Long on A, short on B. Spread: 2%. $1,000 margin each side:
Positions on DIFFERENT exchanges. Not netted. If price drops 5%:
Every perpetual futures contract has a funding rate — a payment between longs and shorts every 8 hours. When positive, longs pay shorts. Funding rate arbitrage: open a position on the side that RECEIVES funding, hedge price risk with an opposite position elsewhere.
Token Y: +0.15% funding every 8h. That's 0.45%/day, ~13.5%/month. Short on Exchange A (receiving funding), long spot on Exchange B (hedging).
Take a token on 15 exchanges. The median price is the "fair price." Most exchanges are within 0.1-0.5% of this median.
But sometimes one exchange is way off. CAMP on Gate Spot: 26.7% ABOVE fair price. XTZ on HTX: 26.1%. STRK on HTX: 8.5%.
High deviation confirms the spread is structural, not a data glitch.
If a token is 20%+ overpriced on your exchange — don't buy it there.
My process, step by step. This separates consistent profit from random gambling.
Active opportunities sorted by spread. Sweet spot: 2-8%.
One token can have 26+ routes. The biggest spread might have terrible liquidity.
Order books (full depth), spread history, stats, profit calculator, D/W status.
If slippage > 20-30% of gross spread, reduce size.
Net profit positive with margin for error — go. Marginal — pass.
"+4.4% spread" was actually -2.9% loss.
$5K at a great spread, slippage eats 3-4%.
"Just 20x to maximize." Price moves 5% — liquidated.
Buy token, go to withdraw... suspended.
Scanner updates every 30s? Spread might be gone.
-0.89% per 8h. That's -2.67%/day eating your position.
ERC20 ($15 gas) on a $200 trade. BSC was $0.20.
Token 25% overpriced due to manipulation.
"Hedged, so 50x." Liquidated on one side.
Yes, but not how most people think. Easy spreads between major exchanges on major tokens are gone — bots close them in milliseconds.
WARD, SIREN, TAKE — not top-100, but consistently 3-5% spreads.
On-chain execution is harder to automate. Hyperliquid and Aster creating new futures-DEX arb category.
Euphoric market → funding spikes 0.1-0.5% per 8h. Crash → deeply negative. Both create market-neutral yield.
Tokens on BASE, ERC20, BSC, SOL with different prices. Complexity creates persistent inefficiencies.
The traders who consistently profit know their exact costs before executing, size trades for order book depth, use real-time data, use responsible leverage (5x max), and have the discipline to pass on trades that look good but aren't.
Arbitrage isn't about finding spreads. Everyone can find spreads. It's about knowing which ones are real profit and which are traps.
VoltArb calculates actual net profit using order book depth, slippage, fees, and funding rates.
30 exchanges · 5 arbitrage types · Telegram alerts · Fair price screener · Funding scanner · Real-time Tracker
VoltArb is a free real-time crypto arbitrage scanner monitoring 30 exchanges — with real profit calculations, not just spreads. Funding rate arbitrage · Fair Price screener · Pro from $49.