Cross-Exchange Crypto Arbitrage Scanner
Sharpe Terminal scans price differentials across 50+ centralized exchanges in real time to surface cross-exchange arbitrage opportunities for spot and perpetual futures markets. The scanner compares bid/ask prices, calculates net spreads after estimated fees, and highlights the most profitable pairs. Both spot-to-spot and spot-to-perpetual (basis) arbitrage opportunities are tracked.
Spot-Perp Basis Arbitrage and Spread Trading
Spot-perp arbitrage exploits the price difference between an asset's spot price and its perpetual futures price. When perps trade at a premium, traders can buy spot and short perps to lock in the basis as profit while collecting funding payments. The scanner shows real-time basis spreads across exchanges, helping traders identify the best venues to execute carry trades. Historical spread data reveals how basis opportunities evolve through market cycles.
How to Evaluate Arbitrage Opportunities
Not all displayed spreads are executable profit. Traders must account for trading fees on both legs, withdrawal fees, transfer times between exchanges, slippage on illiquid pairs, and counterparty risk. The scanner provides gross spread percentages — net profitability depends on each trader's fee tier and execution speed. Persistent spreads on liquid pairs often indicate structural differences in exchange user bases rather than free money.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is cross-exchange crypto arbitrage?
- Cross-exchange arbitrage involves buying an asset on one exchange where it is cheaper and simultaneously selling it on another exchange where it is more expensive. The profit is the price difference minus fees. In crypto, these spreads arise from fragmented liquidity, varying user bases, and differences in deposit/withdrawal speeds.
- What is spot-perp basis arbitrage?
- Spot-perp basis arbitrage is a market-neutral strategy where you buy the spot asset and short the perpetual futures contract on the same asset. You profit from the convergence of the futures price to the spot price plus any funding rate payments collected while the position is open. It is one of the most common institutional crypto strategies.
- How much capital do I need for crypto arbitrage?
- Arbitrage spreads in crypto are typically small (0.1-1% on liquid pairs), so profitability scales with capital. Traders also need pre-funded accounts on multiple exchanges to execute both legs simultaneously. The scanner helps identify which opportunities offer the largest spreads relative to execution costs.
- Are the arbitrage spreads shown real-time?
- Yes. Price data is fetched directly from exchange APIs and spreads are recalculated on each update cycle. However, by the time you execute a trade, the spread may have narrowed — execution speed and pre-positioned capital are critical for capturing displayed opportunities.
- What is spot-perp arbitrage in crypto?
- Spot-perp arbitrage is a market-neutral strategy that earns the perpetual futures funding rate by simultaneously holding a long spot position and a short perpetual futures position on the same asset. When the funding rate is positive (the common case in bull markets), short futures holders receive funding payments from long holders. Because the spot and futures positions offset each other, the trade has minimal directional exposure and earns the funding rate as yield.
- How is the net APR calculated for arbitrage opportunities?
- Net APR is calculated as APR = net_hourly_rate x 8,760, where net_hourly_rate equals the funding rate per hour minus trading fees amortized per hour. For an 8-hour funding interval, the hourly rate is the 8-hour rate divided by 8. For Hyperliquid's 1-hour interval, the hourly rate equals the raw rate. Trading fees for opening both legs (spot buy + futures short) are subtracted from projected returns. This formula lets you compare annualized returns across exchanges with different funding intervals.
- What exchanges does the Arbitrage Scanner cover?
- Spot-perp arbitrage covers Binance, OKX, Bybit, and Bitget — the four largest derivatives exchanges by open interest. Cross-exchange arbitrage scans price differentials across 12 centralized exchanges including the above four plus Gate.io, KuCoin, MEXC, HTX, and others. All data is fetched via direct exchange REST APIs with no third-party aggregator dependency.
- What does the settlement countdown timer show?
- The settlement countdown timer shows the time remaining until the next funding rate payment on each exchange. Most exchanges settle funding every 8 hours (Binance at 00:00/08:00/16:00 UTC, Bybit and OKX at similar intervals), while Hyperliquid settles hourly. Entering a spot-perp arbitrage position shortly before a high funding settlement maximizes the first payment captured, making the countdown a useful timing tool for trade entry.
- Why does open interest matter for arbitrage opportunities?
- Open interest indicates how much capital is positioned in a given futures contract, which directly affects how much size you can execute at the quoted spread. A 50% APR opportunity with only $500K OI may only support a $10-20K position before slippage erodes returns, while a 15% APR opportunity with $50M OI can support meaningful position sizes. The Arbitrage Scanner displays OI alongside APR so you can filter for opportunities that match your capital allocation.
- What is cross-exchange arbitrage and how does it differ from spot-perp?
- Cross-exchange arbitrage exploits price differences for the same asset between two different exchanges — buying on the cheaper exchange and selling on the more expensive one. Unlike spot-perp arbitrage which earns periodic funding payments, cross-exchange arbitrage captures a one-time spread. The trade-off is that cross-exchange arb requires capital on both exchanges and may involve transfer delays, while spot-perp arb can be executed on a single exchange.
- How often is arbitrage data updated?
- Arbitrage opportunities are recalculated continuously based on live funding rate and price data from all covered exchanges. Funding rates update before each settlement window, while cross-exchange price differentials update every few minutes. Settlement countdown timers tick in real-time. The near-real-time refresh ensures you see current opportunities rather than stale spreads that may have already closed.
- Is the Arbitrage Scanner free to use?
- Yes. The Arbitrage Scanner is available free on Sharpe Terminal with no account required. Both spot-perp and cross-exchange arbitrage views, net APR calculations, OI data, and settlement countdowns are accessible immediately. The same data is available through Sharpe's REST API, MCP server, and CLI tool for programmatic access.
