Cross-Exchange Arbitrage Scanner

How the spread trade works

If BTC funding is low or negative on one exchange and meaningfully positive on another, a trader can long the lower-funding perpetual and short the higher-funding perpetual. The legs offset directional price exposure while the portfolio collects the funding spread. The scanner aggregates 11 venues into a single ranking so you don't have to monitor each separately.

Sharpe's calculation model

The scanner first normalizes funding to per-hour rates so hourly and 8-hour venues are comparable. It then chooses the venue pair with the largest funding differential, annualizes the net rate, and adjusts the ranking for opening spread. Cross-exchange opportunities become comparable to spot-perp carry on a shared APR basis.

Operational risk

Cross-exchange trades add risks that single-venue spot-perp trades don't have: collateral fragmentation, withdrawal delays, exchange outages, and funding clocks that don't settle at the same time. Use smaller position sizing, keep margin on both venues, and avoid thin symbols where one leg cannot be closed cleanly.

Venue coverage

The cross-exchange scanner pulls funding from 11 perpetual venues: Binance, OKX, Bybit, Bitget, Gate.io, Kraken, KuCoin, CoinEx, BingX, MEXC, and HTX. Funding intervals split into 8-hour clearing (Binance, OKX, Bybit, Kraken, HTX), 4-hour clearing (Bitget, Gate.io, BingX, KuCoin, MEXC, CoinEx), and the venue list expands as new perpetual exchanges add bulk-ticker APIs. Tier-1 venues (Binance, OKX, Bybit) carry the deepest perp liquidity for majors; tier-2 venues (MEXC, BingX, Gate.io) often run the widest funding spreads on alts and post-listing tokens.

Typical funding-spread ranges by asset tier

BTC and ETH cross-exchange funding spreads usually sit inside 5–15% APR after fees on tier-1 pairs. Top-50 alts (SOL, XRP, BNB, AVAX, LINK) regularly run 15–40% APR cross-venue when one exchange's positioning skews vs another. Mid-cap alts and post-listing perps (BANANA, HYPE-related, recent Bybit/Hyperliquid launches) routinely produce 50–300% APR cross-venue spreads for hours-to-days. Spreads above ~500% APR are usually one-side OI imbalances that close within 1–2 funding intervals as arbitrageurs collapse the gap.

Where spreads come from

Cross-exchange funding mismatches reflect three structural patterns: (1) regional user-base differences — a Korean-heavy CEX vs a US-heavy CEX often disagree on directional positioning during local-news events; (2) listing timing — when a token lists on Binance after weeks on Bybit, the older venue's positioning is asymmetric for days post-listing; (3) maker-fee tier asymmetry — venues with rebate programs attract different flow than flat-fee venues, distorting funding equilibrium. The scanner doesn't predict which pattern is active — it surfaces the spread, you size the trade.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is cross-exchange arbitrage?

Cross-exchange arbitrage captures the spread between perpetual funding rates on different venues. The usual setup is long the lower-funding venue and short the higher-funding venue at equal notional, collecting the spread while keeping price exposure neutral.

Does this require a spot leg?

No. Unlike spot-perpetual carry, cross-exchange funding arbitrage uses two perpetual legs. The major operational risks are venue margining, settlement timing, transfer delays, and exchange-specific liquidity.

How does Sharpe compare venues with different intervals?

Sharpe converts each funding rate to a per-hour rate before comparing venues, then annualizes the best long/short exchange pair. This prevents an hourly venue from being misranked against an 8-hour venue and lets you compare a Hyperliquid (1h) print to a Binance (8h) print on the same scale.

Which exchanges have the widest cross-exchange spreads?

Spreads tend to be widest on second-tier CEXes (MEXC, Gate.io, BingX, Bitget) and on Hyperliquid for newly listed perps where venue-specific positioning is unbalanced. Tier-1 venues (Binance, Bybit, OKX) carry tighter spreads on majors but still produce 20–50% APR on mid-cap alts during volatility events. The scanner aggregates all 13 venues so you don't have to monitor each separately.

What's the operational risk?

Cross-exchange trades add risks that single-venue spot-perp trades don't have: collateral fragmentation across two venues, withdrawal delays if you need to rebalance, exchange outages mid-trade, and funding clocks that don't settle simultaneously. Use smaller position sizing, keep margin on both venues, and avoid thin symbols where one leg can't be closed cleanly.

How fresh is the data?

Funding rates refresh every 30 minutes across all 13 venues. Spread rankings recompute on each refresh so you see the current best long/short pair, not a stale snapshot. By the time you execute, spreads can narrow — pre-positioned capital and fast execution matter.