Spot-Perpetual Arbitrage Scanner

How the carry trade works

When perpetual funding is positive, longs pay shorts. A trader can buy the spot asset and short the perpetual contract at matching notional, keeping price exposure close to neutral while collecting funding. When funding is negative, the direction flips: short spot and long the perpetual. Sharpe ranks these opportunities by annualized funding, basis impact, and exchange availability so the terminal stays focused on actionable analytics rather than duplicate SEO surfaces.

Sharpe's calculation model

Funding APR is normalized as abs(funding_rate) × 8,760 ÷ funding interval in hours. Basis is direction-aware: a positive perp premium helps a positive-funding long-spot/short-perp trade, while a negative basis helps a negative-funding reverse-basis trade. The calculator then subtracts round-trip execution costs using four maker-fee events.

Risk controls

The common failure mode is entering when funding is already crowded and then getting squeezed on the perp leg. Use isolated margin, leave a wide liquidation buffer, check spot liquidity before opening, and model a lower holding-period funding rate than the current print. The live scanner is a shortlist, not a blind ranking.

Exchange coverage

The spot-perp scanner pulls live prices and funding from Binance, OKX, Bybit, and Bitget — the four CEXes that publish both spot and perpetual quotes for the broadest set of mid-cap and large-cap tokens. Funding intervals are 8 hours on Binance, OKX, and Bybit, and 8 hours (with a 4-hour clearing variant) on Bitget. The scanner normalizes interval differences so a 1-hour venue is comparable to an 8-hour venue on the same APR scale.

Typical net APR by asset tier

BTC and ETH spot-perp basis usually clears between 5–15% APR after fees. Top-50 alts on tier-1 venues run 10–40% APR most weeks. Mid-cap and freshly listed tokens (BANANA, STEEM, HYPE, smaller HYPER perps) regularly post 50–500%+ APR for hours-to-days during catalyst events — these are the rows the scanner sorts to the top. Anything above ~1000% APR is usually a thin orderbook or a one-side imbalance that closes within a few funding intervals.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is spot-perpetual arbitrage?

Spot-perpetual arbitrage is a delta-neutral carry trade: buy spot and short the perpetual when funding is positive, or reverse the legs when funding is negative. The goal is to collect funding while minimizing directional price exposure.

How is the net APR calculated?

Funding APR is normalized as abs(funding_rate) × 8,760 ÷ funding interval in hours, so a 1-hour venue and an 8-hour venue can be compared on the same scale. Sharpe then subtracts round-trip execution costs (four maker-fee events) and surfaces a fee-adjusted ranking.

Why does basis matter?

Basis is the spread between the perpetual and spot market. A basis aligned with your funding direction helps the trade; a basis against you reduces expected return when the legs converge. The scanner shows direction-aware basis alongside funding so you can rule out crowded prints.

What should I check before entering a basis trade?

Funding persistence (is this a multi-day signal or a single-print spike?), spot and perp liquidity, current basis, maker-fee tier, next settlement time, liquidation buffer, and exchange counterparty exposure. The scanner is a shortlist — final sizing should pass a manual checklist.

How much capital do I need to make this worthwhile?

Spot-perp basis scales with capital. For meaningful profit you want $10K+ pre-funded across the exchanges you're trading — pre-positioning eliminates the slowest step (transfers). Institutional basis desks run $10M+. Sharpe's scanner ranks the largest opportunities first so capital-constrained traders can focus on the top 5–10 spreads by spread-dollar amount.

Is this still profitable in 2026?

Yes. BTC/ETH basis is heavily competed (often 5–15% APR after fees), but mid-cap alts on Hyperliquid, Bybit, and OKX regularly run 30–100% APR for hours-to-days at a time. Sharpe filters to net-positive after fees so you don't chase noise.