Crypto Arbitrage: How to Spot and Profit from Price Gaps Across Exchanges

When you buy Bitcoin on Binance for $60,000 and immediately sell it on Kraken for $60,200, that’s crypto arbitrage, the practice of exploiting price differences for the same asset across different markets. Also known as cryptocurrency arbitrage, it’s one of the few strategies that can turn market inefficiencies into cash—without betting on price direction. It doesn’t require predicting if Bitcoin will go up or down. It just needs two exchanges with mismatched prices—and the speed to act before the gap closes.

But here’s the catch: those gaps don’t last long. In 2025, automated bots snap up most arbitrage opportunities in under a second. That’s why retail traders need more than just a trading account—they need real-time alerts, low-latency connections, and access to exchanges with thin liquidity where price delays still happen. DeFi arbitrage, a subtype that exploits price differences between centralized exchanges and decentralized protocols like Uniswap or Aave, adds another layer. For example, ETH might trade at $3,100 on Coinbase but $3,120 on a DEX because of slippage or low liquidity. That’s a chance—but only if you can move funds fast and cover gas fees.

It’s not just about buying and selling. You also need to account for withdrawal limits, network congestion, and exchange fees. A $500 profit on paper can vanish if the transfer takes 20 minutes and gas spikes to $40. That’s why successful arbitrageurs track exchange price differences, the real-time spread between trading pairs across platforms like Binance, OKX, KuCoin, and Bybit. Some traders even use multiple wallets to bypass withdrawal holds or avoid KYC restrictions on certain exchanges.

Most people think arbitrage is dead. But it’s not. It’s just moved underground—to smaller exchanges, emerging markets, and DeFi pools where liquidity is messy and humans still make mistakes. The ones winning now aren’t the ones with the fanciest bots. They’re the ones who know which exchanges have slow order books, which tokens get mispriced during news spikes, and which chains have high gas costs that scare off arbitrage bots.

Below, you’ll find real examples of how these gaps appear, what went wrong for traders who missed the window, and how to set up alerts so you don’t have to watch charts 24/7. No fluff. No hype. Just what works when the market moves fast.