Cross-Exchange Arbitrage With Zero Coding

1. Strategy in a Nutshell

Cross-exchange arbitrage means buying an asset on Exchange A at a lower price and (near-)simultaneously selling it on Exchange B at a higher one. The goal is to lock in the price gap before the market evens it out.

2. What You’ll Need

1. At least two CEXes with decent liquidity (e.g., Binance + OKX or Bybit + MEXC).
2. A spreadsheet (Google Sheets / Excel) to track spreads and fees.
3. Price monitoring via built-in market widgets, public aggregators (CoinGecko, CMC), or mobile-app alerts.
4. Optional cold wallets if you prefer holding assets off-exchange between sessions.

Tip: preload each exchange with the asset you plan to arbitrage; it removes deposit delays when the window opens.

3. Step-by-Step Trade Flow

1. Build a watch-list.
   Record ticker, Ask on A, Bid on B, trading fees, withdrawal fees, network confirmation time.
2. Calculate the net spread.
   [(Bid_B – Ask_A) ÷ Ask_A × 100 %] minus total fees. Anything above ~1 % is worth a look on stable order books.
3. Check depth.
   If only USDT 50 is available at the quoted prices, slippage will eat the profit.
4. Lock price on Exchange A.
   Place a market or close-to-market limit order.
5. Move the asset fast.
   Use quick networks (TRC-20, BEP-20, Polygon) or keep mirrored inventories on both exchanges to skip transfers.
6. Close the mirror trade on Exchange B.
   Sell (or buy back) the identical amount immediately.
7. Log the result.
   Enter real fills and fees to measure clean margin; 0.5–1 % on ≥ USDT 2 000 per cycle is meaningful for manual work.

4. Hidden Pitfalls

• Fees matter. Exchange-token discounts (BNB, OKB) or VIP tiers can turn a borderline spread profitable.
• Network congestion. ERC-20 transfers during hype cost time and money; keep a fast chain in reserve.
• Withdrawal holds. Large or fresh accounts can be flagged for manual AML review—diversify capital.
• Spread swing. The gap can vanish while funds are in transit; shorten the time between legs.
• Volume caps. Non-KYC accounts may face low daily withdrawal limits—plan cycle sizes accordingly.

5. Classic Profit Formula

P = (Bid_B − Ask_A) × Q
      − Fee_trade_A − Fee_withdrawal
      − Fee_deposit (if any) − Fee_trade_B
ROI = P ÷ (Ask_A × Q) × 100 %

Positive ROI after all fees = trade justified.

6. Quick Pre-Trade Checklist

• Both accounts fully verified and withdrawal limits sufficient.
• Small balance of exchange tokens for fee discounts.
• Spreadsheet holds current fees and 3–5 monitored pairs.
• At least three “paper” cycles tested.

7. When to Stand Down

• Net spread < 0.3 % with total fees ~0.1 % each way.
• One exchange introduces dynamic withdrawal fees.
• A native bridge between the two exchanges kills latency, equalising prices almost instantly.

8. Takeaway

Manual cross-exchange arbitrage isn’t an instant money tap; it’s a craft of discipline and speed. With nothing more than two exchange accounts, a spreadsheet and basic order-book skills, you can extract 0.5–1 % per cycle. The edge comes not from code but from cold arithmetic—count every fee, respect limits, and remember: sometimes not entering is the best trade of the day.