Crypto Arbitrage Spread Calculator
Calculate the arbitrage spread between two crypto exchanges. Find profitable price differences after accounting for fees and determine net arbitrage profit.
Crypto Triangular Arbitrage Calculator
Calculate triangular arbitrage opportunities across three crypto trading pairs on the same exchange. Find pricing inefficiencies for risk-free profit.
USDT
%
Forward: USDT→BTC→ETH→USDT⧉
$9.96
+0.10% | Product: 1.002198
Reverse: USDT→ETH→BTC→USDT⧉
-$33.90
-0.34% | Product: 0.997807
Best Direction⧉
Forward
Opportunity exists
Best Net Profit⧉
$9.96
+0.10%
Total Fees (3 trades)⧉
0.12%
Sum of all values
Planning notes, formulas, and examples
About the Crypto Triangular Arbitrage Calculator
Triangular arbitrage exploits pricing inconsistencies between three trading pairs on the same exchange. The concept is simple: if BTC/USDT, ETH/BTC, and ETH/USDT prices don't align perfectly, you can cycle through all three pairs and end up with more than you started. If Rate(A/B) × Rate(B/C) × Rate(C/A) ≠ 1, there's an arbitrage opportunity.
For example, if you start with USDT, buy BTC, use BTC to buy ETH, then sell ETH for USDT, you should end up with exactly the same USDT. If you end up with more (the product exceeds 1), you've found a triangular arbitrage opportunity.
In practice, opportunities are tiny (0.01-0.1%) and disappear in milliseconds. Fee impact is tripled (you pay fees on three trades), making profitability requirements tight. This calculator helps you identify whether a set of three cross-rates presents a genuine opportunity after fees.
Use the result to map token-release or fee scenarios and revisit the model when market conditions, unlock terms, or portfolio assumptions change.
When This Page Helps
Triangular arbitrage requires no capital transfer between exchanges — everything happens on one exchange. This eliminates transfer time risk, the main vulnerability of cross-exchange arbitrage. However, fees are applied three times, making the minimum profitable spread higher. This calculator determines if the mispricing exceeds the triple-fee threshold.
How to Use the Inputs
- Enter the three trading pair rates (e.g., BTC/USDT, ETH/BTC, ETH/USDT).
- Enter the starting amount.
- Enter the fee rate per trade.
- View the cycle result and net profit after three sets of fees.
- Check if the opportunity exceeds the fee threshold.
Formula used
Cross Rate Product = Rate(A/B) × Rate(B/C) × (1 / Rate(A/C))
If Product > 1: Buy B with A, Buy C with B, Sell C for A
If Product < 1: Buy C with A, Buy B with C, Sell B for A
Fee Impact = (1 − Fee)³
Net Result = Starting Amount × Product × (1 − Fee)³Example Calculation
Result: Cross rate: 1.00146 | Net after fees: -$8.80
BTC/USDT = 65,000, ETH/BTC = 0.0525, ETH/USDT = 3,420. Cross rate product = 65,000 × 0.0525 / 3,420 = 0.99737. This is below 1, so the reverse direction: 3,420 / (65,000 × 0.0525) = 1.00219 — a 0.22% mispricing. With 0.04% fee × 3 trades = 0.12% total fees: net = 0.10%. On $10,000: ~$10 profit.
Tips & Best Practices
- Triangular arbitrage opportunities rarely exceed 0.1% — you need very low fees to profit.
- Three trades means 3x fees, so the minimum profitable mispricing is ~3x your fee rate.
- Automated bots dominate triangular arbitrage — manual execution is too slow.
- Look for opportunities on exchanges with many trading pairs and high-volume markets.
- Check both cycle directions (clockwise and counterclockwise) — one may be profitable while the other isn't.
- The most common triangles involve BTC, ETH, and a stablecoin pair.
The Mathematics of Triangular Arbitrage
For three currencies A, B, C with exchange rates R(A/B), R(B/C), R(A/C): in a perfectly efficient market, R(A/B) × R(B/C) = R(A/C). When this equation doesn't hold, the deviation represents an arbitrage opportunity. The profit equals the deviation minus fees. Since three trades are needed, the minimum profitable deviation is approximately 3× the trading fee.
Speed is Everything
Triangular arbitrage is a speed game. Professional arbitrageurs use: co-located servers (placed in the same data center as the exchange), pre-computed routes for all possible triangles, optimized API calls that execute all three trades in under 100 milliseconds, and real-time monitoring of hundreds of triangles simultaneously.
Practical Considerations
Even with automation, triangular arbitrage is increasingly competitive. Expected returns have declined as more participants enter. Successful implementations require: exchange API rate limits management, order book depth awareness (to avoid slippage), robust error handling for partial fills, and constant optimization of execution speed.
Sources & Methodology
Last updated:
Frequently Asked Questions
You trade through three pairs in a cycle: start with currency A, buy currency B, use B to buy currency C, then sell C for A. If the exchange rates are misaligned, you end up with more A than you started with. The profit comes from the pricing inefficiency between the three pairs.
They exist because exchange order books for different pairs are maintained independently. Rapid price changes in one pair may not immediately propagate to related pairs. Market makers and arbitrageurs quickly close these gaps, which is why opportunities are rare and short-lived.
Theoretically yes, but practically it's nearly impossible to profit manually. Opportunities appear for milliseconds, and you need to execute three trades almost simultaneously. By the time you place the second trade, the prices have likely changed. Automated trading bots are essential.
You pay the trading fee on all three transactions. With 0.04% per trade, total fees are approximately 0.12% (slightly less due to compounding: (1-0.0004)³ = 0.9988, i.e., 0.12%). The opportunity must exceed this threshold to be profitable.
The most common triangles involve: BTC/USDT + ETH/BTC + ETH/USDT, BTC/USDT + SOL/BTC + SOL/USDT, and similar combinations with high-volume pairs. More exotic triangles (using smaller altcoins) may have larger mispricings but higher execution risk due to lower liquidity.
Triangular arbitrage operates on a single exchange using three different trading pairs. Cross-exchange arbitrage uses the same pair across different exchanges. Triangular has no transfer risk but triple fees. Cross-exchange has transfer risk but only double fees.
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