A step-by-step walkthrough to find, verify, and execute your first cross-exchange arbitrage trade — from zero to completed trade.
Go to coinnavigator.net/#dashboard. Sort by "Spread high → low". Look for anything ≥ 0.30% — that's the threshold to profit after standard fees.
Note the coin, best-buy exchange, and best-sell exchange.
CoinNavigator updates every ~15 min. Always verify on the exchange before trading. Open the best-buy and best-sell exchanges in two tabs.
Check: ask price on buy exchange vs bid price on sell exchange. The spread must survive after your order size hits the book.
Use the Profit Calculator in this pack. Enter: capital, spread %, buy fee, sell fee, withdrawal fee, slippage.
Only proceed if net profit is clearly positive — at least $1–2 on your trade size. A marginal profit disappears under slippage.
Before buying: confirm that withdrawal is enabled on the buy exchange for this coin. Many arbitrage attempts fail here.
Where to check: Exchange status page (e.g. binance.com/en/my/settings/profile → withdrawal) or search "[exchange] [coin] withdrawal status".
Select the same network on send and receive sides. Wrong network = lost funds.
For USDT: prefer TRC20 (≈$1, 1 min) over ERC20 (≈$5–30). For SOL: Solana network (sub-$0.01). For BTC: Bitcoin network (30–60 min).
Buy on the cheaper exchange (market or limit order). Withdraw immediately to your address on the sell exchange. Sell as soon as funds arrive.
Speed matters — spreads can close. Pre-fund both exchanges if possible to eliminate transfer time entirely.
Log every trade: entry price, exit price, fees, transfer time, net profit. After 5–10 trades, patterns emerge — which pairs, which time of day, which exchanges.
You need accounts on at least two exchanges to arbitrage between them. These are the 6 exchanges tracked by CoinNavigator.
| Exchange | Best for | Spot taker fee | Sign up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | Best liquidity, lowest slippage on majors | 0.10% | 10% rebate → |
| MEXC | Often higher prices on altcoins (sell side) | 0.05% | 0% maker → |
| Bybit | Reliable, good altcoin depth | 0.10% | Bonus → |
| OKX | Wide coin selection, low fees | 0.10% | Sign up → |
| KuCoin | Altcoin spreads, small-cap coins | 0.10% | Sign up → |
| Gate.io | Largest altcoin selection | 0.20% | Sign up → |
CoinNavigator snapshot is up to 15 min old. Always verify on the live order book before pressing buy.
Sending ERC20 to a TRC20 address (or vice versa) can result in permanent loss. Triple-check before confirming withdrawal.
Buying an asset you can't withdraw means you're stuck. Check before buying, every time.
A 0.35% paper spread with 0.20% fees looks profitable. Add 0.10% slippage and you're at break-even. Size orders below 0.5% of 24h volume.
BTC transfers take 30–60 min. Spread can vanish in seconds. Use fast chains (SOL, XRP) or pre-position funds.
You need full withdrawal access on both exchanges. Incomplete KYC = withdrawal blocked = can't complete the trade.
Start with $200–500. Learn the process. Mistakes at $200 cost $2. The same mistake at $5,000 costs $50+.
See live spreads at coinnavigator.net/#dashboard · Use the profit calculator to verify before every trade.