Flash Loan

What are the types of Crypto Arbitrage

By Equalizer Team
May 3, 2022
What are the types of Crypto Arbitrage

What is arbitrage?

Arbitration is the process of taking advantage of a price difference between two or more markets: striking a combination of matching deals that capitalize upon the imbalance, the profit being the difference between the market prices. When used by academics, an arbitrage is a transaction that involves no negative cash flow at any probabilistic or temporal state and a positive cash flow in at least one state; in simple terms, it is the possibility of a risk-free profit after transaction costs. More generally, an arbitrage is any transaction having a positive cash flow.

In the context of financial markets, an arbitrage is the simultaneous purchase and sale of identical assets to profit from a difference in the price. Cryptocurrency arbitrage is the process of buying a digital asset in one market and selling it immediately in another market at a higher price.

Types of arbitrage

The cryptocurrency world is full of opportunities for those who know how to take advantage of them. One such opportunity is crypto arbitrage. Crypto arbitrage is the process of buying and selling cryptocurrencies on different exchanges to profit from the price differences. There are many different types of arbitrage relative to different markets, each with its own set of risks and rewards. Some of them include:

What are the types of crypto arbitrage

Triangular arbitrage: Triangular arbitrage is a trading strategy that exploits differences in exchange rates between three different currencies to generate a risk-free profit. The strategy involves placing offsetting trades on three different currency pairs, to capture the spread between the exchange rates. For example, if the exchange rate between Bitcoin and Ethereum is lower than the exchange rate between Ethereum and Solana, a trader could buy BTC/ETH, sell ETH/SOL, and then Buy SOL/BTC to profit from the difference between the two exchange rates.

Triangular arbitrage is particularly effective when the distance between currency pairs is relatively small and the difference between their respective exchange rates is significant.

Cross-border arbitrage: Cross-border arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of differences in price levels between two or more countries. By buying a digital asset on an exchange platform in a country where they are relatively cheap and selling them in a foreign crypto exchange where they are relatively expensive, arbitrageurs can earn profits without bearing any risk.

Risk arbitrage: Risk arbitrage is an investment strategy that involves buying and selling assets to profit from price discrepancies. This strategy is often used in the financial markets, where traders attempt to take advantage of differences in prices between different markets or exchanges.

Retail arbitrage: Retail arbitrage is the practice of buying products from one retailer and selling them at a higher price at another retailer. This can be done online or in person.

Convertible arbitrage: Convertible arbitrage is an investment strategy that seeks to take advantage of differences in the price of a convertible security and the underlying security. The strategy involves buying the convertible security and selling the underlying security short. The investor hopes to profit from the difference in the prices of the two securities.

Negative arbitrage: Negative arbitrage is a trading strategy that involves short-selling an asset and then buying it back at a lower price to profit from the price difference. This strategy is typically used when an investor believes that the price of an asset is going to fall in the near future.

Statistical arbitrage: Statistical arbitrage is a trading strategy that attempts to take advantage of statistical differences in the price of assets. The strategy is based on the idea that prices of assets tend to move together over time, but that there are occasional periods when they diverge. The goal of statistical arbitrage is to exploit these divergences by buying the cheaper asset and selling the more expensive one.

Pure arbitrage: Pure arbitrage is the simultaneous purchase and sale of an asset to profit from a difference in the price. It is a risk-free investment strategy that seeks to exploit price discrepancies in the market.

Merger arbitrage: Merger arbitrage is an investing strategy that seeks to take advantage of price discrepancies that can occur when two companies announce a merger. The strategy involves buying the shares of the target company and selling the shares of the acquirer company. The goal is to profit from the difference between the two share prices.

Arbitrage can be a great way to make money in the cryptocurrency market. However, it is important to remember that arbitrage is a high-risk investment strategy.

One pair of arbitrage

There are many types of cryptocurrency arbitrage, but one pair that is often overlooked is between Bitcoin and Ethereum. Both cryptocurrencies have their strengths and weaknesses, but when you trade them against each other, you can take advantage of the price differences. Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency, and it remains the most valuable. It is also the most widely traded, making it the most liquid. Ethereum is a newer cryptocurrency that has gained popularity because of its smart contract functionality. It is not as widely traded as Bitcoin, but it is still liquid enough to make arbitrage possible.

The key to successful cryptocurrency arbitrage is to find the right opportunity. You need to find a pair that is trading at a significant price difference. While this can be a challenge, there are some great opportunities out there. You just need to find them!

Cycle arbitrage

Cycle arbitrage is the process of taking advantage of differences in prices between different exchanges for the same asset. For example, if you think that Bitcoin is undervalued on one exchange but overvalued on another, you can buy Bitcoin on the first exchange and sell it on the second exchange for a profit.

Arbitrage on DEXes

Arbitrage on DEXes

Arbitrage on dexes is the process of taking advantage of differences in prices between different decentralized exchanges. This can be done by buying assets on one exchange and selling them on another exchange where the price is higher. Arbitrageurs can also take advantage of differences in prices between different pairs on the same decentralized exchange. For example, if the price of ETH/USDC on one DEX is $200 and the price of ETH/DAI on the same DEX is $220, the arbitrageur could buy ETH/USDC and sell ETH/DAI, making a profit of $20.

Arbitrage on CEXes

Arbitrage on CEXes

Arbitrage on CEXes is the practice of taking advantage of differences in prices between different cryptocurrency exchanges. For example, if one exchange is offering Bitcoin for $10,000 and another exchange is offering it for $9,500, a trader could buy Bitcoin on the first exchange and sell it on the second exchange, pocketing the $500 difference.

Arbitrage cex versus dex

When it comes to cryptocurrency, there are two main types of arbitrage based on exchange: CEX arbitrage and DEX arbitrage. CEX arbitrage involves buying and selling on different exchanges to take advantage of different prices. DEX arbitrage, on the other hand, entails swapping tokens on different decentralized exchanges to exploit differences in prices. The latter has, however, become less viable than ever due to the advent of liquidity mining and increased transaction fees. Liquidity mining is an incentivization model employed by decentralized exchanges to attract liquidity. It involves paying people to add funds to the exchange’s pools.

Cross-chain arbitrage

Cross-chain arbitrage is the act of taking advantage of price differences that can occur for the same pair  on two DEXes on two different blockchains. Let’s say ETH/USDT trades for $3000 on Ethereum Uniswap and it trades for $3100 on BSC Pancakeswap. If you exploit this price difference to make a gross profit of $100, what you’ve done is cross-chain arbitrage. This can happen for a variety of reasons, including differences in trading volume, liquidity, and fees. Arbitrageurs seek to profit from these price differences by buying the asset on one blockchain and selling it on another. If successful, they can earn a risk-free profit. However, arbitrage opportunities are often short-lived, as prices quickly adjust to eliminate the discrepancy.

What is a flash loan?

What is a flash loan?

A flash loan is a type of short-term loan some decentralized finance (DeFi) networks and protocols make available to traders that allows you to borrow cryptocurrency without having to put up any collateral. Flash loans are often used by traders to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities. Because the loan is taken out and repaid in the same transaction, flash loans don’t rely on traditional credit checks or collateral. Instead, they rely on the amount of available liquidity to determine whether or not a loan can be granted.

Flash loans are granted using smart contracts. A smart contract is a program that automates transactions on a blockchain. They work on the “if this, then that” principle. That means that when conditions are met, the transaction is executed automatically. In this case, the transaction is carried out within a few seconds. The participants in the smart contract do not have to wait for any other processes to complete.

Some DeFi protocols that offer flash loans include Equalizer, Aave, dYdX, and Uniswap V2.

Example of a Flash Loan

Here is a step-by-step illustration of using a DeFi protocol to borrow flash loans:

  • The borrower requests for a flash loan and takes out a loan of 2000 DAI tokens.
  • On Uniswap, the borrower trades 2000 DAI for 12 ETH.
  • On dYdX, the borrower exchanges 10 ETH for 2000 DAI.
  • From step 3, the borrower repays the flash loan with 2000 DAI.
  • The profit is kept by the borrower, who keeps 2 ETH.

In this illustration, the user detected a pricing discrepancy for the ETH-DAI pair on two platforms (Uniswap and dYdX) and took advantage of it by employing flash loans to make an immediate profit.

What is Equalizer?

Equalizer is the world's first dedicated flash loan marketplace, designed to meet the growing need for DeFi lending and borrowing. It distinguishes itself by providing the lowest fees and transaction costs, as well as a nearly limitless number of token vaults, high liquidity through yield farming, scalable, multi-chain architecture, and integration-friendly features.

The Equalizer token is denominated in EQZ and is used as a utility token to stimulate platform development and provide access to the platform's many services.

How to obtain flash loans on Equalizer?

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to borrow a flash loan from Equalizer Vaults:

To get a flash loan, you must first create and deploy a Flash Borrower smart contract, which borrows a flash loan, executes a business transaction, and then returns the loan along with the borrowing fee. The smart contract only borrows and returns funds.while you must provide the business logic. 

Open the Flash Loan Provider: Equalizer's Flash Loan Provider is a smart contract that allows you to borrow flash loans, which can be inspected on Etherscan.

  • Connect your wallet: Click on 'Connect to Web3' to connect your wallet and choose from one of the supported wallets e.g Metamask
  • Borrow a flash loan: Click on flashLoan function so you can input function parameters like the receiver's address, token address, amount and data. After this, click on 'Write' and sign the transaction. You can inspect the transaction when it has been successfully processed.
  • The loan is used by the flash borrower smart contract to conduct business operations on a decentralized exchange.
  • Flash loan provider smart contract would trigger the transfer of assets from the flash borrower back to the vault.

That is it. Getting a flash loan on Equalizer is as simple as that.

FAQs

What different types of arbitrage are there?

There are several types of arbitrage as explained in the beginning of this article, but we have two types that are peculiar to Crypto Arbitrage. They are: 1) Futures Arbitrage: This is the process of buying a digital asset in one market with the intention of selling it in another market at a higher price when the contract expires, and 2) Spot Arbitrage: This is the process of buying a digital asset in one market and immediately selling it in another market at a higher price.

Is Crypto Arbitrage legal?

Crypto arbitrage practice is legal in most jurisdictions, but there are some exceptions. To be safe, check with your local regulator before engaging in crypto arbitrage.

Is Crypto Arbitrage still profitable?

Crypto arbitrage is a well-known and well-established activity that may be seen in a variety of marketplaces. As a result, it is unquestionably profitable, or at the very least has a high chance to be successful. It does, however, need a great deal of knowledge, commitment and perseverance.

Is Arbitrage good for the market?

Arbitrage trading aids market efficiency by bringing attention to price discrepancies between markets, which can lead to price equilibrium.