Share a few lesser-known trading arbitrage strategies
1. Weekend Arbitrage
Traditional market-making teams leave the market over the weekend, and the BTC/ETH perp basis often widens against the spot price on Sunday night; after the market opens on Monday, large funds quickly converge back in to pull the price difference back.
Check the price difference late Sunday night by opening the exchange, comparing the spot price and the perpetual contract (perp).
If the perp is more expensive than the spot by over 0.8%, it indicates a gap has emerged. Choose a platform that allows trading both spot and contracts: Binance, OKX, Bybit, etc.
Simultaneously establish a position by shorting the perp + buying an equivalent amount of spot, so that the price fluctuations offset each other, only betting that the 0.8% difference will converge. If the price difference returns to below 0.2% on Monday, close both positions.
2. Pre-lock Event Driven Hedging
Ten to seven days before a large token unlock, the short funding rate often spikes; it rapidly returns to zero on the unlock day or the next day.
Create a calendar reminder for the unlock schedule (TokenUnlocks API).
Seven days before the unlock (T-7): borrow spot → open short perp, paired lock position; profit from funding fees.
Close both perp and spot within 24 hours after the unlock.
