Bybit built its name on derivatives, and that makes it one of the most useful exchanges for arbitrage — especially the funding-rate and spot–futures plays where the real edge often hides. Deep perpetual markets sit right next to a fast-growing spot book.
This guide covers Bybit's fees, the arbitrage strategies it's best suited for, its Unified Trading Account advantage, and how ArbiScreen watches Bybit alongside 16 other exchanges so no gap slips past.
Bybit arbitrage: tracking the same coin across exchanges to find the net-profit gap.
Top 3
By derivatives volume
0.10%
Spot taker fee
0.055%
Futures taker
Unified
Trading account
Why Bybit Is a Favourite for Arbitrage
Bybit's core strength is its perpetual futures market — deep, liquid, and available on hundreds of coins. That matters because the most consistent, market-neutral arbitrage on any exchange is the funding-rate trade, and you need a strong futures book to run it well. Bybit delivers exactly that.
Its Unified Trading Account lets spot, futures and margin share one collateral pool, so you can hold a coin on spot and short it on futures without shuffling funds between wallets — a real convenience when you run hedged arbitrage. Withdrawals are fast and the API is solid, making Bybit a strong second leg next to a venue like Binance.
Bybit Fee Structure
Bybit's standard spot fee is 0.10% maker/taker. Its futures fees are among the lowest of the majors, which is why funding-rate traders like it. Holding MNT (Mantle) or hitting VIP volume tiers lowers costs further.
Product
Maker
Taker
Notes
Spot
0.10%
0.10%
Standard tier
Perpetual futures
0.02%
0.055%
Low taker — good for funding plays
VIP / MNT discount
Lower
Lower
Volume or token-based reductions
USDT withdrawal
—
—
~$1 TRC20 / BEP20
Best Arbitrage Strategies on Bybit
1. Funding-rate (cash-and-carry) arbitrage
This is Bybit's signature play. When the funding rate is positive, shorts get paid by longs every few hours. Hold the coin on spot and open an equal short on Bybit perpetuals: the two positions cancel out price risk, and you collect the funding as near-passive yield. High-funding coins on Bybit can pay double-digit annualised returns while staying market-neutral.
2. Spot–futures basis arbitrage
Sometimes the futures price drifts above or below spot (the basis). Buy the cheaper side, short the dearer, and capture the gap as it converges — all inside Bybit's Unified Account.
3. Cross-exchange spot arbitrage
Bybit's spot listings often price a coin slightly differently from Binance or OKX. Buy where it's cheaper, sell on Bybit where it's dearer. A scanner is essential here — these gaps open and close in seconds.
📈 Worked example: funding-rate carry on Bybit
A coin's funding rate on Bybit is running at 0.05% every 8 hours — about 55% annualised. You hold $1,000 of it on spot and short $1,000 on Bybit perpetuals. Price moves no longer matter: if the coin drops, your short gains what your spot loses. Meanwhile you collect ~$0.50 per 8 hours in funding. The edge is the funding, not the price — and it repeats every cycle until the rate normalises.
Withdrawals & Networks
As always, network choice decides real cost. USDT on TRC20 or BEP20 is cheap and fast on Bybit; ERC20 is pricier. For hedged funding trades you often don't withdraw at all — both legs live on Bybit — which is part of why the strategy is so clean here.
⚠️ Funding flips can turn against you
Funding rates change every cycle. A positive rate you shorted into can flip negative, meaning you'd start paying instead of earning. Monitor the rate and be ready to close — ArbiScreen's funding view flags where rates are highest and where they're cooling.
Bybit vs Other Major Exchanges
Exchange
Spot fee
Futures taker
Derivatives depth
Best role
Bybit
0.10%
0.055%
Very deep
Funding & spot-futures
Binance
0.10%
0.05%
Very deep
Core liquidity anchor
OKX
0.08% / 0.10%
0.05%
Deep
Broad markets
KuCoin
0.10%
0.06%
Medium
Altcoin variety
Limitations to Keep in Mind
Bybit's spot liquidity, while growing fast, is still thinner than Binance's on some pairs — check depth before trading big size. Regional access varies and full KYC is needed for higher limits. And as with any single venue, the widest cross-exchange gaps require watching Bybit against others.
How ArbiScreen Tracks Bybit — and Every Other Exchange
Here is the key point most guides miss: arbitrage is never about one exchange. A gap only exists when Bybit disagrees with another venue on price. To catch it you have to watch both sides at once — and no human can monitor dozens of order books in real time.
ArbiScreen was built for exactly this. It tracks 17 exchanges simultaneously — Bybit alongside Binance, Bybit, OKX, KuCoin, MEXC, Gate.io, HTX, Bitget, Kraken and regional venues like Luno, VALR, BtcTurk and WazirX. It compares every coin across all of them and ranks the widest live spreads from biggest to smallest, so Bybit opportunities appear the instant they open.
✅ One screen, every venue
Because ArbiScreen watches Bybit and its counterpart exchanges together, you see the full picture: where to buy, where to sell, and the net spread after fees — not just a price on one exchange in isolation. That cross-exchange view is what turns a number into a trade.
Explore the other major venues we cover in the same depth:
Verify your Bybit account and enable the Unified Trading Account for shared collateral.
2
Fund both spot and derivatives so you can run hedged funding trades without transfers.
3
Use ArbiScreen to find the highest funding rates and widest spot spreads across venues.
4
For funding trades, size spot and short legs equally so you stay market-neutral.
5
Track the funding rate each cycle and close when it normalises or flips.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bybit good for arbitrage?▼
Yes — especially for funding-rate and spot-futures arbitrage, thanks to its deep, low-fee perpetual markets and Unified Trading Account. For pure cross-exchange spot arbitrage it works well too, paired with a deeper venue like Binance.
What is funding-rate arbitrage on Bybit?▼
You hold a coin on spot and short the same coin on Bybit perpetual futures. The positions cancel price risk, and you collect the funding rate that longs pay shorts every few hours. It's one of the most consistent market-neutral strategies in crypto.
What are Bybit's fees?▼
0.10% spot maker/taker, and futures around 0.02% maker / 0.055% taker — among the lowest of the majors. Holding MNT or reaching VIP tiers lowers them further.
Do I need to withdraw coins for Bybit arbitrage?▼
Not for hedged funding or basis trades — both legs sit inside Bybit. You only move coins for cross-exchange spot arbitrage, where network fees apply.
Can funding-rate arbitrage lose money?▼
It can if the funding rate flips negative while you're positioned, or if one leg gets liquidated because you under-collateralised the short. Keep the short well-funded and monitor the rate to avoid both.
Find the best funding rates on Bybit — instantly.
ArbiScreen ranks live funding rates and spot spreads across Bybit and 16 other exchanges, net of fees.
