Funding arbitrage: working the rate gap between exchanges

Written by JustScreener Research Team Last updated August 13, 2026

The funding rate is not a single market-wide number. Every exchange computes it from its own order book, so on the same coin longs pay shorts on one venue while shorts pay longs on another. The distance between the highest and the lowest rate on a pair is a ready-made delta-neutral setup: short where funding is paid to you, long where you pay it. The JustScreener funding arbitrage screener compares rates on every pair across your connected exchanges and notifies you the moment the gap reaches your threshold.

How the funding arbitrage screener works

The screener runs around the clock. On every pair it reads the funding rate across all exchanges you enabled in general settings and looks for the widest gap — the distance between the highest and the lowest rate. The moment that gap reaches your threshold, a Telegram message or a push arrives:

The pair and both venues: which one pays more, which one pays less
The funding rate on each of the two venues
The size of the gap in basis points (1 bp = 0.01%)
Chart and exchange links — the ones you picked in general settings

A single pair fires at most once every 8 hours — exactly once between funding settlements. That is why the screener carries no separate signal cap: the feed stays readable even at a low threshold.

What the trade is made of, and what eats the gap

A rate gap is an opportunity, not a return. Here is what to work out before you enter.

What the trade looks like

Short on the venue with the high rate — funding is paid to you there.
Long on the venue with the low or negative rate — you pay less there, or get paid instead.
Both legs carry the same size: direction risk roughly cancels out, and the rate difference is what works.

What comes out of the gap

Fees on opening and closing both legs — that is four trades, not one.
Slippage on entry and exit: the thinner the market, the larger it gets.
The cost of holding margin on two venues at once.

Basis points: reading the threshold

1 bp = 0.01%, 100 bps = 1%. Funding rates are fractions of a percent, so the difference between them is measured in basis points.
15 bps means 0.15% per settlement, and settlement comes every 8 hours, three times a day.
Below 10 bps the fees on two legs usually eat the gap; above 40 bps hits are rare and mostly sit on thin pairs.

How to configure the screener

Set the minimum gap — anywhere from 1 to 500 bps. The default is 15.
Choose which pairs to check: every available pair, the top 100 by 24h turnover, or your own list of base tickers.
Set the liquidity floors — minimum open interest and minimum 24h turnover. Both legs of a pair have to clear them.

Who the funding arbitrage screener is for

Delta-neutral traders — build the two-leg structure and work the rate difference instead of price direction.
Arbitrageurs — get a ready list of the widest divergences instead of comparing rates venue by venue by hand.
Traders already in a position — see which venue makes holding the same side cheaper.
Swing traders — read a wide gap as a sign the crowd is positioned differently on different venues, and price the carry into the trade plan.

Comparing rates across thousands of pairs on every connected exchange by hand is not realistic, and a gap only lives until the next settlement. The screener makes that sweep for you and sends only the pairs where the divergence reaches your threshold and both legs clear your liquidity floors.

Important: the screener measures the rate gap, not your return. Fees on both legs, slippage, and the cost of holding margin are yours to count — on a thin pair they easily add up to more than the gap itself.

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