COW arbitrage explained
Right now CoW Protocol (COW) trades on 8 venues we scan: 8 perpetual markets, 5 spot markets and 0 DEX pools. The lowest ask is on KuCoin perp at $0.1461 and the highest bid on Bybit perp at $0.1464.
The widest COW perpetual spread is between KuCoin and Bybit: long COW on KuCoin at $0.1461 and short on Bybit at $0.1464 for +0.20% gross, or +0.04% after the 0.16% two-leg fee model. No transfer is needed: both positions stay on their exchanges until the prices converge. The funding difference on this pair is 0.000% per day, which the position collects while it is open.
For a spot–perpetual (cash-and-carry) trade, the best COW route is to buy spot on Binance and short the perpetual on Bybit: -0.01% gross, -0.21% net, with +0.030% a day of funding on the short leg.
Spot–spot COW arbitrage (buy on Binance, withdraw, deposit and sell on Gate) shows -0.07% gross right now. It only works if withdrawals on the buying exchange and deposits on the selling exchange are open, so check the D/W dots before moving coins.
Small COW gaps usually disappear after fees, slippage and funding. Look at the Net column, the executable Depth and the spread history before trading: a gap that has been open for days is a different trade from a one-minute spike.
Related: COW funding rates · COW spread charts · CoW Protocol price · arbitrage scanner for all coins.