DRIFT arbitrage explained
Right now Drift Protocol (DRIFT) trades on 7 venues we scan: 7 perpetual markets, 5 spot markets and 0 DEX pools. The lowest ask is on Gate perp at $0.0184 and the highest bid on Bitget perp at $0.0185.
The widest DRIFT perpetual spread is between Gate and Binance: long DRIFT on Gate at $0.0184 and short on Binance at $0.0185 for +0.33% gross, or +0.17% 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 +0.211% per day, which the position collects while it is open.
For a spot–perpetual (cash-and-carry) trade, the best DRIFT route is to buy spot on Bybit and short the perpetual on Binance: +0.33% gross, +0.13% net, with +0.030% a day of funding on the short leg.
Spot–spot DRIFT arbitrage (buy on Bybit, withdraw, deposit and sell on KuCoin) shows 0.00% 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 DRIFT 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: DRIFT funding rates · DRIFT spread charts · Drift Protocol price · arbitrage scanner for all coins.