ORCA arbitrage explained
Right now Orca (ORCA) trades on 8 venues we scan: 7 perpetual markets, 5 spot markets and 0 DEX pools. The lowest ask is on Binance perp at $2.70 and the highest bid on Variational perp at $2.72.
The widest ORCA perpetual spread is between Binance and Variational: long ORCA on Binance at $2.70 and short on Variational at $2.72 for +0.92% gross, or +0.76% 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 -0.548% per day, which the position pays while it is open.
For a spot–perpetual (cash-and-carry) trade, the best ORCA route is to buy spot on MEXC and short the perpetual on Variational: +0.66% gross, +0.46% net, with -0.961% a day of funding on the short leg.
Spot–spot ORCA arbitrage (buy on MEXC, withdraw, deposit and sell on Gate) shows +0.54% 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 ORCA 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: ORCA funding rates · ORCA spread charts · Orca price · arbitrage scanner for all coins.