KuCoin vs Lighter Funding Arbitrage
62 shared markets · net of estimated fees · updated every few minutes
KuCoin and Lighter both quote 62 of the same perpetual markets, so a delta-neutral position can be split across the two and collect the difference in their funding. The widest spread on a market with real depth is CASHCAT — long KuCoin / short Lighter at 169.8% net APR — but the median across all shared markets is 6.6%, which is the number worth planning around.
KuCoin / Lighter spreads by market
top 25 by net APR| Market | Long | Short | Gross APR | Net APR | 7d avg | 24h vol · lower leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRO | Lighter | KuCoin | 299.8% | 294.5% | +99.7% | $30K |
| CASHCAT | KuCoin | Lighter | 174.8% | 169.8% | +53.9% | $1.2M |
| CAP | KuCoin | Lighter | 152.0% | 145.5% | -22.5% | $46K |
| RIVER | KuCoin | Lighter | 132.5% | 126.8% | +35.8% | $85K |
| PONS | Lighter | KuCoin | 108.8% | 102.3% | -26.8% | $2.4M |
| SKR | KuCoin | Lighter | 68.3% | 63.6% | -10.8% | $256K |
| WLFI | Lighter | KuCoin | 60.9% | 56.0% | +3.9% | $110K |
| ZORA | KuCoin | Lighter | 58.0% | 53.4% | -15.6% | $169K |
| XMR | KuCoin | Lighter | 54.0% | 50.8% | +28.6% | $3.1M |
| IWM | KuCoin | Lighter | 48.1% | 38.6% | -0.9% | $13K |
| ETHFI | KuCoin | Lighter | 34.6% | 30.2% | +0.8% | $190K |
| MYX | KuCoin | Lighter | 29.3% | 22.3% | +9.1% | $16K |
| GRAM | KuCoin | Lighter | 25.0% | 21.6% | +10.4% | $1.0M |
| UNI | KuCoin | Lighter | 24.0% | 20.8% | +9.8% | $1.4M |
| USELESS | Lighter | KuCoin | 24.1% | 20.3% | -44.1% | $4.5M |
| STRK | KuCoin | Lighter | 23.2% | 19.0% | +2.5% | $238K |
| BNB | KuCoin | Lighter | 19.7% | 17.2% | +3.4% | $3.2M |
| AMZN | KuCoin | Lighter | 16.6% | 15.2% | -5.6% | $354K |
| VVV | KuCoin | Lighter | 16.4% | 12.5% | +3.2% | $215K |
| GRASS | KuCoin | Lighter | 15.3% | 11.6% | +4.7% | $26K |
| MU | KuCoin | Lighter | 13.7% | 10.9% | -2.1% | $2.4M |
| BTC | KuCoin | Lighter | 11.5% | 10.4% | +3.5% | $198.8M |
| LDO | KuCoin | Lighter | 11.8% | 8.2% | +13.2% | $196K |
| SOL | KuCoin | Lighter | 10.2% | 8.1% | +7.7% | $29.0M |
| TRX | KuCoin | Lighter | 10.7% | 8.1% | +0.8% | $201K |
Net APR subtracts entry and exit fees, both legs' bid/ask spread and estimated slippage from the gross funding spread. The 7-day average is historical gross funding for the same pair: a current rate close to it suggests the spread has persisted, one far above it is usually a spike that will decay.
Which venue is the long leg
The long leg is whichever venue currently prices funding lower for that market — it is a property of the market, not of the exchange, and it flips as rates move.
KuCoin vs Lighter — FAQ
How many markets can you arbitrage between KuCoin and Lighter?
62 perpetual markets are quoted on both KuCoin and Lighter right now. 42 of them show a net spread of at least 5% APR after estimated fees, and 17 have at least $1M of 24h volume on the smaller leg.
What is the best KuCoin / Lighter funding spread right now?
CASHCAT: long KuCoin and short Lighter for about 169.8% net APR after estimated fees, counting only markets with at least $1M of 24h volume on the smaller leg. The median across all 62 shared markets is 6.6%, so the top of the list is not typical.
Which side pays on the KuCoin / Lighter pair?
It varies by market: KuCoin is the long (funding-receiving) leg in 35 of the shared markets and Lighter in the other 27. The direction is set per market by which venue currently prices funding lower.
Trading the KuCoin / Lighter spread
The trade is one position split across two venues: long the exchange paying the more negative funding, short the one paying the more positive, in the same size. Direction risk is largely offset, and the position earns the funding difference each interval. What limits it is not the headline APR but the smaller leg's liquidity, the fees on both sides, and how long the spread survives — funding decays and flips, often within hours. Per-market detail, including a backtest, is on each market's funding page; the full calculation is in the methodology.
Venue detail: KuCoin funding rates · Lighter funding rates