OKX vs Variational Funding Arbitrage

41 shared markets · net of estimated fees · updated every few minutes

OKX and Variational both quote 41 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 PONS — long Variational / short OKX at 314.0% net APR — but the median across all shared markets is 12.4%, which is the number worth planning around.

41
shared markets
314.0%
best net APR · ≥$1M vol
12.4%
median net APR
31
markets ≥5% net APR
8
with ≥$1M lower-leg volume

OKX / Variational spreads by market

top 25 by net APR
MarketLongShortGross APRNet APR7d avg24h vol · lower leg
PONSVariationalOKX317.7%314.0%+281.8%$6.9M
USELESSOKXVariational109.4%106.3%+69.1%$2.4M
FETVariationalOKX67.9%62.4%+48.4%$42K
EDGEVariationalOKX60.5%57.1%+3.9%$253K
MINAOKXVariational53.4%49.8%+50.7%$77K
DASHOKXVariational51.8%48.9%+5.0%$706K
STXVariationalOKX48.5%44.8%+46.4%$129K
USARVariationalOKX47.6%42.4%+2.6%$76K
WLFIVariationalOKX44.3%41.2%+14.0%$13K
CASHCATVariationalOKX45.2%40.5%+58.2%$1.7M
SVariationalOKX38.2%33.1%+53.7%$34K
HBARVariationalOKX34.5%31.5%+18.3%$91K
APTVariationalOKX32.4%29.4%+12.5%$138K
SPXVariationalOKX25.6%21.8%+10.6%$147K
VVVOKXVariational24.1%20.8%+1.1%$582K
HOODVariationalOKX22.4%19.6%+6.1%$716K
POLOKXVariational20.5%17.5%-13.1%$132K
RAYVariationalOKX18.7%15.0%+34.8%$46K
ENAOKXVariational17.0%14.4%+2.0%$865K
POPCATVariationalOKX17.8%13.7%+3.2%$192K
ARBVariationalOKX16.2%12.4%+2.7%$449K
LTCVariationalOKX15.0%12.1%+15.2%$119K
PENGUVariationalOKX14.5%11.6%+35.5%$242K
JUPOKXVariational16.2%11.1%+2.9%$68K
RKLBVariationalOKX11.2%8.2%+5.8%$122K

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

16
markets long on OKX
25
markets long on Variational
24
markets ≥10% net APR

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.

OKX vs Variational — FAQ

How many markets can you arbitrage between OKX and Variational?

41 perpetual markets are quoted on both OKX and Variational right now. 31 of them show a net spread of at least 5% APR after estimated fees, and 8 have at least $1M of 24h volume on the smaller leg.

What is the best OKX / Variational funding spread right now?

PONS: long Variational and short OKX for about 314.0% net APR after estimated fees, counting only markets with at least $1M of 24h volume on the smaller leg. The median across all 41 shared markets is 12.4%, so the top of the list is not typical.

Which side pays on the OKX / Variational pair?

It varies by market: OKX is the long (funding-receiving) leg in 16 of the shared markets and Variational in the other 25. The direction is set per market by which venue currently prices funding lower.

Trading the OKX / Variational 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: OKX funding rates · Variational funding rates

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