trade.xyz vs Variational Funding Arbitrage

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

trade.xyz and Variational both quote 50 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 DRAM — long trade.xyz / short Variational at 6.3% net APR — but the median across all shared markets is 2.1%, which is the number worth planning around.

50
shared markets
6.3%
best net APR · ≥$1M vol
2.1%
median net APR
21
markets ≥5% net APR
10
with ≥$1M lower-leg volume

trade.xyz / Variational spreads by market

top 25 by net APR
MarketLongShortGross APRNet APR7d avg24h vol · lower leg
BMNRVariationaltrade.xyz171.2%151.7%+25.7%$37K
RDDTtrade.xyzVariational151.9%142.7%+2.8%$99K
SHAZVariationaltrade.xyz120.8%105.3%-11.1%$29K
AMATVariationaltrade.xyz89.1%84.8%-1.3%$196K
MRNAVariationaltrade.xyz71.6%66.1%+9.7%$96K
USARVariationaltrade.xyz63.3%56.7%+13.0%$76K
ZMVariationaltrade.xyz60.1%50.2%-9.5%$93K
HIMStrade.xyzVariational51.2%41.4%-18.3%$120K
NBISVariationaltrade.xyz39.4%34.7%+2.2%$500K
HOODVariationaltrade.xyz35.5%31.4%+11.6%$716K
XBIVariationaltrade.xyz42.7%31.1%+47.5%$40K
RIVNVariationaltrade.xyz42.7%30.4%+26.3%$104K
BOTVariationaltrade.xyz39.2%28.9%+8.5%$22K
BXVariationaltrade.xyz31.8%22.6%+13.3%$35K
COINVariationaltrade.xyz26.8%22.5%+6.3%$214K
CBRStrade.xyzVariational20.7%16.2%+5.5%$283K
MSTRVariationaltrade.xyz16.9%13.3%+4.7%$708K
EWTVariationaltrade.xyz19.1%12.1%-9.9%$120K
IRENVariationaltrade.xyz13.7%7.0%+9.9%$226K
DRAMtrade.xyzVariational10.2%6.3%+0.8%$4.6M
MSFTVariationaltrade.xyz9.1%5.4%+1.2%$667K
SPCXVariationaltrade.xyz7.7%4.1%+6.2%$2.7M
DELLVariationaltrade.xyz8.0%3.3%+6.6%$285K
XAUVariationaltrade.xyz5.5%2.3%-9.4%$25.8M
TSLAVariationaltrade.xyz5.5%2.1%-2.3%$742K

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

5
markets long on trade.xyz
45
markets long on Variational
18
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.

trade.xyz vs Variational — FAQ

How many markets can you arbitrage between trade.xyz and Variational?

50 perpetual markets are quoted on both trade.xyz and Variational right now. 21 of them show a net spread of at least 5% APR after estimated fees, and 10 have at least $1M of 24h volume on the smaller leg.

What is the best trade.xyz / Variational funding spread right now?

DRAM: long trade.xyz and short Variational for about 6.3% net APR after estimated fees, counting only markets with at least $1M of 24h volume on the smaller leg. The median across all 50 shared markets is 2.1%, so the top of the list is not typical.

Which side pays on the trade.xyz / Variational pair?

It varies by market: trade.xyz is the long (funding-receiving) leg in 5 of the shared markets and Variational in the other 45. The direction is set per market by which venue currently prices funding lower.

Trading the trade.xyz / 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: trade.xyz funding rates · Variational funding rates

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