Crypto Arbitrage

Updated on Sep 16, 2023:

I have moved on to develop other trading bots besides arbitrage. The best bot, Realistic Trading Bot (RTB), achieved a +2056% return using an aggressive model, while using the conservative model yielded a +418% return. The bots were backtested with data from 2019 to 2022. I have created a subscription service that provides trading signals for popular pairs. I will continue to add support for new pairs when there are enough requests.

Currently the subscription service supports:

• BTCUSD
• ETHUSD
• EURUSD
• GBPJPY
• XAUUSD

Link to RTB Trading Signal subscription: https://kelvinausoftware.com/rtb-trading-signal/

Link to RTB details and backtesting report: https://kelvinausoftware.com/realistic-trading-bot-rbt/

Link to FREE Introduction of Professional Trader Course: https://www.youtube.com/live/HmM4rWT49M8?si=146J_eTFFX6YnctI (Beginner-friendly and no experience required. Content enough to get you start trading.)

Link to full details of Professional Trader Course: https://kelvinausoftware.com/professional-trader-course/ (I will expain RTB algorithm in this course.)

+2056% backtest return on EURUSD in 2022

Introduction

This is an automatic trading bot using Triangular or Exchange Arbitrages. It reguarly checks and detects arbitrage opportunities, and place orders when a profit can be made. This works on any cryptocurrency pairs with minor configuration.
Started with $1000 in October 2017, there were some times that this made about $40/day for a few weeks with Triangular Arbitrage on Bittrex, but as the market is getting very unstable, the profit is hard to outrun the high price fluctuation.

Exchanges

Bittrex, Bitfinex, Bitstamp, Kraken, Gatecoin (Not maintained anymore due to its extremely low volume)

Setup

1. Install Python 2 at here https://www.python.org/downloads/ if necessary. This bot will not work with Python 3.
2. pip install grequests
3. Rename or copy .key_sample files under keys to .key file, and add the APIs. E.g. Create a file bittrex.key. Make sure not to push any API keys or this .key file.
4. Modify arbitrage_config.json for any other ticker pairs or exchanges

Usage

Triangular: python main.py -m triangular
Exchange: python main.py -m exchange
Mock mode is enabled by default, which does not place any order and just check and show any arbitrage opportunities. To turn off mock mode and run in production, add the argument -p.

Difficulties

1. The trading fee is the largest obstacle. Most of the exchanges have a 0.25% fee. The profit will be larger if the fee can be lower.
2. Sometimes not all the placed orders are executed, so there will be some manual work to rebalance. The bot should be able to deal with this situation, such as placing a market order, instead of just cancelling the open orders.

Further Improvement

1. Implement exchange rebalancing
2. Handle open orders strategically
3. Refactoring

I will put this project on hold now as the price goes up and down so much. Hope this can help anyone with similar interests.