What does Long mode mean in arbitrage trading?

Long mode means the card only opens cycles when the spread rises above your Upper threshold, going long on the cheaper exchange and short on the more expensive one. The position direction on each leg never changes between cycles, which keeps funding exposure predictable and lets you choose pairs where the spread has a clear upward bias on the spread history chart.

When should I use Short mode instead of Long?

Use Short mode when the spread chart consistently stays below zero or when funding differentials favor being short on Exchange A and long on Exchange B. Short mode opens cycles when the spread falls below your Lower threshold, mirroring Long mode in the opposite direction. It is the right choice whenever the dominant spread bias is negative or when you want to collect positive funding from an overheated perpetual.

What is Both mode (mean reversion) in crypto arbitrage?

Both mode treats every swing of the spread as a tradable cycle. It opens when the spread crosses the Upper threshold, closes and reopens in the opposite direction when it crosses the Lower threshold, and continues alternating. This mean reversion strategy roughly doubles execution frequency on pairs where the spread oscillates symmetrically around a central value, capturing profit from each direction change rather than waiting for one-sided moves.

How does Both mode differ from running two single-direction cards?

Running a Long and a Short card in parallel doubles capital requirements because each card holds its own slot and margin. Both mode reuses the same position by flipping direction on threshold crossings, so it requires only one slot of capital while still capturing both upswings and downswings. It also avoids the risk of two cards opening conflicting positions simultaneously on the same exchange pair.

Which trading mode gives the highest profit?

No mode is universally most profitable — it depends on spread behavior. Both mode wins on symmetrically oscillating pairs because it captures every reversal. Long or Short wins on directionally biased pairs and on pairs with strong funding differentials, where steady funding income compounds with spread profit. Use the backtest panel to compare all three modes on historical data for your specific exchange pair before committing.

Can I switch trading mode while a card has an open position?

No. Trading mode is part of the card's locked configuration and cannot change while a cycle is open or the card is Running with an active position. Close the current cycle and stop the card first, then edit the mode and start it again. This prevents inconsistent state where an open position no longer matches the rules the card is operating under.

How do I choose between Long, Short, and Both?

Open the Spread History chart for the pair. If you see balanced waves crossing zero in both directions, pick Both. If the spread sits mostly above zero, pick Long; if mostly below, pick Short. Then check the Funding History chart — if one exchange consistently pays higher funding, prefer the single-direction mode that lets you collect it. The backtest panel confirms the choice on historical data.

Does the trading mode affect funding payments?

Yes, significantly. Long and Short modes hold the same position direction on each exchange across all cycles, so funding exposure is fully predictable — you know in advance which leg pays and which receives at every 8h settlement. Both mode flips direction on each reversal, so funding alternates and tends to net out near zero. Choose a single-direction mode whenever you want to lock in a positive funding differential.

Trading Modes: Long, Short, Both for Arbitrage

What Are Trading Modes?

Every trading card has a Mode setting that tells Arbitron which direction to trade. The mode determines when the card opens positions, which side it goes long on, which side it goes short on, and how it behaves after a cycle completes.

There are three modes: Long, Short, and Both. Long and Short are single-direction modes — the card only trades one way. Both mode trades in both directions, automatically switching between Long and Short based on market conditions. Each mode has distinct advantages depending on the pair's behavior.

Long Mode

In Long mode, the card goes long (buys) on Exchange A and short (sells) on Exchange B when the spread is favorable. The card opens a position when Exchange A's price is lower than Exchange B's by at least the Open Spread threshold — you buy cheap on A and sell expensive on B simultaneously.

The position closes when the spread narrows back to the Close Spread level. After closing, the card re-arms and waits for the same opportunity to appear again. Every cycle follows the same direction: always long on A, short on B. This consistency is what makes Long mode ideal for funding rate strategies.

Short Mode

Short mode is the mirror of Long. The card goes short on Exchange A and long on Exchange B when Exchange A's price is higher than Exchange B's. This means you sell expensive on A and buy cheap on B simultaneously.

Use Short mode when the profitable spread direction is the reverse of Long — when Exchange A is frequently more expensive than Exchange B. If you've been watching the spread chart and notice the spread mostly dips below zero rather than above it, Short is the right choice.

Both Mode — Mean Reversion

Both mode trades in both directions automatically. Instead of waiting for the spread to move one way, it captures profit from every swing — whether Exchange A becomes cheaper or more expensive relative to Exchange B. Think of it as two single-direction cards merged into one, sharing the same position.

The card oscillates: when the spread rises above the Upper Spread threshold, it opens a Long position. When the spread then drops below the Lower Spread threshold, it closes the Long position and opens a Short position in the opposite direction. This continues back and forth, capturing profit from each reversal.

A key advantage of Both mode is instant re-arming. In Long or Short mode, the card returns to a Closed state after completing a cycle and must be re-armed. In Both mode, the card transitions directly from closing one direction to opening the opposite direction without any pause. This means it can start capturing the next opportunity on the very same moment that closed the previous one.

Modes Head-to-Head

Same spread, three modes — see which cycles each one captures

start now

Cycles captured

When idle

Never sits idle — every threshold crossing triggers a flip.

Open Long Open Short Close

Both mode flips direction at every extreme crossing — no idle waiting. On a symmetrically oscillating pair it captures roughly twice as many cycles as a single-direction card on the same spread.

Funding Advantage with Single-Direction Modes

When you use Long or Short mode, your position direction never changes — you always hold the same side on each exchange. This makes your funding rate exposure completely predictable. You know exactly whether you will be paying or receiving funding at every settlement interval.

This predictability lets you strategically choose the direction that earns funding. For example, if Exchange A consistently has a higher funding rate than Exchange B, using Short mode means your short position on Exchange A earns funding while your long position on Exchange B pays less. The net effect is positive funding income on every settlement — a steady profit on top of your spread earnings.

Even a small net differential of 0.005% per interval adds up over time. When you hold a position overnight or over a weekend, the accumulated funding can match or exceed the spread profit itself. Check the Funding History chart on each signal to identify pairs with consistently favorable differentials before choosing your direction.

To read funding rate differentials before choosing direction, open the Funding History chart and compare the rates on both legs over several settlement intervals. The rule for funding rate arbitrage is straightforward: you want to be short on the exchange with the higher (more positive) rate and long on the exchange with the lower (or negative) one. For example, if Exchange A funding is +0.025% and Exchange B funding is +0.008%, choose Short mode so your short on A collects +0.025% while your long on B pays only 0.008% — a net +0.017% every 8h on top of the spread. Positive funding shorts on overheated perpetual futures funding and negative funding longs on underpriced ones compound quickly; over a weekend (six 8h intervals) that 0.017% becomes roughly 0.10% of pure funding income.

More Executions with Both Mode

Single-direction modes can only profit when the spread moves in their direction. If the spread oscillates — rising above your threshold, then falling below, then rising again — a Long card captures only the upswings. It sits idle during downswings, waiting for the next favorable move.

Both mode captures profit from every direction change. Each time the spread swings from one extreme to the other, Both mode completes a half-cycle and earns the difference between the Upper and Lower thresholds. On a pair that oscillates ten times per day, a Long card might capture five cycles while a Both card captures all ten transitions — roughly doubling execution frequency.

This makes Both mode especially powerful on pairs with strong mean-reversion: the spread regularly swings above and below a central point, never staying too long on one side. The Signal Strength indicator on the dashboard helps identify these pairs — high-strength signals with frequent oscillation are the best candidates for Both mode.

Both mode breaks down in a strongly trending market — when the spread drifts steadily in one direction instead of oscillating around a central value, the mean reversion strategy never gets its second half-cycle and positions sit waiting indefinitely. You can detect this early from the Signal Strength indicator: a healthy mean-reverting pair shows fluctuating strength that frequently crosses the threshold in both directions, while a trending market crypto pair shows strength stuck on one side with declining oscillation amplitude. If the Spread History chart looks like a sloped line rather than a wave, switch to the matching single-direction mode (Long if drifting up, Short if drifting down) so each execution closes cleanly instead of accumulating one-sided exposure.

Choosing the Right Mode

Use Long or Short when the spread chart shows a clear directional bias — the spread mostly stays on one side of zero. Also choose a single-direction mode when funding differentials are significant and you want to lock in that steady income stream. Single-direction modes are simpler to reason about and easier to set thresholds for.

Use Both when the spread oscillates symmetrically, swinging regularly above and below your thresholds in both directions. Both mode shines on high-liquidity pairs where spreads are tight but frequently reversing. It's the best choice for maximizing cycle count and total profit on mean-reverting pairs.

When in doubt, open the Spread History chart and watch the pattern. If you see balanced waves in both directions — Both mode. If the spread clearly favors one side — pick Long or Short to match and collect favorable funding. You can also use the backtest panel: it tests all three modes and shows which one would have been most profitable on historical data.

Trading Modes: Long, Short, Both