Arbitrage trading is one of the oldest and most reliable strategies in finance—crypto just made it faster and more accessible. At its core, it’s about exploiting price differences for the same asset across markets. Simple in theory, but execution separates the pros from the amateurs.  

### **The Basics: How It Works**  
1. **Spot Arbitrage**: Buy low on Exchange A, sell high on Exchange B. Works best with liquid assets (BTC, ETH) during volatile spikes.  
2. **Triangular Arbitrage**: Swap between three pairs on the *same* exchange (e.g., BTC → ETH → USDT → BTC) when pricing loops get misaligned.  
3. **Funding Rate Arbitrage**: Long on perpetual futures (positive funding) while shorting spot, or vice versa—common in CEX vs. DEX gaps.  

### **Tools of the Trade**  
- **APIs & Bots**: Manual arbitrage is dead. Use Python scripts or platforms like 3Commas to snipe milliseconds-long windows.  
- **Order Book Depth**: Watch for liquidity mismatches. Thin markets = slippage hell.