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How to set up arbitrage with WAGMI

Step-by-step: scan cross-network and cross-exchange spreads with WAGMI's spread scanner, set a minimum spread and amount, configure email alerts, and execute swaps in self-custody — or fund an Autopilot account that scans and executes profitable arbitrages for you automatically.

7 min read

WAGMI turns arbitrage from a full-time monitoring job into a few clicks — or nothing at all. This guide walks through the manual flow (scan, alert, one-tap swap), then how to hand the whole thing to an Autopilot account that scans and executes profitable arbitrages for you automatically, all in self-custody.

1. Open the Spread scanner

Sign in and open Arbitrage from the sidebar. The Spread scanner is where you compare a single asset's price across every venue WAGMI tracks.

2. Choose an asset and amount

Pick a built-in asset — USDC, USDT, BTC, ETH or SOL — or tap Add Asset to choose any token that trades on more than one network (BNB, LINK, AVAX and many more). Then set:

Amount — the trade size to quote. Larger sizes reveal real, slippage-adjusted prices.
Minimum spread — the smallest gap (in bps) you care about. Anything above this is flagged and logged.

3. Scan venues

Tap Scan now. WAGMI prices your asset on each selected network by routing it through a DEX into USDC, and pulls live mid-prices from 14 centralised exchanges in parallel. Results land in one table — Asset & Network, Provider, Price and Spread — sorted from the cheapest place to buy to the most expensive place to sell.

Reading the result

The banner at the top summarises the best opportunity: "buy {asset} on {cheapest}, sell on {dearest}". If that spread beats your minimum, it's saved to Arbitrages found automatically.

4. Set email alerts (optional)

You don't need to sit and refresh. Add source assets to your Watchlist, toggle email alerts on, and choose a frequency and a minimum spread threshold. WAGMI scans on schedule and emails you the moment a qualifying spread appears.

5. Execute in self-custody

Under Arbitrages found, each opportunity has a Swap button that opens the homepage swap card pre-filled with the buy-side asset. Funds settle into a wallet you control through your own vault — WAGMI never takes custody. To act on the sell leg of a CEX opportunity, connect that exchange in Settings via an API key.

Archive what you've seen

Done with an opportunity? Archive it from the list. Archived spreads move to the Archive tab so you can revisit or restore them later, keeping your active feed focused on what's new.

6. Or put it on Autopilot

Don't want to act on each spread yourself? Open Autopilot and fund a dedicated Autopilot account from your main WAGMI wallet — it's a second self-custodial account, kept separate from your main funds. Then set the rules:

Minimum profit — the smallest net edge (in bps) worth trading. WAGMI re-quotes live before every fill and skips anything that no longer clears it, so a stale spread never executes.
Assets & networks — which assets and chains Autopilot may trade, and a max trade size. Everything else is excluded.
Earn vaults — where idle funds park between trades. WAGMI fills these in automatically from your chosen assets and networks; remove any you don't want.

With that set, WAGMI scans continuously and executes profitable arbitrage routes for you automatically — signed from your self-custodial vault, above the profit floor you set. Between trades, idle funds are deployed into your earn vaults so your capital keeps working, then pulled back out to execute the moment an arbitrage appears. You can pause it any time, and every trade shows up in your account activity.

Still your keys

Autopilot signs from a vault you control and only ever trades within the rules you set. WAGMI never takes custody of your funds, on manual swaps or Autopilot.

Key takeaways

Pick an asset, set an amount and a minimum spread in bps — that's the whole setup.
WAGMI prices the asset across 30+ networks and 14 exchanges and ranks them cheapest to dearest.
Watchlist + email alerts let you catch spreads without watching the screen.
Or fund an Autopilot account and WAGMI scans and executes profitable arbitrages for you automatically — hands-off, still in self-custody.
Every opportunity deep-links to a pre-filled swap that settles in self-custody.

FAQs

Do I need exchange API keys?+

Not to see prices — WAGMI uses public market data, so quotes are free for everyone. You only add an API key in Settings if you want WAGMI to execute swaps directly on a centralised exchange rather than just compare its prices.

How often does the scanner check prices?+

Manual scans run on demand when you tap Scan now. For hands-off monitoring, add assets to your watchlist and choose a frequency (as often as every 5 minutes); WAGMI emails you when a spread clears your minimum.

Can WAGMI execute arbitrages for me automatically?+

Yes — fund an Autopilot account and set a minimum profit plus which assets and networks to trade. WAGMI then scans continuously and executes profitable arbitrage routes for you automatically, signing from your self-custodial vault, and parks idle funds in earn vaults while it waits for the next opportunity.

Ready to find your first spread?

Scan live prices across DEXs and centralised exchanges.

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