Bots and talk of bots is endemic within the crypto space, with behavior, good and bad, often attributed to their actions. Mt Gox famously had the Willy Bot manipulating merrily, perennial bear Bitfinexed sees bots everywhere, and crypto traders are prone to boasting about the sick returns they’ve raked in from their proprietary arb bots. There’s no doubt that bot activity is very real. But is it profitable?
Also read: Five Reasons Why Bitcoin Cash is About to Win Big
Got Bots?
In the 1950s, robots were promised that would soon eliminate the daily chores of housewives across the globe. 60 years later, and their cyber counterparts – bots – are promised that will do the same for crypto traders. If the hype is to be believed, these bundles of code can deliver a passive income for even the laziest or dumbest of traders. But as almost everyone knows, the hype is never to be believed. Profiting from bots isn’t that simple or easy.
There are several types of trading bots available including arbitrage (arb) bots that capitalize on the difference in prices across exchanges. The price of bitcoin usually differs from exchange to exchange; Bitstamp, for example, typically displays a slightly lower price than Bittrex. The movements of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is always mirrored across exchanges, however, so if BTC breaks out due to a massive buy order on Binance, you can bet that the other exchanges will follow suit. Bots work by profiting from the delay it takes for prices to update across all exchanges.
How Profitable Are Bots?
To make any sort of tangible profit from bot trading, you ideally need a stack of crypto to start with. If you’re running a bitcoin arb bot, for example, you’ll need
