P2P Arbitrage FAQ

P2P (peer-to-peer) is crypto trading directly between two people without an order book in between. One participant wants to sell crypto for fiat, the other wants to buy.

The exchange itself (Binance, Bybit, OKX, etc.) only acts as a guarantor: it freezes the seller's crypto in escrow for the duration of the deal and releases it to the buyer only after payment is confirmed. The fiat money goes directly from card to card, bypassing the exchange.

P2P arbitrage is a way to profit from the difference between buy and sell prices of crypto on P2P platforms. The idea is simple: buy an asset cheaper and sell it higher, earning on the spread (price difference).

Arbitrage can be intra-exchange (buy and sell on the same platform), cross-exchange (buy on one, sell on another), or bundle-based — through a chain of payment methods, banks or currencies. P2P.Army helps you find such bundles via spread and order-book monitoring.

P2P platforms are services where two people make a financial deal between themselves: one wants to sell crypto for fiat, the other to buy. The platform provides an interface with advertisements, an escrow guarantee and a seller rating system. The largest P2P platforms are Binance P2P, Bybit, OKX, HTX, Bitget and Gate.

An advertisement is a public offer to buy or sell an asset at your price with set limits and payment methods. It is visible to all users of the platform.

An order is an already agreed deal opened by a specific buyer against your ad. From the moment the order is created the crypto is frozen in escrow, and the parties proceed to payment and confirmation.

In terms of P2P trading:

Acting as a maker means posting your own ad to buy or sell an asset and waiting for someone to open a deal against it.

Acting as a taker means buying or selling immediately against someone else's ad without posting your own.

General explanation:

A maker makes the market — offers their price and provides liquidity. A taker takes liquidity by accepting a price already offered by a maker. On many exchanges the maker fee is lower than the taker fee.

A spread is the difference between the buy price and the sell price of an asset. In P2P arbitrage the spread is the main source of profit: the wider it is, the more you can earn on a single bundle. P2P.Army has dedicated spread monitoring across exchanges and payment methods.

A bid is the price in the order book at which a trader can open a sell deal. Essentially it is the best price buyers on the market are willing to pay.

An ask is the price in the order book a trader looks at when opening a buy deal. It is the best price sellers are willing to sell the asset at. The difference between the best ask and the best bid is the spread.

An order book is the list of currently placed orders for a trading pair. Most often the book shows not all open orders but only part of them — those closest to the current price. The order book reflects real supply and demand and helps assess liquidity and market depth.

The T+1 lock is a 24-hour freeze on funds you bought through a maker position — that is, you bought crypto via your own posted ad rather than simply pressing 'buy' against someone else's ad. While locked, you cannot withdraw these funds or sell them via P2P.

Option 1. Buy crypto as a taker (against someone else's ad) and sell as a maker (via your own ad). Then no lock is applied.

Option 2. Keep an amount of crypto on your spot wallet equal to the purchase. For example, if you want to buy 1000 USDT via your own ad, to bypass the T+1 freeze your spot wallet must hold the equivalent of 1000 USDT (not necessarily USDT — any crypto works).

Option 3. Obtain merchant status on the exchange. This is a hard path: a Binance merchant needs a large turnover (e.g. 15 BTC) and must meet other conditions. Do not artificially inflate turnover by transferring between accounts — it risks an account ban and loss of funds.

On desktop: in the P2P section there is a 'More' button. Hover over it and choose 'Post new ad'.

In the app: in the P2P section tap 'My ads' and choose 'Post new ad', or tap the '+' in the top-right corner.

A currency pair is a financial instrument in which the value of one currency is expressed in units of another. For example, the USDT/RUB pair shows how many rubles one USDT costs, and BTC/USDT shows how many USDT one bitcoin costs.

Volatility is a financial metric reflecting how much an asset's price changes over a short period. High volatility means sharp price swings: both an opportunity for quick profit and an increased risk for the arbitrageur.

Liquidity is a property of an asset describing how quickly it can be sold at market price. The higher the liquidity of a platform or payment method, the easier it is for a trader to enter and exit a deal without a significant price loss and without long waits for a counterparty.

A drop is a person used for intermediary receipt of bank transfers, account verification and similar tasks. It is important to understand: using drops and accepting 'dirty' funds involves serious legal risks, up to criminal liability and account freezes. P2P.Army does not recommend or endorse such schemes.

• Release crypto from escrow only after money has actually arrived in your account, not based on a screenshot or notification.
• Check that the payer's name matches the counterparty in the deal — otherwise it may be a payment from someone else's card.
• Do not move to third-party messengers for payment and never allow an 'overpayment' with a request to refund the difference.
• Choose counterparties with a high rating and many completed deals, and read the ad terms carefully.