Cryptoasset markets are famed for their volatility.

Indeed, it is precisely this feature that makes these markets such an attractive venue for arbitrage trading.

However, with the median blockchain transaction times ricocheting between 4 and a staggering 20 minutes – how efficient can arbitrage traders be in times of increased activity? What happens during the most volatile of days? Can traders take advantage when blockchain transfer times are moving at a snail's pace? Can reading the blockchain be advantageous?

Two months ago, as part of our In-Depth series, we started our exploration on the extent slow blockchain transfer times limit arbitrage opportunities in crypto markets.

Part I, published in July, combs through the potential effects and missed opportunities resulting from sluggish blockchain transfer times. In Part II, we provide an even deeper analysis on how much opportunity, if any, is missed during the minutes it takes to move Bitcoin from one wallet to an exchange, to show how profitable and accessible this type of trading really is.

We are now thrilled to publish the third and final report of this series, where we track on-chain times with price movements and liquidity to assess whether markets are inefficient or functioning as expected.

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